Toolstation NCEL Division One
Grimsby Borough 3-0 Glasshoughton Welfare
Glasshoughton striker Andy Horbury on the attack
It wasn’t to be for brave Glasshoughton Welfare as the play-offs semi-final tie at Grimsby Borough proved to be a bridge too far.
An early double from Luke Mascall and a late Callum Lovett goal saw Grimsby home, but the score-line does not reflect just how well Glasshoughton performed. More luck in front of goal at the start of the second half and it would have been an interesting final half-an-hour. Even without a goal, surprise-package Glasshoughton were still very much in the contest until the last few minutes when Lovett headed home.
Darren Holmes and Lee Vigars did revert away from their tried and trusted 4-4-2 formation – one that has worked so well during the club’s great run since October – to a disciplined 4-5-1 line-up with danger man Andy Horbury upfront on his own.
The plan, as Holmes said in his post-match interview, was to keep Grimsby at bay in the first half and then release the shackles as the game progressed.
It worked to a small degree. Glasshoughton played well and enjoyed a lot of the ball in the first half. They were solid on a whole, but two key moments early doors left them with a mountain to climb.
After just three minutes, Welfare fell asleep at the back and Mascall suddenly found himself bearing down on visiting goalkeeper Mat Zaniewski. The stopper made himself big, but Mascall squeezed the ball home to consign Welfare to a disastrous start.
Most of the action then took place down the other end for a good spell. Grimsby goalkeeper Scott Drury did his best to help the visitors with several moments of almost kamikaze defending. You’d have thought he had just stepped off an aeroplane and was a bit jet-lagged.
Glasshoughton’s best chance of the half came from a break down the left. An onside Rob Oldham accelerated away and sent in a lovely low cross to the far post towards unmarked wing wizard Connor Rollinson. Rollinson got a good connection on his shot, but he was unable to get it on target.
Against the run of play, Grimsby added their second. Daniel Trott broke down the right and and his cross was steered into the net by Mascall.
Despite being 2-0 down, Glasshoughton still had a lot of hope. Grimsby themselves were in the same situation 12 months ago when trailed Hallam before coming back to win 3-2.
Welfare went 4-4-2 and caused their hosts more problems. Of all the moments that they might reflect on again, it will be Horbury’s chance eight minutes into the second half. Horbury breached Grimsby’s back-line after running onto right-back Alex Marsh’s delightful defence-splitting ball. The striker’s superb first touch gave him the edge in the battle and his shot beat Drury. Unfortunately it was flashed wide. The fact at least five Glasshoughton players had their hands on their head told just how much of a big moment it was.
As the hour mark approached, Welfare brought on their heavy artillery in Tom Carr, an attacker capable of pulling rabbits out of hats as the situation was really do-or-die. The visitors soon went 4-3-3 when youngster Ryan Ferguson was introduced.
The changes made the game wide open and chances flowed at either end. Zaniewski made a terrific stop to deny Mascall his hat-trick.
Conor Glavin then forced a now-awake Drury to make a terrific save from his well-hit free kick.
Horbury also nearly scored with a close range header.
It was probably at that moment that you realised it wasn’t going to be Glasshoughton’s night and within a matter of minutes, Lovett had sealed it with a bullet header from Caine Winfarrah’s corner.
Even in the death throes, the ball would just not go in for Holmes and Vigars’ men as Horbury twice broke clear and was denied by Drury.
Although defeat is a disappointment, the Glasshoughton players should be really proud of themselves. They are the club’s best team since the Craig Elliott glory era and they have put themselves in a great position to seriously challenge for the top two next season.
One defeat doesn’t make the season a failure. This campaign has been a major success for Glasshoughton, their best since 2012.
Alex Marsh defending for Glasshoughton
Lewis Akeister in action for Glasshoughton
Sam Pashley makes a superb last ditch tackle to deny Grimsby striker Daniel Trott
The Teams
Grimsby Borough: S Drury, Debham (captain), Steel, Lovett (Lamplough 82), Smythe, Sunter, A Drury (Peers 58), Venney, Trott, Mascall (Petronzio 77), Winfarrah. Subs unused: Bradbury, Morrall.
Glasshoughton Welfare: Zaniewski, Marsh, Kay, Hunter (captain), Pashley, Walsh, Oldham (Dyson 72), Akeister (Carr 58), Horbury, Glavin, Rollinson (Ferguson 63). Subs unused: Wilshire, Horn.
Who Was In Charge
Matt Tyers (10/10)
How Many Were There
143
Welfare Man of the Match
Gaz Hunter (Glasshoughton Welfare)
Gaz Hunter has proven himself to be a great Glasshoughton Welfare captain
Captain brave-heart Hunter’s influence as skipper is immense. His leadership skills came to the fore eight minutes into the second half when the ball went dead and he looked across at Alex Marsh and said “Alex keep going, we can still do this”. Within 20 seconds Marsh had won the ball back and sent Andy Horbury away. Despite the adversity of the two-goal deficit, Hunter massively helped keep Welfare’s heart beating.