County face two big tests of our title credentials this Easter weekend, starting on Good Friday when we travel to play-off chasing Grimsby Town aiming for a club record tenth straight league win.
Saturday’s 5-0 demolition of Southend United live on BT Sport was the perfect response to our FA Trophy defeat to Wrexham a week earlier, as we laid down another marker to restore our eight-point lead at the top of the National League table, with just eight games remaining.
Our superior goal difference in comparison to our closest rivals Wrexham means 98 points should be the maximum we need in order to secure promotion back to the Football League – Saturday’s win took us up to 82, already five points more than we finished with last season.
Wrexham, meanwhile, face a big test of their own on Friday afternoon in front of the BT Sport cameras, as they host a Solihull Moors side unbeaten in 15 National League games. County will also face the in-form Moors on Easter Monday, at Edgeley Park.
Our opponents Grimsby were left frustrated last weekend after being held to a 0-0 draw away at lowly Weymouth, a result that means their place in the play-offs come the end of the season is still not secure.
They currently sit seventh, in the final play-off spot and four points above both Dagenham and Boreham Wood, although the latter do have two games in hand.
Since we last met:
This will be the third meeting between the two sides this season, and the first at Blundell Park. Having drawn 0-0 in the league meeting back in August, December saw County romp to a 4-0 win against an injury and Covid-ravaged Grimsby side in the third round of the Buildbase FA Trophy, thanks to goals from Ryan Croasdale, Ash Palmer and a Will Collar brace.
The Mariners are back in the National League for the first time since 2016 after relegation last year, and were actually the early frontrunners in the opening weeks of the season, sitting four points clear at the top of the table after 12 games.
A 1-0 loss at Wealdstone at the end of October, however, sparked an alarming run of form that completely changed the complexion of their season. Paul Hurst’s side won just two of their next 14 games in all competitions, losing 11 of them (including that 4-0 loss at EP), as they dropped from title contenders to play-off outsiders – sitting 10th and six points off the play-offs by mid-January.
Ironically, it was another game against Wealdstone that looks to have turned the tide again for Grimsby and got their season back on track. Two goals from defender Michee Efete secured a vital 2-1 win at Blundell Park against The Stones, and a run of just two defeats and eight wins in 13 National League games has followed.
Although the side have struggled for consistency, with frustrating points dropped against the likes of Weymouth, King’s Lynn and Southend, crucial recent wins against play-off rivals Dagenham and Chesterfield have put Grimsby back in the driving seat for a place in the top seven.
Their form at Blundell Park will also give them plenty of confidence when coming up against the league leaders on Friday, having lost just three times at home all season – to Solihull Moors, Chesterfield and Notts County.
They now face the ultimate test of that record, against a County side that has won its last eight away National League games, and picked up 43 points from 18 games on their travels this season – at least nine points more than any other side in the division.
One to watch:
Top scorer John McAtee is having an impressive season after joining from Scunthorpe United in the Summer with 12 goals, but it’s one of Grimsby’s more recent additions that will have caught the eye of Dave Challinor.
Irish midfielder Gavan Holohan spent two years with the gaffer during his time at Hartlepool, and was a key part of his promotion-winning side last season, making 39 appearances and scoring nine times.
The 30-year-old joined Grimsby on a two-year-deal just four weeks ago and has already become a key component in the heart of their midfield, getting his first goal for the club with a stunner in their 4-1 win away at Chesterfield.
Match Stats:
- In 77 previous competitive meetings with the Mariners, we have won 26, lost 31 and drawn 20. This will be our first game at Blundell Park since a 2-1 win there in August 2012, thanks to a late goal from Danny Whitehead.
- There are two more club records up for grabs on Friday, as avoiding defeat would see us make it 19 league games unbeaten, whilst all three points would be a record tenth straight league win. It would also see us equal the club record for most points in a single season (85).
- After his brace on Saturday, Paddy Madden now has six goals and three assists in his last six National League games. He is now just five goals behind the league’s top scorer, Kabongo Tshimanga, in his chase for the golden boot.
