Grimsby Town: 2009 FA Cup repeat could be detrimental to League Two promotion hopes | OneFootball

Grimsby will be hoping to get back on track with their home form in Saturday's FA Cup clash with Wealdstone, and avoid a similar upset to that of 2009

Grimsby Town has struggled at home of late, and will be hoping to put an end to that is Saturday's FA Cup First Round match against National League side Wealdstone on the East Coast.

Three back-to-back Blundell Park setbacks against Doncaster Rovers, Walsall, and MK Dons have been in stark contrast to David Artell's side's form on the road, and that inconsistency perhaps shows they're still very much a work in progress by comparison to some of their competitors.

If the Mariners can re-find their early season form at home, however, and combine it with the resilience they're showing on their travels, Grimsby have, perhaps, an outside shot at a play-off spot, and will want to avoid any further confidence-denting results that could further hamper those lofty aspirations.

Like most lower league clubs, Town have had some memorable FA Cup campaigns, for both positive and negative reasons. Reaching the Quarter-Final stage for the first time since 1939 two years ago was a historic achievement cherished by the club's supporters.

There have been occasions in the past, however, where the Mariners have come unstuck at the first hurdle in disappointing fashion.

Embarrassing 2009 First Round exit

Grimsby endured 19-match winless run after

The Grimsby Town faithful won't need reminding of one such occasion against Southern-based non-league opposition, that of the 2-0 defeat to sixth-tier Bath City at Blundell Park in 2009.

In reality, the rot had already set in somewhat ahead of the Romans in November's First Round clash, with recently sacked manager Mike Newell putting together a poor squad lacking professionalism and desire, one where the experienced players let the younger members of the squad and the supporters down on a weekly basis.

The former Blackburn Rovers striker had departed just three weeks prior, with his side deep in the relegation mire, and on the back of nine defeats from their opening 13 League Two matches.

Youth coach Neil Woods took over an ill-disciplined group of senior players, and was understandably unable to turn things round.

Following their FA Cup humbling, the Mariners went another 19 league games without a win (24 matches in total either side of Newell's exit). The 3-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town in early March 2010 became Grimsby's first success since the previous September's against Torquay United.

The Mariners were already unraveling, but the morale-sapping home loss to non-league opposition did little to help matters, and the subsequent disastrous run unsurprisingly led to the club's first ever relegation into non-league at the end of the campaign.

While the overall structure of the club, the way it is run and portrayed publicly, and the quality and attitude of Artell's current squad is a far cry from that which Woods inherited under the former ownership, and the club's aspirations are very different, the former Crewe Alexandra boss will be hoping to avoid any First Round disappointments that could negatively impact his side's upcoming games in Saturday's fixture against Wealdstone.

Grimsby need to use cup clash to regain confidence

A 2009 repeat could be detrimental

Grimsby started the 2024/25 season with three league wins from their opening four matches at Blundell Park, while losing their opening three on the road.

Since then, while Artell's side have found an answer to their away day struggles, their home form has taken a hit.

While Doncaster, Walsall, and MK Dons are among the stronger sides in the fourth-tier, the manner of the Mariners' back-to-back defeats to the trio has caused frustration within the Grimsby fanbase, with the concession of a combined 10 goals in those three matches particularly concerning.

Artell and his side have already shown they're more than capable of competing in the top half of a League Two that is, perhaps, lacking in the overall quality of last year.

While nothing can be taken for granted, and Wealdstone will arrive in North East Lincolnshire with the full belief that they can cause a surprise, the Mariners players must view this as an opportunity to stamp some authority on a performance in front of their supporters and progress to round two convincingly.

With the Stones currently struggling in the National League drop zone, Artell and his men will certainly hope to avoid the same outcome Grimsby suffered in 2009, and in doing so, prevent the derailing of a fairly positive start to the season on the whole. After all, Town fans know exactly what a shock cup exit can lead to - anything like the winless run that followed 15 years ago could be detrimental.