It's Grims-by oop North

Tuesday night, a 450 mile round trip, playing Grimsby in a cup competition that Charlton notoriously don't do well in. This is one trip that really had to be done, writes Goodbye Horse's Kevin Portch.

Away from the sterile stadia and atmosphere of Premiership grounds, Blundell Park with its black and white floodlight pylons is real old school stuff. No more 'Where is the ground?', it's obvious because of the metal structures rising above the local housing.

I say housing because there really is very little more in the vicinity. A few shops, a pub next to the ground that we were waened to stay away from, and not a proper fish and chip restaurant within a ten minute walk. For a while it felt like we were in a vegan-Quaker town, until we found The Leaking Boot, the pub normally frequented by away supporters.

There wasn't the usual buzz of excitement this time, but then I guess it's hard to get too excited when there is only a dozen of you chatting and trying to avoid the attentions of one local drunk who insisted on making us say 'Gorr Blimey' and a non-league groundhopper who wants to tell you how many Highland League grounds he visited in one season.

Of course what we weren't aware of was that visitors to Blundell Park have their own little bar with seats and a TV. Only thing that really hurt was that the bar was named 'Scotties', reminding us of one of our former heroes - the people wearing parkas didn't help either. Oh well, it protected from the wind and served beer.

What they didn't warn us of though was that 'Super' Clive Mendonca was making an appearance on the pitch before the game so a large section of Charlton fans missed out on giving the man their full attention because they were trying to down their pints before facing the cold cross winds blowing across the ground. The thought was there, though.

And so to the 90 minutes that threatens to spoil a good day out. Or were we to repeat past performances and go through the punishment of extra time and a journey home bemoaning the lack of commitment shown against lower league opposition?

Both teams started fairly brightly and on seven minutes Herman Hreidarsson ran at the Grimsby defence with the ball at his feet only to be brought down just outside the 18 yard box. Danny Murphy and Talal el Karkouri lined up to take the free kick which was dispatched with pin point accuracy by the former in the top corner to the goalkeeper's right. The Addicks were one up with only seven minutes gone. Could this be the rout that the 150 (yes, that's right) travelling supporters were after?

Of course it couldn't. A cross from the left by Hreidarsson on 14 minutes looked promising as Hughes ran into the box to shoot but volleyed well wide. One wondered why Jeffers wasn't there to connect with it, but he remained fairly anonymous for at least 25 minutes of the first half.

Grismby were causing a few problems for the Charlton defence and attacked with pace and a lot more determination than their Premiership opponents. On 14 minutes a shot just wide had the Mariners fans in the main stand on their feet thinking they had scored. Three minutes later a lob over Kiely - he obviously knew it was safe - hit the bar and luckily rebounded into Deano's arms.

Kiely was also called into action on 22 minutes saving well to his left with the follow up going just wide. Three minutes later he tipped the ball over the bar from a sharp Grimsby header, resulting in a few uncomfortable minutes as Charlton defended three successive Grimsby corners.

Five minutes later before the break a stray arm accidentally caught Francis Jeffers in the face, resulting in treatment being needed in the dressing room - either that or he just wanted to get out of the cold. His return to action saw him in a plain yellow shirt with no number or name on his back making him more anonymous than befoe. While all this was going on Luke Young made a well timed defensive tackle, injuring himself in the process and ending any further participation for the club's newest goal-machine.

Kishishev replaced Young for the second half, playing in the right back position. Things continued pretty much as in the first half, with Grimsby looking more determined and committed. Once again Charlton's passing was frequently intercepted and many first touches were so bad that the Grimsby players simply stole the ball off the Charlton players' toes.

There were some moments when Charlton controlled the ball well and retained possession in the midfield and defensive areas, passing back and forth waiting for an opening that rarely came. Most of the attacking opportunities fell again to the Mariners, their number 9, Reddy, looking particularly dangerous. A couple of Grismby penalty appeals were turned down but a foul by El Karkouri in a dangerous position resulted in the Grimsby free kick being driven straight into the wall.

Years of being on the receiving end of bad decisions as 'the little club' seemed to be paying off as the referee (A Mariner) regularly turned down their appeals much to the great disappointmnt of the Grimsby fans in the audience of 5735.

It was the Charlton players who were similarly dropping though when, at around the hour mark the apparently injured Jon Fortune was replaced by Jason Euell. [Since when has Euell been a centre back? WG] 10 minutes later, Kevin Lisbie replaced a fairly lightweight JJ. This injection of front men still resulted in no shots on target until 10 minutes before the end when Charlton broke out from a Grimsby attack. Euell's speculative hoof upfield from the edge of the Charlton box found Kevin Lisbie on the halfway line. He played a great ball out right to Francis Jeffers who brilliantly put the ball past the keeper into the far side of the net.

This didn't dampen the Mariners' enthusiasm who immediately went back on the attack forcing Kiely into another low save to his left. Brilliant stuff from the Charlton keeper, but was it really necessary for his defence to allow him to be put under that much pressure?

A late double substitution by Grimsby still couldn't help their cause and a late third for Charlton was ruled out for offside. 3 minutes of time added on felt comfortable. Perhaps we really were going to make it through to the next round.

Whoever we get, we should make the most of it. On this sort of performance we will see our League Cup record continue as it has done since ... since ... well, since it started really. We were lucky to get away with this one and have to thank Dean Kiely for keeping us in the competition. We had two shots on target and scored two goals. It wouldn't have been surprising if Grimsby had scored four or five. We struggled to get some of the basics right and came out of it with a fortunate win, although one would hope that Charlton could have stepped up a gear if needed. Two well taken goals is encouraging and hopefully will give the team a bit of impetus for the coming Premiership matches.

Man of the match for me would have to be the tall Grimsby number 9, Reddy, for his pace, his work-rate and the amount he worried the Charlton defence. Of course, to counter that, Deano was Charlton's man of the match, keeping out so many shots and kicking well despite the cross wind.

All in all, a successful trip, but I was left wondering about our next trip to Grimsby. Some of the Charlton fans were asked by stewards to sit down, which they happily refused to do. Totally irresponsible. What will happen of they reduce our allocation for the next match? I'll tell you what will happen.

The 150 fans who go will all be a lot more cosy.