By Match report: Town suffer tough home defeat against Hartlepool
Grimsby Town were well beaten at home by Hartlepool United in League Two this afternoon.
A Michee Efete equaliser early on in the second half wasn’t enough for the Mariners, as the visitors scored three quick goals midway through the half to claim all three points.
Paul Hurst made five changes to the side that suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat at Bradford City last weekend, with Efete, Luke Waterfall, Danny Amos, Alex Hunt and Otis Khan all returning to the starting lineup.
Town started the game the better of the two sides in the opening exchanges, pushing Hartlepool back without create any clear-cut chances.
The hosts had the first opportunity of the game through Khan on 12 minutes. George Lloyd did well to get a ball in from the left to Efete, who tried to flick an effort towards goal before it bounced out to the winger and his left-footed strike was superbly tipped around the post by Jakub Stolarczyk.
It was Pools that took the lead on 18 minutes with their first chance of the afternoon. David Ferguson made his way down the left, pulled the ball back to the unmarked Dan Kemp inside the box and, without a Town player within five yards, he placed the ball into the corner beyond the reach of Max Crocombe.
A long throw from Niall Maher on 30 minutes bounced inside the six-yard box and caused panic, as a Hartlepool defender swung a leg at the ball and it bounced fortunately into the keeper’s hands.
There was another scramble inside the Hartlepool box shortly before half-time, with Waterfall’s effort well blocked to prevent Stolarczyk from having to make a save.
Although the visitors only had one effort on target throughout the half, they had more of the ball and restricted the Mariners to only half chances.
Hurst made two attacking changes at the break, bringing John McAtee and Ryan Taylor on to try and cause more of a threat going forwards.
The alterations almost had an instant impact four minutes into the half, with McAtee seeing a goalbound effort superbly blocked at the back post following a long throw. It was then recycled back out and a decent ball found Waterfall, whose header was well saved by Stolarczyk.
Town continued their bright start to the second half and were rewarded for their efforts on 54 minutes. Taylor flicked the ball on to Lloyd before it founds its way into the path of Efete and he finished expertly to bring his side back onto level terms.
The defender almost grabbed an unlikely second just past the hour-mark when he got in down the right, but this time he showed little composure as he blasted the ball over the bar.
Efete was again involved in the action just a few minutes later, but this time he gave away a penalty at the opposite end. Although it was a rash challenge from the right-back, it did look like it was just outside the area. Kemp stepped up for Hartlepool and made no mistake as he found the corner with a well struck, left-footed effort that went beyond the dive of Crocombe and into the net on 68 minutes.
The midfielder then completed his hat-trick a few minutes later. After finding space on the edge of the area, he fired a low shot into the bottom corner to give his side a two-goal lead with just under 20 minutes left to play.
The visitors wrapped up the points on 75 minutes through Josh Umerah. After Amos misjudged a long clearance forward, the striker broke through on goal and, at the second attempt after Hunt did well to block the first effort, he slotted the ball into an open net.
The game fizzled out towards the end, with Hartlepool claiming a deserved three points following some clinical finishing.
