Grimsby 0 Matlock 30
Grimsby had been unable to fulfil the cup fixture with Mansfield the previous week citing a crippling injury list. This week the Blues managed to put a side together, but by the end of the afternoon were in an even worse situation.
The visitors arrived early and were obviously keen to avenge the defeat Grimsby had recorded over them on their own ground.
Straight from the start it seemed that Matlock had the edge, with their back row scavenging well all over the pitch. Grimsby seemed unable to string more than a few phases of play together, and had to rely on kicking the ball upfield to clear their lines.
Matlock gradually worked into the Grimsby half, and from well moved ball from a scrum, a gap appeared in the Grimsby midfield. This allowed the Matlock outside centre to draw his man and feed the left winger with acres of space to play in. The outside duly accepted and sprinted over the line to record the first score. Even worse for Grimsby was the fact that Saunders had dislocated his shoulder in an attempted tackle, and with his season over had to leave the pitch. The conversion was successful.
Grimsby had no backs replacement on the bench, so a quick reshuffle saw Newman move to scrum half from the back row, and Montague join the pack.
Matlock continued to apply pressure, and a number of quickly recycled ball saw them again create space for the winger to zoom away. Veteran full back Clayton made the tackle on the line, but the Matlock winger was able to reach over to score. The conversion was a success.
Unfortunately, in the process of trying to stop the Matlock speedster, Clayton suffered a nasty gash over his eye, and as he left the pitch for running repairs Burke joined the fray as blood replacement.
This again necessitated a move around, with Norman being banished to the wing.
Grimsby started to compete more at the breakdown, but often fell foul of the referee's interpretations of the law. These infringements allowed Matlock to move downfield with easy ground made.
After the application of what appeared to be several miles of bandage, Clayton was able to rejoin the game, but resembled Pudsey Bear with one eye virtually covered.
Matlock now showed a merciless approach by sending numerous high balls out to the blinkered full back, who was struggling to judge his distances to his normal exacting standards.
The next score came from a set move, again with the winger being the recipient of ball in space. Quick ball allowed him to streak away to score his 3 rd try of the afternoon. The conversion was also good, and once more Grimsby had an injury to contend with. This time Lowery had a nasty slice to his ear and had to leave the pitch for a quick patch up.
Grimsby started the 2 nd half much stronger, with better ball retention and clearing out in the ruck being the norm. Matlock soon realised this, and were content with slowing down the home side's ball at every opportunity. It was from one such incident that a Grimsby player became infuriated and gave the Matlock 8 a jolly good punch- right in front of the ref! The subsequent penalty was kicked and Grimsby were even further behind.
Matlock seemed to have eased off a bit too, with Grimsby able to string several phases together, with Newman and Pharaoh especially coming to the fore. Unfortunately it wasn't to be enough, and Grimsby were unable to convert possession into points. Matlock were awarded another penalty for an infringement in the ruck, just inside the Grimsby half and opted to kick for goal. The kick was good and Matlock now had an unassailable lead, especially with Grimsby never really looking like scoring.
Matlock now upped the pace, with some good interpassing between forwards and backs carving the Grimsby defence to pieces. On such move reached right into the Grimsby 22, until a heroic tackle by Clayton caused a turnover and allowed the ball to be cleared. Unfortunately Clayton also injured his shoulder in the tackle and his game was over.
The final try of the match came from the Matlock prop, who burst into the line form 10 metres out at a good angle top power over the line despite the close attentions of Thomas hanging from him. The conversion was good.
The match was then over and Matlock had gained their revenge with a very solid performance. Grimsby now have to regroup and try to formulate a squad with an injury list now reaching epidemic proportions. These now include broken leg, torn ligaments, torn hamstrings, dislocated shoulders, knee injuries, back injuries and assorted cuts, gashes and grazes
The team is now seriously considering an approach to St Johns Ambulance Service to be match sponsors!!!