Grimsby Town head coach David Artell reflected on a disappointing defeat away to Notts County last night.
The Magpies were a cut above at Meadow Lane, bursting out to a 3-1 lead before the half-time break in some controversial circumstances. The Mariners’ defence appealed for offside in Alassana Jatta’s opener just five minutes into the game but did not convince the referee to overturn the decision.
Dan Crowley’s goal to double the advantage was believed to be handball, with the 27-year-old admitting to Sky Sports following the game that “It felt like a handball”. Jodi Jones capped off a fine first half with a goal just before the end of play, but a Harvey Rodgers strike may have put doubt into the home faithful.
It wasn’t to be as Crowley added his second of the game to put the contest to bed, pushing Notts County up into fourth place in the table ahead of play this weekend. Grimsby meanwhile remain on just three points thanks to their win over Cheltenham Town last time out.
Speaking to the media following the loss, former Crewe Alexandra boss Artell gave his thoughts about the performance. He said: “I thought we were our own worst enemies. We didn’t get to grips with the best man on the pitch Dan Crowley.
“Obviously it doesn’t help when he shoots and it deflects and goes into the opposite corner when it would be a routine save or he ends up being a Harlem Globetrotter in our box and the referee doesn’t spot it.
“At the same time, we didn’t track his run or get close enough to block the shot entirely. So yeah, we were our own worst enemy but also on the end of a fairly hefty dose of bad refereeing and bad luck.”
Following this second loss of the season for Town, they now have conceded the joint-most amount of goals, tied with Accrington Stanley having played a game more.
It was also an unusual trip for fans with Sky moving the fixture to Thursday night for television coverage. Artell gave his thoughts on the commitment by Mariners supporters, adding: “I appreciate it’s not the furthest away trip, but to take 1,300, 1,400 on a Thursday night when it’s thrown on you a few weeks away.
“It’s tremendous. It was tremendous at Fleetwood Town. We’ve got to get an away win for them more than anything because they deserve it.”
Grimsby welcome Championship side Sheffield Wednesday to Lincolnshire on Tuesday for their second EFL Cup fixture of the season, before welcoming first-round opponents Bradford City back to Blundell Park next weekend.
Writer’s View
David Artell rightly feels hard done by with the dubiousness of the first two Notts County goals. Jatta did look offside and it was a fairly obvious handball by Dan Crowley and neither decision was given by the officials. As he said in his post-match interview, “goals change games” and being 2-0 down within 15 minutes in those circumstances was harsh.
However, it does not make up for their poor night at the other end of the pitch. A comeback would have been fully on the cards should they have taken their chances in the first half. Ultimately that is what cost them any chance of a points haul in this match and need to learn from that in the future. They now get the luxury of a home tie against Sheffield Wednesday next week, and will be able to use the home crowd to maybe continue their EFL Cup journey.
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