Check out all you need to know, ahead of our visit to Blundell Park
Grimsby Town vs Barrow
18th April 2023 7:45pm Kick Off
Blundell Park
Sky Bet League Two
Opposition
Founded in 1878 under the name Grimsby Pelham Football Club they would have their name changed to Grimsby Town Football Club in 1879 and would move into Blundell Park in 1898. Grimsby Town prides itself on being the only team in Lincolnshire to play in the top flight of English football adding two FA Cup semi-final appearances to their successes. The famous Bill Shankly had taken the reigns at Blundell Park in the 1950s, he would go on to become one of the greatest managers in English football winning three league titles at Liverpool.
Alan Buckley is the most successful manager in Grimsby Towns history having won three promotions and making two Wembley appearances for the Mariners during his three spells at the club between 1988-2008. Overseeing both the Football League Trophy and Football League Second Division play-off final win in 1997/98.
This season Grimsby became the first team to overcome five teams from higher divisions as they went on to reach the quarter-finals of the competition which featured a historic away victory at Southampton.
The Mariners currently find themselves 13th in Sky Bet League Two, with a home draw last time out at Blundell Park against promotion-pushing Mansfield.
The Venue
Home to Grimsby since 1898, Blundell Park holds a capacity of 9546. The ground saw record figures in 1937 when Wolverhampton Wanderers visited. 31,651 were in attendance on that day for an FA Cup tie. The ground was made into an all-seated stadium in 1995 following the Taylor report and since then the record attendance was set when Grimsby hosted Sunderland in March 1999, 9,528 watched on that day.
Head-Head
Earlier in the season, Billy Waters scored the only goal of the game approaching the final 15 minutes as he turned home Patrick Brough’s pinpoint cross at the SO Legal Stadium in October. It was the Bluebird’s first win over the Mariners since 1968 on a rain-soaked Tuesday night.
Referee
The man with the whistle at Blundell Park will be Lewis Smith. He’ll be assisted by Darren Williams and Richard Woodward; James Oldham has been assigned to Fourth Official duties.
Smith has refereed a total of 41 fixtures this season, 6 of which have come in Sky Bet League Two. His last refereeing appointment involving the Bluebirds came in the 19/20 season where he oversaw a 2-2 draw away at Chesterfield. The season would be cut short due to the emerging Covid-19 pandemic which saw Barrow go up on points per game accumulation. Smith has refereed at Blundell Park this season where Grimsby was defeated by Doncaster in November.
Tickets
Tickets are available to be purchased on the day at Grimsby,
Live Streaming
iFollow is available for purchase for tomorrow’s fixture. The game is priced and £10.
You can purchase your matchday pass below