David Artell's team put up a great fight, with just one goal scored against them
Jayden Sweeney during the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Grimsby Town FC and Wolves FC at Blundell Park(Image: Jon Corken)
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Grimsby Town put up a valiant effort but ultimately fell short in their FA Cup fourth round tie, losing 1-0 to Premier League outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers at Blundell Park. Santiago Bueno’s goal just short of the hour mark was enough for the struggling top-flight side to edge through in tough conditions, with the Mariners remaining competitive throughout the contest.
However, Town did not quite have enough to beat a top-tier team for the second time this term. David Artell made six changes to the starting lineup from the midweek league victory over Accrington Stanley, with Tyrell Warren, Jayden Sweeney, Geza David Turi, Evan Khouri, Charles Vernam and Jaze Kabia all returning.
It was perhaps a surprising amount of rotation for such a game, but with another big midweek league clash to follow against a fellow play-off chaser in Walsall to come, Artell perhaps had one eye on that fixture. The covers had been on the Blundell Park pitch in the days after the Accrington game to protect it as much as possible against the elements, but the rain continued to fall before kick-off on an already sodden surface.
They were playing conditions the Town’s Premier League opponents would not have been accustomed to, and they were almost caught cold straight away as they struggled to clear their line inside the first minute. Vernam picked up the loose ball, cut inside and fired a low shot just past the far post with Sam Johnstone diving across to make sure his effort did go wide.
Darragh Burns during the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Grimsby Town FC and Wolves FC at Blundell Park(Image: Jon Corken)
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The ball was holding up in the muddier areas of the pitch, particularly in the two penalty areas, which meant the goalkeepers and defenders could not leave anything to chance. Wolves slowly got to grips with the adverse conditions, and it was a direct ball forward that produced their first chance, with Tolu Akodare running through and knocking over an onrushing Jackson Smith and over the bar.
Chances were few and far between from open play in the first half, but the visitors went as close as either team had been to scoring from a free-kick, with Cameron McJannet fouling Adam Armstrong just outside the box. Joao Gomes took the deadball and struck the top off the crossbar, with Town eventually managing to clear their lines as the ball looped back up into play after it struck the woodwork.
Jamie Walker had a cleanly-hit volley that looked to be heading goalwards blocked bravely by a Wolves defender as Town applied more pressure to the visitors’ penalty area towards the end of the first period. Shortly after, a short corner produced a better chance for the Mariners as Tyrell Warren sailed in at the far post to meet Darragh Burns’ inswinging cross, heading just over.
Town got through to the second half with the scores level, but they almost gifted Wolves the lead early in the second half as Smith’s scuffed clearance rolled straight to Armstrong in the box, who fired over. Walker had a well-hit effort blocked in the first half, but no one was in the way as he came onto a dropping ball just inside the box, volleying just wide of the near post from the left side of the penalty area.
Evan Khouri during the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Grimsby Town FC and Wolves FC at Blundell Park(Image: Jon Corken)
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Just short of the hour mark, after a period of forward pressure, the visitors did get the go-ahead goal as Gomes’ cutback smashed off the big centre-back Bueno and in from close range after Town had failed to clear their lines. Town looked to respond quickly from a corner a couple of minutes later, but bodies were in the way to block Harvey Rodgers’ shot inside the box as the ball fell to him.
Wolves pushed for a second goal to close out the tie as Akodare fired over again after the ball was worked towards him in a central position just outside the area. They could not find that clincher, and Town continued to push at the other end in the final few minutes of normal time, with a substitute Andy Cook heading into the hands of a grateful Johnstone as he met a deep cross at the back post.
Tyrell Sellars-Fleming was then denied by a last-ditch challenge as he looked to shoot, the goalscorer Bueno getting across to stop a goal-bound shot inside the box. Ultimately, one goal was enough for Wolves, who did just enough in and amongst the rain and the mud to avoid a cup upset and move on to the fifth round.
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