GRIMSBY TOWN 2
McAtee 69, Maguire-Drew 111
Hudlin 45+1
After extra-time
By Andy Mitchell at London Stadium
GRIMSBY Town saw through the longest of hauls to seal the quickest of returns to the Football League thanks to substitute Jordan Maguire-Drew’s extra-time winner.
The relentless Mariners went the 120-minute distance for the third time in this season’s play-offs, coming back from behind to beat Solihull Moors 2-1 at the London Stadium having overhauled deficits at Notts County and Wrexham in the previous stages.
And while history repeated itself, Paul Hurst’s troops refused to let it dictate as they became the lowest-placed finishers to gain promotion through the end-of-season shootout.
It was no less than Grimsby deserved having grown into then dominated the first half only for Kyle Hudlin to land a sucker punch.
The waves of pressure kept coming and the Mariners had lift-off when John McAtee unerringly picked out the bottom corner of on-song Joe McDonnell’s net.
Extra-time did not live up to the pulsating 90 minutes that had preceded it but the belief of Hurst’s men and the huge support behind them was never shaken and in swept Maguire-Drew to force home the winner from a long throw nine minutes from the end.
THE ACTION
Solihull almost had an early breakthrough but Callum Howe could not quite pick his spot through a mass of black and white shirts after defensive partner Alex Gudger flicked on Joe Sbarra’s second-minute corner.
The opening exchanges were open and stretched with Moors targetman Hudlin almost having an impact at the other end, dangling a stray leg while defending Jordan Cropper’s long throw into the box and forcing Joe McDonnell to stretch to his right and claw away.
Another Sbarra corner saw Howe go within a whisker of breaking the deadlock, the towering centre-half picked out at the far post to head down and back across goal but narrowly wide as the crowd drew breath.
From there the Mariners enjoyed a spell of sustained pressure but a stray pass back gave Solihull’s top scorer Andrew Dallas a sniff, cutting inside with Max Crocombe doing well to adjust and paw away his shot following a sizeable deflection.
Grimsby turned up the heat and after a series of blocked efforts began to find ways to test Solihull keeper Joe McDonnell.
Ryan Taylor laid off for Gavan Holohan to fire straight at McDonnell on the run, while McAtee’s deft touch on the right released Erico Sousa to steer low to the far post only for Harry Clifton to somehow lift over the gaping goal.
The irrepressible Sousa was soon at it again, this time trying a rising near-post shot that stung the palms of McDonnell but Solihull provided the sting in the tail through the move of half.
Harry Boyes, who had endured a torrid time trying to shackle Sousa, was picked out on the left to lift into Dallas’s well-timed run, the Scot nudging to Sbarra who dug out the cross from the left that Hudlin steamed through the crowd to power home with a downward header from six yards.
Half-time: Grimsby Town 0 Solihull Moors 1
Grimsby had the look of the wounded animal early in the second half, another jinking Sousa run ending with Holohan’s tame shot that Clifton’s flick took wide and McAtee’s instinctive swing on the half volley bending away from McDonnell but marginally over the bar.
There was a lull in chances either side of Hudlin’s withdrawal with a swollen and half-closed eye, caused by a clash of heads, but the Mariners came again, McAtee fed down the right of the box only to have his run tracked and shot deflected off target by Howe.
The corner that followed resulted in some penalty area pinball with Moors again assured in putting bodies in the right place at the right time but a sloppy pass handed McAtee the kind of opportunity he rarely passes up.
Kyle Storer’s ball out as Solihull ran out from deep was intercepted by Maguire-Drew who threaded Grimsby’s answer to Jack Grealish down the right to guidedlow inside the far post.
Just like the opener had, the equaliser sparked an immediate reaction with Solihull swarming forward and Dallas passing up a great chance, glancing over from eight yards a header from Ryan Barnett’s teasing cross.
It became like a basketball match for a while with Dallas cynically halted en route to the box by the backtracking Cropper and Sbarra thwarted amid the scramble from the free-kick that followed.
A defensive header up rather than out presented Gudger with a presentable opening with six minutes left but he planted over and an even bigger chance then came Grimsby’s way.
The tireless Ben Fox guided to Maguire-Drew whose low centre was met by the sliding McAtee but the touch was not strong enough to prevent it being diverted wide of the far post.
Full-time: Grimsby Town 1 Solihull Moors 1
With the pendulum having failed to swing decisively, the full-throttle nature dissipated in an opening 15 minutes of extra-time littered with fouls and dictated by tired caution.
The decider arrived when Cropper wound up one of his trademark long throws with Dallas getting under the ball and heading across his own goal for Maguire-Drew to scramble inside the far post.
Changes and throwing Howe up top did little to further the Moors cause and, in truth, there was not too much for Grimsby to repel as an immediate return to League Two was sealed, much to Hurst’s delight.
“I am just so happy and over the moon for these fans and for the new owners,” he said.
“This introduction to football has been far too easy for them, although we nearly killed them off a couple of times in recent weeks!
“Towards the end we looked like we were losing one or two players to fatigue but I also felt Solihull’s players started to drop. Let’s be honest, it got a bit messy towards the end but I don’t really care at the minute.”
On the decisive goal, Hurst added: “I didn’t have a great view of it but I had seen a flick. I thought it was going to go just past the post.
“We speak about the back-post area so much and how players must get there, it drives me mad when you see a ball fly past.
“Many moons ago, when I was a youngster, I scored quite a few goals in that area. You know the importance of it and I don’t think that has changed over time.
“Credit to Jordan, almost every time he has been involved he seems to have a moment – setting up a goal, a chance or getting a goal himself.
“We had a proper chat the other day and the message went across to him in the right way. That was his reward.”
Solihull boss Neal Ardley said: “I have players in tears and that shows you what it means to them.
“Finals are always very tight affairs and one team rarely dominates and wins comfortably and I thought it was nip and tuck throughout the game.
“It was always going to be a fine margin that decided it and unfortunately that went against us.
“I told the players that there was always going to be a winner and loser in the game and there is more to life than winning and losing. We showed our class by clapping the opposition as they picked up the trophy. They deserved it, they went through three lots of extra-time.”
Grimsby (4-2-3-1): Crocombe 8; Cropper 7, Waterfall 8, Smith 7, Amos 6; Fox 9, Holohan 7 (Abrahams, 100, 7); Sousa 8 (Maguire-Drew, 66, 8), McAtee 8 (Raikhy, 90+3, 6), Clifton 7; Taylor 7 (Dieseruvwe, 81, 7).
Unused sub: Pearson.
Solihull (4-1-4-1): McDonnell 8; Clarke 7, Howe 9, Gudger 8, Boyes 6; Storer 6; Barnett 6, Maycock 6 (Ellis, 114, 6), Sbarra 7 (Reilly, 109, 6), Dallas 6 (McNally, 116, 6); Hudlin 7 (Newton, 58, 6).
Unused sub: Myatt.
STAR MAN: Ben Fox.
ATTENDANCE: 22,897.
