Short but sweet. The match and this write up.
The venerable Grimsby Derby always makes me scratch my chin and wonder what Thistle team will show up. They can run the ball, they can score, they can humble and humiliate at times and they can be downright dirty when they're in the mood. We've clashed heads for years with these boys and despite our friendships off the pitch, on it is a different matter entirely.
Two guys missing right off the bat gave me hope that we'd come off with a result. Dave Sherwood and Andy Gallagher, their two main strike threats were AWOL - both good for at least a goal a piece.
GFC sported a full squad say for the vacationing Pablo Politi and the rehabbing Adriano Grimaldi.
Giles Shawn
Duane Serge Evan Pete
Eric
Alex Marcel Andy
Me
First half action included the threatening skies above and the majority of posession for GFC. Giles Hunter with a goal late in the half provided a small buffer for us to work with but it would be a tenuous one at best as Thistle roared back in the second half with near total domination for some twenty minutes.
Wave after wave was soaked up and repelled, only to see them come at us again and again. Getting to the ball second and being out-hustled at every turn, we were saved by the weather as the clouds opened up and spat out bolts of lightning. The ref mercifully blew the whistle to put a hold on proceedings and GFC limped back to their corner like a punch-drunk middleweight - slightly concussed and bleeding.
Fifteen minutes the ref asked us to wait to see if the inclement weather would pass. It would not. The score stood and like it or not, it's a win. We'd have preferred to play the rest of the match but it was not to be and our only meeting with our cross-town rivals will have an asterisk beside it.
Solid first half, wobbly second, had it gone to it's natural conclusion I have little doubt a tie would have been fair and likely.
Bottom-dwelling Rakija FC tomorrow at Sherwood #4, 3pm. We'll be sporting a slightly different look at kick off in an effort to pad our +/- stats. Stay tuned...
al