The League Two relegation yo-yo battle rumbles on; Boro’ looking and hoping to swap places with Morecambe. Again. So far, both us and them haven’t been able to drag anyone else into this little thing we got going at the foot of the table. That’s even when Macclesfield Town get points taken off them too. But, another game means another chance to go ever-so-slightly up the rankings. It’s to Grimsby Town we go – a side only eight points ahead of us right now.
Our record this season, however, makes that gap sound much bigger. So, is there any chance we can we make it a bit smaller? If only for our peace of mind…
Grimsby Town v Stevenage: The Preview…
Grimsby Town – who are they?
It took more than two months to come – but come it eventually did. In beating the Mariners indoors earlier this term, we finally put a league win to our name. But victories are still very much thin on the ground and it looks like we need Grimsby’s help once more. Since we were smashed by them in our first-ever meeting, we’re now gone six meetings without ending up on the losing side. It’d do us the world of good to make that run go on a little longer if we can.
We trust there are no objections from the Grimsby side?
Our Record vs Grimsby Town: P 7 — W 5 — D 1 — L 1 — F 12 — A 7 — Pts 16
Last time out: Stevenage 2-1 Grimsby Town, 12 October 2019
How are Grimsby Town doing so far this season?
Now, let’s look past the fact our home record is currently the worst in the division for just a minute or two. It ain’t happy days at home for The Mariners either. Sure, they’ve played 13 indoors to our 15. But their haul of 13 points is only one better than ours. It’s something for us to clutch at, innit? When you’re bottom of the Football League, you gotta take what you can. And that’s the only real bone that we can chuck you at the moment.
We *might* have caught The Mariners at a good time too. Starting from Boxing Day, they had gone on a nice little run of league form; picking up nine points from 15. It’s now two defeats on the spin, however. Make of that what you will. It’s not like we’ve been shy in helping stricken sides off the rocks this term. The same applies when you see that they’ve let in at least one in 77% of all their home league games; failing to score in more than half of them.
Tell us something we don’t know about Grimsby Town
You’d think the record attendance for a game at Old Trafford would involve Man Utd – no? No. And, no, it wasn’t our League Two playoff final against Torquay either. Back in 1939, a FA Cup Semi Final involving Wolves and Grimsby Town holds that honour; 76,962 packing in for a record that still stands today. The Mariners lost their keeper to injury early doors and, ‘cos they couldn’t make a sub, had to play a man down with an outfield player in goal.
They lost 5-0.
What are the bookies’ odds for this game?
The bookies are (of course) edging towards a home win and you can’t blame ’em. A best price of 117/100 (Marathon) will see you get your stake back and a little extra. Bigger returns are to be had on the away win, though. We’ve seen 16/5 (Bet365) – a nice Tuesday triple threat. We’re also eyeing BTTS, which is Yes at 23/20 (Boylesports) or 15/13 (Sportingbet). Don’t blame us if the price changed in the time it’s taken us to get this through our printing press.
Don’t forget – be responsible. And when the fun stops, stop.
Which Grimsby Town player should we watch out for?
Now on the wrong side of 30, James Hanson is now a veteran – whether you think that or not. It’s a young man’s game these days, after all. We feels it ourselves. But this means he has experience to put to use. With six goals and four assists to his name so far, Hanson has been a decent summer 2019 signing. Most of his goals came at the top end of term. But he’ll (and Grimsby will) be hoping a goal against Crawley last time out will see him start back up.
Who is our ref for this match?
Tom Nield. It’s the first time this season for us and Mr Nield. And, truth be told, we’d rather the Football League put his name back in the hat and gave us someone else. We’d even take Trevor Kettle. Five previous times has Mr Nield taken charge of us. And all we have to show for it is a single point from our 2018 trip to Morecambe. Apart from that, we’ve always lost to nil. Not what you want to hear when you need goals and points by the bucket load, is it?
Our Record: P 5 — W 0 — D 1 — L 4 — F 1 — A 10
Last time out: Bury 4-0 Stevenage, 17 November 2018
And, finally, what do you reckon?
Grimsby Town v Stevenage scorecast: 1-1
