The Fishy - Grimsby Town FC

Question of the Week

Who will go down?







Way Back Then
Way Back Then

Lincoln v Grimsby Preview

By: Kevin Dolan
Date: 16/10/2006

AFTER Saturday’s demoralising defeat at Swindon, Grimsby Town make the short trip to neighbours Lincoln for the 1st Round of the recently renamed Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, hoping to put their League Two woes temporarily behind them.

Home > 2006-2007 Season > Previews > Lincoln (a)


The Opposition

Overview
After four consecutive play off-failures, Keith Alexander parted company with Lincoln by mutual consent in the summer, although his departure had been ominous since he was temporarily placed on leave mid way through the season. Alexander was subsequently appointed manager of Peterborough whilst The Imps promoted John Schofield from youth coach to head coach and installed John Deehan as Director of Football.

Both teams have a poor record in the competition and, with both sides having vital forthcoming league matches, neither side is likely to be putting this tournament high on the list of priorities. Lincoln have only progressed past the first round twice in the last five seasons, whilst The Mariner have gone out in the first round in the last three seasons and have not won a game since the Wembley victory in 1998.

Their Squad
Adopting a less direct philosophy, Lincoln have made a strong start to the season and currently lie in 2nd place, two points behind leaders Walsall; mirroring Town’s start to last season with an average home form being surpassed by the best away form in the division (6 wins and 1 defeat away from Sincil Bank). They come into the game on the back of a stunning 5-0 win at Barnet with ex-Mariner Jamie Forrester bagging a hat trick.

Lincoln have two of the leading scorers in League Two with Forrester and Mark Stallard on 8 and 7 goals respectively, and are comfortably the highest scoring side in the division. Another ex-Mariner Martin Gritton (left) has mainly been used as a substitute, but does have two goals so far and is likely to play some part in the game. Their defence does not appear the tightest on paper, although some first team defenders, including captain Paul Morgan and Adie Moses, have been injured.

Key Player
With successive appearances in the League Two team of the week, Jamie Forrester (left) is now joint top scorer in League Two and his hat trick on Saturday followed a four-goal haul at Mansfield earlier in the season.

Recent Form

TownLincoln
LSwindon(a)0-3
WHereford(a)2-1
DDarlington(a)2-2
LHartlepool(h)1-4
LStockport(h)0-1
Currently 20th in League Two.
WBarnet(a)5-0
WHartlepool(h)2-0
LBury(h)2-0
LBoston(a)1-0
WWycombe(a)3-1
Currently 2nd in League Two.

Top Scorers

TownLincoln
Peter Bore4
Gary Jones3
Forrester8
Stallard7

Team News

In order to eliminate a reserve contest, the Football League’s new ruling for the competition is that teams start with at least 6 of the 11 players with the most appearances for the season. However, it is likely that both sides will rest as many players as possible.

TownLincoln

  • Scunthorpe have declared that Andy Butler is ineligible for the tie, which could lead to a possible recall for Justin Whittle. As Conference teams are no longer included in the competition, Tony Thorpe is allowed to play whilst Isaiah Rankin is still unlikely to be involved.
  • Defender Paul Morgan and striker Gary Birch will both miss the game through injury, whilst full back Nicky Eaden is likely to be deemed ineligible to play by parent club Nottm Forest. Adie Moses may make a return from injury.
  • Head to Head

    Town have the upper hand against The Imps over the years and won the last time the teams met in a cup competition; Johnny Rowan’s last minute winner giving Town a 2-1 victory in the 2001/02 Carling Cup 1st Round. This clash will the 100th meeting between the two sides.

    P 99 W 45 D 25 L 29 F 191 A 144

    Lincoln Head-to-Head (17th on The Opposition Ladder)

    Last Meeting

    The last time the two sides met at Sincil Bank was famously only 5 months ago when The Mariners secured a 1-0 Play Off Semi Final victory, avenging the 5-0 league hammering in March, before clinching a 3-1 aggregate win the following week.

    Lincoln0 - 1Grimsby
      G Jones 22

    Grimsby Team: Mildenhall, McDermott (Croft 18), Futcher, Whittle, Newey, Cohen (Reddy 68), Bolland, Woodhouse, Parkinson, Jones, Mendes (Toner 78)
    Subs (not used): Kalala, Goodfellow

    Lincoln Team: Marriott, McAuley, Morgan, McCombe, Hughes, Beevers (Frecklington 60), Kerr, Brown, Robinson (Birch 76), Forrester, Green (Yeo 60)
    Subs: (not used) Mayo, Cryan

    Attendance: 8,037  Report

    Prediction

    Lincoln 1-0 Town

    Reader's POMs

    Directions

    Click on the link for directions to Sincil Bank (left).

    Pubs

    Click on the link for pubs close to Sincil Bank.

    Add To Facebook


    This site is by the fans, for the fans, and we will consider articles on any subject relating to the Mariners whether it be related to current news, a nostalgic look back in the past, a story about a player, a game or games in the past, something about Blundell Park or football in general. Click here to submit your article!


    Related Stories


    Forum Latest
    Thread TitlePostsLatest Post
    No Docks Stadium23Gaffer5829/03 12:53
    Youth players out on loan23dapperz fun pub29/03 11:38
    "Beat the Clock"  Barrow26WOZOFGRIMSBY29/03 11:34
    Prediction Thread Barrow A41WOZOFGRIMSBY29/03 11:33
    David Artell Interview Dn35 Podcast22GrimPol29/03 10:36
    Dn35 podcast drinking game7Yarborough Vaults29/03 07:44
    TV Games/Upcoming Fixtures4SiteBot29/03 03:30
    Just Back 170diehardmariner28/03 20:03
    New Training Ground.!!57Sigone28/03 19:38
    Bradford KO time?4JK4728/03 13:13