by Walton Stag » Tue Mar 10, 2020 5:08 pm
Firstly, let me say that the match was played in a howling gale, blowing across the pitch, making it nigh on impossible to play good football. Grimsby’s side consisted mainly of youth teamers with the odd sprinkling of first team players returning from injury, contrasting greatly with our side which contained Clarke, Preston, White, Benning, McDonald, Evans, Davies, Knowles and Sinclair. Jordan Graham started but went off injured early in the first half to be replaced, I think, by Hill.
For an hour, Mansfield were appalling. They didn’t string two passes together. Sinclair got very frustrated and was lucky to only get booked for a shocking tackle, borne, I suspect, out of frustration with the total lack of service in the first half. McDonald,already on a yellow, clattered Grimsby’s number 10 right in front of me. A second yellow all day long but the referee only issued a stern talking to. He was very, very lucky not to go. The young lad was in some pain and took no further part in the game.
On this display, I think Preston already knows he will not be here next season and, I suspect, so does Davies who did absolutely nothing all afternoon. White, Benning and Clarke looked as though they were interested but, based on this evidence, I cannot see Evans kicking a ball in the first team.
Knowles was busy and missed a couple of reasonable chances and Sinclair was more in the game second half and showed glimpses of talent. The young keeper, Campbell, was not at fault for either goal but had very little else to do.
On this display, the season can’t come soon enough for some of these.
