David Artell stated his Grimsby Town side put up one of their poorest performances in a while during their loss to Oldham Athletic.
The Mariners squandered a chance of keeping up with the playoff places by falling to a resolute Oldham side, who snatched a late victory through Josh Hawkes, keeping Mickey Mellon’s side’s faint hope of a top-seven finish a much-needed boost.
Town still have a game advantage on Chesterfield, meaning that the pair could be level on points ahead of their showdown at the end of the month if Grimsby can beat Cambridge United in their game in hand.
Oldham Match A Wakeup Call
It was a bad day at the office for Grimsby at Boundary Park, and with points also dropped against Bristol Rovers and Walsall, it has left Artell’s side on the outside looking in if they want to make their first playoffs since their return to the EFL.
Speaking to Grimsby Live following the result in Greater Manchester, the former Crewe Alexandra boss said:
“I thought the first half was a non-event, we’ve had two good chances in the second half, the keeper’s pulled off a great save from Greeny’s header, and we’ve hit the bar.
“The game needed a goal, and unfortunately, it’s come against when we’re trying to get the winner. We’ve thrown caution to the wind, but I’d much rather try to win the game.
“We didn’t play well at all, and we’ve limited a decent team to very few chances as well, so we’re disappointed. There was a lack of quality on the ball. I can’t remember the last time we played that poorly in possession.
“I think we’ve had one shot on target each, which says everything about the quality of the game, and it is not like us, especially on a decent pitch. The issue is now that we’re not training on good pitches, so we’re not accustomed to it anymore, but that’s the hand we’ve been dealt.
“It’s not an excuse; we’ve got to be better. They give away the most fouls in the league, and they’ve walloped us a few times, but the quality in possession was baffling and really disappointing.”
Mariners Need Consistency
On a day they could have given themselves a crucial edge in a playoff race which is likely to go down to the wire, Grimsby Town could not overcome an Oldham Athletic side quietly becoming one of the most efficient and hard-to-beat sides in League Two.
Between that and their draws to Walsall and Bromley over recent weeks, the Mariners have lost their way and with key fixtures against Chesterfield and Cambridge United on the horizon, some improvements have to be made.
With many of their strikers out of form, the next two games against Fleetwood Town and Barrow are prime opportunities to try and give players like Jaze Kabia and Andy Cook confidence to take the fight to the league’s best defence in Cambridge in just over a week’s time.
Artell’s unit are good at stifling their opponents’ best traits, but at a time where every single point matters, it is up to that attacking unit to try and turn draws into wins.
