Artell's praise for Grimsby Town's 'magnificent' comeback at Carlisle United
Admitting to being tactically “caught out” by Carlisle United in the first half, David Artell praised Grimsby Town’s response to go and win the game late on.
Mike Williamson was taking charge of his first home game as Carlisle boss on Saturday, and he set up his team differently from what Artell and his coaching staff had predicted initially, and the messages they passed on to the team were made redundant.
2-1 down at half-time with a 17-year-old youth team apprentice in goal - it was a tough situation for Town to come back from. However, tactical and personnel changes made the difference in the end as Artell’s side came roaring back in the second half, building momentum as the game progressed to the latter stages.
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Lewis Cass and Harvey Rodgers headed in goals inside the final ten minutes of normal time to flip the game on its head, to the obvious delight of their head coach.
“The players were magnificent second half,” said Artell. “Did we deserve three points? Possibly. The manner and the character they showed from half-time.
“We got caught out tactically [at the start] - they’ve got a new manager and we thought they would do something else but they did something different to what we told our players.
“We’ve got 1-0 down and lost our keeper. We had an 18-year-old kid going on the pitch, we’ve come through some adversity there. We’ve got a pretty hefty injury crisis and I thought the lads showed unbelievable character.
“We’ve won it right at the death and we’re really pleased. A lot has been made about away form and back-to-back wins, but ultimately you’ve got to go and do it.
“It felt like it would be another one of those days when we go a goal down and you’re putting an 18-year-old lad, an apprentice on the pitch in goal, and I thought he was outstanding with the composure he showed.”
Cass was brought on at half-time and scored the equaliser, with fellow substitutes Jason Dadi Svanthorsson and Cameron Gardner linking up to win the corner that he scored from. Callum Ainley was also brought on in the second half and set up the winner, so all four outfield changes influenced the result as Town played the squad game to perfection.
“Our subs were really important,” added Artell. “We grew into the game with the help of them, one was enforced of course but the four outfield subs were really crucial.
“They showed the value of the squad we’ve got - we weren’t comfortable with how the game was going [in the first half], but when we made the tweaks we had much more control because we were setting the traps properly and they couldn’t play through us as much.
“I can sit here and say all that [about the tactics], but ultimately, it’s about the players, and they carried it out to the letter and got their rewards in the end.”
Seb Auton was brought on in goal from the 16th minute, directly after Carlisle’s opener as Jake Eastwood badly cut his knee trying to keep the ball out of the net. The former had a professional debut to remember, and Artell provided an update on the latter’s condition.
He explained: “He’s [Eastwood] got a huge gash on his knee. We think he’s done that sliding into the metal at the back of the goal. We’re not sure if he’s ruptured his patella tendon.
“We’re hoping it’s just a massive gash. He’s in the hospital and we’ll find out in the next few hours.”