By Match report: Town march into FA Cup quarter-finals with Saints victory
Grimsby Town secured a memorable FA Cup fifth-round win over Premier League Southampton this evening.
Two Gavan Holohan penalties either side of half-time were enough to claim the victory at St Mary’s, with Duje Caleta-Car grabbing the hosts’ only goal of the game.
Paul Hurst was forced to make one change from the side that drew with Leyton Orient on Saturday, with the cup-tied George Lloyd being replaced by Danilo Orsi in the starting lineup.
It was the hosts that started the game on the front foot, but Town defended their own box well in the opening stages to prevent Max Crocombe from having to make any saves.
The Mariners had an encouraging spell in the 12th minute, with Michee Efete claiming he was fouled on the edge of the area, before Orsi almost played in John McAtee but the forward couldn’t latch onto the through ball in behind the Southampton defence.
The Saints thought they’d taken the lead on 17 minutes through Sekou Mara, but a player was offside in the build-up before the winger beat Crocombe at his near post.
Some sloppy play by Gavan Holohan in his own half saw him lose the ball and, after breaking away quickly on the counter, Mislav Orsic just guided a curled effort past the post.
Orsic then almost turned provider a couple of minutes later when he flighted a ball into Carlos Alcaraz and he just couldn’t quite guide his diving header on target, with Luke Waterfall clearing it away from danger.
There was drama towards the end of the first half after a nice breakaway from the Mariners saw Harry Clifton look to prod the ball past Alex McCarthy inside the area, but the keeper did well to save his close-range effort.
That was when the drama began, though. In the build-up, Lyanco was adjudged to have handled Josh Emmanuel’s ball into the box and a penalty was awarded. Holohan stepped up and sent McCarthy the wrong way to give his side the lead, sparking wild scenes at the opposite end of the field amongst the Town fans.
A Mara header late into injury time almost put Southampton on level terms, but he couldn’t quite find the target and the Mariners went in ahead at the break.
After seeing off some early Saints pressure in the second half, Town were awarded a second penalty of the game when Orsi was struck in the back by Caleta-Car and the referee pointed to the spot. Holohan stepped up again and smashed it high above the reach of McCarthy and into the net to send the Mariners fans into dreamland.
Southampton worked a nice opening a couple of minutes later, but after Kyle Walker-Peters flashed the ball across the box, Romain Perraud struck an effort over the bar.
The hosts were provided a way back into the game on 65 minutes through Caleta-Car, as he escaped his marker from a corner and side-footed a volley into the back of the net.
That goal injected a bit of life into the home side, with substitute Theo Walcott almost diverting an effort on target from a Walker-Peters cross, but it was blocked behind for a corner.
The Saints had another effort that went close a few minutes later when Lyanco headed just wide from a corner, with Joe Aribo inches away from flicking it towards the goal.
The Mariners then had their first chance in a while at the other end after McAtee picked up the ball, drove towards goal and hit a long-range strike that McCarthy saved comfortably.
The forward then had the chance to seal the victory with just under 15 minutes left to play when he capitalised on a loose touch from a Southampton defender and went one-on-one with the keeper, but his final touch wasn’t good enough and the opportunity got away from him.
Town were then dealt a lucky escape minutes later after quick thinking by James Ward-Prowse saw him play a neat free-kick in behind to Walcott, who struck a left-footed effort past Crocombe, but another lengthy VAR check led to it being ruled offside.
In the opening moments of injury time, Walker-Peters cut inside well and flashed a fierce strike past Crocombe’s post to the delight of the away fans.
The Mariners held on expertly for the remaining few minutes to secure a memorable victory that takes them into the FA Cup quarter-finals.
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