FA Cup: Grimsby 0 Wolves 1 - Report
Wolves avoided an FA Cup upset and booked their place in the fifth round with a narrow win at Grimsby Town.
In a match that saw terrible weather conditions and a struggling pitch, Wolves held their own physically in a battling first half, but were unable to carry much threat in the final third with chances at a premium.
The deadlock was broken on the hour mark when centre-back Santi Bueno finished like a striker in the box, finding the top corner for his third goal of the season.
Grimsby had some openings but never truly tested Wolves’ goal, while the visitors spurned some chances for a second.
But they were not made to pay for those missed chances as Wolves saw the game out to advance to the next round.
Analysis
Rob Edwards made four changes to the side that drew with Nottingham Forest in midweek, but he named a strong side nonetheless for their FA Cup clash at Blundell Park.
Sam Johnstone, Jackson Tchatchoua, David Moller Wolfe and Andre came in, with the latter returning from a calf injury, as Jose Sa, Rodrigo Gomes, Hugo Bueno and Angel Gomes dropped out.
Goalkeeper Sa was not in the squad, as third choice Dan Bentley was named on the bench.
Former Wolves academy goalkeeper Jackson Smith lined up for Grimsby, as head coach David Artell dropped star striker, and former Walsall goalscorer, Andy Cook to the bench.
The Mariners made six changes from their League Two win over Accrington Stanley in midweek, a victory that extended their unbeaten run to 10 games in all competitions.
In dreadful cold, wet and windy conditions and on a torn up pitch, a sold out Blundell Park was making plenty of noise at kick-off.
The roof almost came off when Evan Khouri took aim within the opening minute, as he curled an effort wide.
Despite that early scare, Wolves quickly took control of the game and reduced Grimsby to unsuccessful counter attacks.
But the visitors had also not created a clear-cut chance within the opening 20 minutes, with the best opportunity coming when Tchatchoua lifted the ball into the box and Tolu Arokodare could only fire over the bar.
Adam Armstrong was aiming to run through on goal but was brought down for a free-kick. Wolves were asking for a red card as the Grimsby defender was shown yellow.
From the resulting free-kick, Joao Gomes took aim and hit the crossbar.
Tyrell Warren had a chance at the back post for Grimsby but he headed wide, before Wolves assistant head coach Harry Watling was booked by the referee, as the teams entered half-time drawing 0-0.
As the teams came out for the second half, Wolves had a big early chance when Grimsby goalkeeper Smith kicked the ball straight to Armstrong and he fired over under pressure from defenders, when he should have scored.
Grimsby then had a chance when Yerson Mosquera messed around trying to buy a free-kick but the game continued and Jamie Walker fired over on the volley from inside the box.
Wolves had a spell of pressure and finally made it pay when a Mosquera long-ball routine was recycled, the ball fell for J.Gomes in the box on the right and he crossed for S.Bueno to finish.
The hosts almost responded quickly when Jayden Sweeney found himself in space on the left inside the box, and his low cross deflected and almost snuck in at the near post.
Wolves had another chance when Mosquera popped up with the ball on the right and found Arokodare from 12 yards, who chested it down but then leaned back as he lifted the ball over the bar.
With 10 minutes of normal time left on the clock, the game had become a little stretched and Wolves were keen to slow it down in order to gain back some control.
The visitors could have killed the game off when an Arokodare cross came all the way through for Armstrong, who beat the goalkeeper to it and turned back inside, before setting up Mateus Mane to lash at his shot and direct it high and wide.
Shortly after four minutes of added time were announced, a scramble in the Wolves box almost gave Grimsby a golden chance as Tyrell Sellars-Fleming tried to pounce on a loose ball, but Wolves cleared their lines.
Grimsby had a late corner and goalkeeper Smith was sent up, but Wolves defended it well and welcomed the final whistle to book their place in the next round of the FA Cup.
Key Moments
GOAL 60 S.Bueno fires Wolves ahead
Teams
Wolves: Johnstone, Tchatchoua, Mosquera, S.Bueno, Krejci, Wolfe, Andre (Bellegarde 88), J.Gomes, Mane, Armstrong, Arokodare.
Subs not used: Bentley, Doherty, Lima, R.Gomes, H.Bueno, Rawlings, A.Gomes, Edozie.
Grimsby: Smith, Sweeney (Staunton, 74), McJannet, Warren, Rodgers, Turi, Khouri, Walker (Green, 56), Vernam (Sellars-Fleming, 74), Burns (Amaluzor, 82), Kabia (Cook, 56).
Subs not used: Auton, Kacurri, Odour, Soonsup-Bell.
