Player Ratings - Grimsby Away

I can't justifiably mark on the sixty-ish minutes I saw, thanks to the pile of **** that is iFollow.

However I can relay my thoughts on what I did see.

It seemed to be a fairly evenly matched game until the goal, when we had the ball we were using it quite well however our central midfield was outnumbered and looked like they were struggling a bit. Following the goal (and subsequent substitution) any confidence Grimsby had left seemed to vanish into the ether. It looked like they had some decent players with lots of quick feet, but lacked a bit of defensive steel and composure in the final third...

From what I saw, Etuhu was totally anonymous and plank-like on the left wing - which made the whole midfield four disjointed. Lambe was working inside quite well to help Jones & Joyce out (who were often swarmed out of possession) but Etuhu was AWOL. When we brought the fifth midfielder on (Devitt) Grimsby couldn't get the ball off us and we looked almost totally dominant. However, I'm not sure whether this was due to the fact we had a genuine wide midfielder playing in his correct position to balance the team - or whether pushing Etuhu into the middle of the park (also his correct position) gave Joyce & Jones the support they needed centrally. Maybe if I'm honest - it was a little bit of both of those things. Maybe I'm biased against Etuhu because I don't reckon he's shown anywhere near enough to be picked ahead of Devitt and also think only an idiot would play him on the left. He should play in the centre of the park or not at all - we have plenty of players who would be a better fit out wide.

When I was lucky enough to catch some first half action I witnessed three scoring opportunities. Some schoolboy defending from a corner gave Grimsby an excellent opportunity at the far post from a corner - their player was totally unmarked and connected well with his header and for all the world it looked like a goal - however either Bonham or one of our defenders managed to get something on it to prevent that. If it was Bonham - fair play to him, I've given him plenty of stick - but if he saved this it was top drawer.

The other two chances fell to Bennett and Lambe. Both players need to be good enough to score one on one from seven yards out. I have a small amount of sympathy with Bennett, when you're coached you're taught to place the ball hard and low by the goalkeeper's feet as this is the most difficult place for him to get down to - so technically, Bennett did everything right. However, goalkeepers also know you're coached to do this and at league level you have to show a little more technique in this situation. Lambe beat the keeper, but missed the target - which is unusual as he's arguably our most effective player in these situations.

Second half and all the credit in the world goes to Gary Liddle for an excellent cross to create our goal. And it's absolutely fitting the scorer was Clint Hill as their partnership is the cornerstone of our improved run of form. Two consecutive clean sheets in the league and a well worked goal between them which turned one point into three this morning. The real test for them will be on Tuesday night at free scoring Luton (with it being Hill's second game in three days) - to come out of Tuesday with their confidence intact is more important for us in the medium term than the result. I'd seriously consider resting Hill, letting him recover for Saturday, and giving Parkes a start at Luton. The pressure's off a little with the win and points today - three points from two away games is not all bad - and I'd rather have a rested Hill against Morecambe. I feel like half the reason we switched to a midfield five by the end of the game was to prepare for Tuesday night, to start 4-4-2 would seem slightly unhinged - 4-5-1 with Parkes in for Hill and Hope upfront is what I'd probably start with on Tuesday...

So also fair play to Hallam Hope, again he did a decent job working the Grimsby back four today. But the work rate and focus seemed much more focused and improved from earlier in the season. I still think we need a better quality forward in the squad who has a genuine threat (and brain) rather than just nuisance value, but as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 Hope (currently) shades it from either Bennett or Miller.

I'm contradicting myself a little by saying we should switch to 4-5-1 for the Luton game, especially as we've won twice without conceding playing 4-4-2 (which we should've been playing for much longer). But what would you do? Engage Luton in an open contest? Anyway, fair play to the Manager for finally attacking and for sticking with 4-4-2 this afternoon (despite playing Etuhu on the left), we're now trying to win games rather than trying not to lose them - and it has made all the difference.

Thanks Piglet. From their message board before the game there were comments that Grimsby had ditched a bit of experience in favour of younger, speedier players, probably because Grainger is quite slow and Hill is getting on. Luckily that seemed to also introduce a bit of naivety and luckily our keeper dealt with their threats. Their fans were quite upbeat about the changes, though that turned by the end.