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The game was played on the first pitch at Gawthorpe making it a shorter journey for those on foot and was played in front of a healthy crowd who were also able to soak up the East Lancashire sun.
There was no sign of Richard Chaplow, Matt O’Neill, Joel Pilkington or Mark Rasmussen as the Clarets took to the field with the news that all four were on standby for the first team with Stan’s squad decimated by injuries and loans.
The young Clarets in fact lined up in 4-4-2: James Salisbury, Danny Pitham (James Heywood 55), Neil Trotman, Ryan Townsend, Paul Scott, Marc Pugh, Robert Grimes, Darryl Avery, Tom Ince, Rhys Carpenter, Damien Hindle (Liam Eves 83).
We started well and soon had the Grimsby defence in some trouble but the woodwork and a couple of good saves from the visiting keeper kept the scores level and Grimsby themselves came close to taking the lead in a rare attack but this time it was our crossbar that came to the rescue.
And the woodwork was to get in the way another couple of times during the first half as Burnley hit both bar and post just before half time as they looked to grab a deserved lead. The shot on to the post from Rhys Carpenter looked to be on its way in initially and would have provided him with his first Burnley goal.
Incredibly half time came without a goal although surely the Clarets should have been in front.
What had been a quiet and pleasant morning was marred with a couple of unsavoury incidents during the interval. Firstly a player’s relative found himself in an altercation with the referee and although smiling as he turned away from the official there were worries that he was offering his ham sandwich as a bribe.
But worse still when fighting appeared to break out involving two home fans, well their dogs if we are being truthful. The attacking dog was with Burnley director Clive Holt who laughed at the very suggestion of a life ban for his pet, telling the crowd that it had already received three.
If the first half was entertaining then the second half was better as the Clarets went looking for a win. They got a set back though when against the run of play and in a rare attack Grimsby took the lead. It should have been cleared but we could count ourselves very unfortunate to be behind.
But we got level and it was a special moment for Carpenter as he did finally get his first goal for the club. He hit home from about 15 yards after some hesitation in the Grimsby defence but the keeper really should have saved it.
It was somewhat harsh on the Grimsby custodian. He had played very well even though he had been the nosiest keeper seen at Gawthorpe. He had a word for everyone at every turn although his team mates did seem to have the ability to ignore him.
With the scores level the Clarets went for a win and coach Terry Pashley made one of those substitutions that can look inspired or make a coach look silly. Chasing a goal he replaced striker Damien Hindle with central defender Liam Eves and played Liam up front – and guess who scored the winner?
Yes it was Liam who turned it in from close range in the dying minutes after some superb work by Tom Ince on the left wing. It was like old fashioned wing play to get him to the line but he then dribbled his way along the goal line before slipping the ball through to Liam for the winner. It ended 2-1 and a deserved win it was.
I haven’t had the chance to watch the youth team just as much as I would have liked this season with home fixtures rarely on first team home match days. But I was delighted to have been there this morning to see this performance.
They were a credit to coach Terry Pashley. We defended well, and it was good to see Danny Pitham back after a long injury, the midfield was won comfortably and Carpenter and Hindle never gave the Grimsby defence any rest.
There were four Centre of Excellence youngsters in the starting line up who we believe will all be starting scholarships at the club next season. They are Neil Trotman, Marc Pugh, Darryl Avery and Tom Ince. All four did exceptionally well this morning and they do give you the belief that our future could be a healthy one with the quality of player coming into the club.
Congratulations to Pash and the lads for the result and thanks for the great entertainment this morning.
Youth team fixtures and results