Summary Grimsby Town got off to the perfect start when a purposeful run from
Nathan Arnold set up
Lenell John-Lewis to shoot from inside the
penalty area. His shot was saved by Bristol Rovers goalkeeper
Will Puddy but it deflected off John-Lewis' face into the goal, giving the Mariners the lead after just 1:38. Grimsby kept up the pressure and were unfortunate not to be playing against ten men as Puddy handled
Ollie Palmer's shot outside the area. However, referee Ross Joyce deemed the offence only worthy of a
yellow card. Just over 10 minutes later and Rovers were level after Grimsby failed to deal with a
Jake Gosling corner, leaving
Ellis Harrison to drive the ball past
James McKeown. The second half proved a much less open affair as players tired, defenders came out on top and errors were few and far between.
Extra time was much the same, as chances for
Chris Lines for Rovers and John-Lewis for Grimsby came to nothing. In the last minute of the extra time, Rovers manager
Darrell Clarke switched Puddy for substitute keeper
Steve Mildenhall for the inevitable
penalty shoot-out, in a move reminiscent of that by
Dutch coach Louis van Gaal at the previous year's
World Cup. Clarke later stated that he felt Mildenhall would have "a better chance with his bigger frame." The first five penalties of the shoot-out were successfully converted before
Jon-Paul Pittman blazed his over the bar in front of the Grimsby fans. The following two were also successful, leaving veteran
Lee Mansell with the deciding spot kick, which he powered in to McKeown's left.
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