Glossop 31 Grimsby 0
A Nightmare start away to Glossop shattered Grimsby's hopes of climbing the Midlands Three North (East) table. And the misery of a 31-0 beating was compounded by a two-point penalty kicking in for cancelling a fixture earlier this season. Two became none and the Blues 1st XV are joint bottom with Ashfield.
In a terrible first 20 minutes, Grimsby shipped four tries with defensive disarray, poor tackling and a marked lack of aggression. The Glossop fly-half was given far too much time and ran the game. His long passes put those outside him into space and several booming kicks penned the visitors back. With the continued lack of front row players, veteran second-rower Nigel Kempthorne came out of first team retirement again to fill in at prop fresh from a family party. He did not look out of place and was part of an improved scrummaging performance. The lineout was less successful as the Blues backs lacked quality ball to attack. But after the first quarter, the bare squad of 16, one of which was injured, battled back. They upped the aggression to hold out until half-time.
The visitors dominated the second half and were camped in Glossop's right corner. Attack after attack was thwarted and the backs should have been used to vary the play. With 10 minutes to go, Glossop cleared their lines. A last-minute try took advantage of tired Grimsby legs after the team had tried so hard to salvage something.