Victory for the Mariners at Blundell Park despite going down to 10 men
Grimsby Town got back to winning ways as they held on for a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Bromley at home after going down to ten men late in the contest.
Kieran Green was dismissed for a second yellow with five minutes of normal time to play, with Town going ahead in the game early in the second half thanks to a Danny Rose penalty. Seven minutes were added on at the end of the game, but the Mariners held on for what they hope will be a momentum-shifting victory after back-to-back defeats in the previous two.
Town had an early breakaway chance with Charles Vernam finding himself with the ball in a two versus one situation as Bromley were caught with men forward. Vernam broke into the box and slid the ball across to Jason Dadi Svanthorsson, who let it run across him before trying to slot past Grant Smith, who made a good stop to deny him.
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After the initial burst of energy from Town, the next 15 minutes were fairly quiet in terms of chances, but Vernam had another sight at goal on the 20th-minute mark when Evan Khouri managed to hold up the ball on the edge of the Bromley area and feed it to him to shoot.
After winning Goal of the Month for August with an effort from a similar angle, Vernam could not keep his swerving effort under the crossbar in this instance. Unfortunately for the Grimsby winger, that would be his last involvement in the game as he pulled up after stretching for a high ball, looking as though he had tweaked his hamstring in the process which saw him pulled off for Luca Barrington.
Jake Eastwood was glad to be unchallenged for the opening half-an-hour of the game, but he stepped up to save a well-struck volley from Besart Topalloj on the edge of the box as it looped out from a long throw.
Overall, Town were frustrated in the first half, unable to break through the low block of Bromley who allowed them to have the ball in with the centre-backs up to the halfway line but were solid in their defensive shape beyond that.
Grimsby stepped up the intensity on the ball to start the second half, and their persistence paid off as the ball broke for Kieran Green to move into the Bromley box, and he was felled by Jude Arthers in the area with the referee subsequently pointing to the spot.
Town skipper Danny Rose stepped up and converted the penalty, knocking the ball low to the goalkeeper’s left, to give his team the breakthrough they craved.
The visitors looked for a swift reply, and a great chance fell to the right man in Michael Cheek, but the Bromley frontman headed over with a half-empty goal to aim at with Eastwood off-centre.
The game opened up in the final 20 minutes with legs tiring, but Artell did not feel he had the right players on the bench for the situation, opting not to make any changes until the final ten.
Bromley were pushing further forward in search of an equaliser, and another opening was created for Cheek, with substitute Lewis Leigh finding the former with an inswinging cross. Still, the Bromley striker could not guide his effort on target.
Town were already sinking into a defensive shape, and a second yellow card for Green ensured it would be a nervy finish for the Mariners as they went down a man. Bromley rattled the crossbar in the sixth minute of stoppage time from a deflected cross, and luckily for Town that was as close as they came to drawing level.