REPORT | GRIMSBY TOWN 5 ARGYLE 1
Grimsby Town 5
Smith 10
Efete 33
Kiernan 39, 58
Glennon 45
Argyle 1
Randell 5
In a season of supreme highs, Argyle suffered a painful low to exit the FA Cup with a heavy defeat at Grimsby Town.
The Pilgrims actually got off to an ideal start, Adam Randell rifling home an early opener, but the Mariners responded through Andy Smith and surged into a 4-1 half-time lead with further strikes by Michee Efete, Brendan Kiernan and Anthony Glennon.
A difficult day was complete when Kiernan grabbed a fifth before the hour and Argyle’s FA Cup journey is over for this season.
Argyle boss Steven Schumacher made five changes from the Devon derby win over Exeter, Matt Butcher, Ryan Hardie, Conor Grant, Nigel Lonwijk and teenager Will Jenkins Davies coming in for James Wilson, Niall Ennis, Bali Mumba, Morgan Whittaker and Jordan Houghton.
Under manager Paul Hurst, Grimsby are sitting in mid-table of Sky Bet League, having lost their previous two games against Hartlepool and Barrow, and the home side were under immediate pressure, Brendan Galloway narrowly missing the target from a corner.
Moments later, Argyle had the lead. Grant took a quick throw to Hardie on the edge of the box and when he tried to turn his man, the ball was poked loose for Randell to lash a terrific low strike from 20 yards into the bottom corner.
Grimsby goalkeeper Max Crocombe had no chance with the goal but his side responded well, Alex Hunt having a shot deflected over Mike Cooper’s crossbar before the Mariners drew level, Smith heading home from close range after a corner from Glennon.
The home side looked to continue the momentum with a clever flick from Kiernan releasing Gavan Holohan and Argyle were indebted to a combination of Lonwijk and Cooper to block the effort at full stretch.
A frustrating and disjointed season for Grant took another unfortunate twist on 24 minutes, as he was forced off through injury, replaced by Mumba.
After a spell of midfield sparring, the Mariners snatched the lead when a short corner created room for a near-post cross that looped off the head of former Torquay defender Efete and dropped agonisingly beyond the grasp of Cooper.
A tough afternoon for the Greens got even tougher six minutes before the break, as Grimsby surged down the right and a fizzing low cross from Harry Clifton was flicked past Cooper by Kiernan, with Argyle suffering the added pain of Dan Scarr picking up an injury in the build-up to be replaced by Wilson.
A good save from Cooper thwarted Holohan but Grimsby still took full advantage of the six minutes of injury time, adding a fourth from Glennon, and the second-half mountain had taken on Everest proportions.
Ennis and Whittaker for Jenkins Davies and Sam Cosgrove were Argyle’s half-time switches, and the Pilgrims found some spark with a delightfully fluid move that culminated in a Butcher shot charged down by the Grimsby defence.
Whittaker tried his luck from distance, comfortably saved by Crocombe, and the game was up for Argyle when Kiernan notched his second of the game with a powerful volley.
Kiernan flashed a shot wide before youngster Caleb Roberts was introduced for Galloway, but this was a rare day to forget for Argyle.
Grimsby: 1 Max Crocombe; 2 Michee Efete (32 Jordan Cropper 85), 3 Anthony Glennon, 6 Luke Waterfall (capt). 8 Gavan Holohan (19 Lewis Richardson 77), 11 Otis Khan (30 Evan Khouri 77), 15 Harry Clifton, 16 Alex Hunt, 17 Bryn Morris, 26 Andy Smith, 27 Brendan Kiernan (21 Keke Simmonds 77). Substitutes (not used): 35 Jamie Pardington (gk), 5 Shaun Pearson, 22 Danny Amos, 31 Niall Maher.
Booked: Khan 49, Smith 87
Argyle: 1 Mike Cooper; 21 Nigel Lonwijk, 6 Dan Scarr (5 James Wilson 42), 22 Brendan Galloway (49 Caleb Roberts 75), 8 Joe Edwards (capt), 20 Adam Randell, 7 Matt Butcher, 15 Conor Grant (17 Bali Mumba 24), 44 Will Jenkins Davies (19 Morgan Whittaker H-T), 9 Ryan Hardie, 16 Sam Cosgrove (11 Niall Ennis H-T). Substitutes (not used): 25 Callum Burton (gk), 37 Brandon Pursall, 43 Oscar Halls, 48 Freddie Issaka.
Booked: Butcher 70
Attendance: 4,571 (338 away)
Referee: Thomas Parsons