Cod Almighty | Diary

Revenge is a dish best served by a Kieran Green special and an emphatic win

19 August 2025

Walsall away tonight, and to the extent that you can judge after three games, our toughest match of the season so far. This is no time to be distracted by thoughts of Manchester United, so let Newbegin Diary tell you why a win over Walsall would be especially precious.

It was 14 January 1932. Every morning, people woke up to the latest news from Australia, where the "bodyline" test series had spilled out from the sports pages to become a diplomatic incident. It was also the day of the third round of the FA Cup, and Grimsby Town, 20th in the old money Division Two, were at home to top-flight Portsmouth.

The reporter from Portsmouth's local paper discovered no great enthusiasm for the tie when he arrived in town on the morning of the game. People were discussing not who would win but how many the Mariners would concede. There was a fog over the Humber; otherwise people would have caught the ferry to watch Hull instead they claimed, for the Tigers, going well in Division Three (North), had a plum match with Sunderland.

When a defensive mix-up gave Pompey an early lead, a resigned groan spread around Blundell Park. The Mariners bustled, but they lacked penetration. And then in a few minutes early in the second half it all changed. Twice Pat Glover fired home crosses with a force and a precision too great to be denied, and the winger James Dyson put Grimsby 3-1 up.

Now the match had the ingredients of a classic cup tie. Portsmouth pulled one back, but Grimsby grew in defiance. The full back Hugh Jacobson was injured in the cause: only with the deepest reluctance did he allow himself to be carried off the field. There were no subs back then, so Town had to hang on with ten men, and hang on they did. It was a great win, at a time when Grimsby badly needed a boost.

They might have been the toast of the weekend, the team everyone was talking about. Except that 100 miles away, Walsall, from Division Three, were beating the League leaders Arsenal 2-0. That was something more than a nine-day wonder, and it utterly eclipsed the achievement of the Mariners.

Those Black Country bastards. They probably only did it to spite us. Let's hope that tonight we teach them a lesson.