With the wind biting and a sold‑out home crowd sniffing proverbial blood once again in the League Cup, this had all the hallmarks of a horrible and tricky evening for Brentford on the banks of the River Humber.
However, it is a sign to the flow Keith Andrews’s side are in right now that, after weathering a nervy first 20 minutes, this never really felt like a night where Brentford would be added to the list of Grimsby’s scalps this season. By half-time, there was no doubt about the outcome and by full time it had become a glorified exhibition.
Blundell Park has already been home to one monumental night under the lights this season when Manchester United were vanquished in unforgettable fashion, with victory against Sheffield Wednesday in the last round taking Grimsby the furthest they have been in the competition for two decades.
However, all fairytales eventually come to an end, and this one did here in emphatic fashion. Had the hosts taken one of the early chances that came their way, this might have panned out differently. But once Brentford settled they were far superior in almost every aspect, with Mathias Jensen’s wonderful long-range strike midway through the first half calming them down.
Four minutes later the impressive Keane Lewis-Potter headed home and suddenly the noise and the momentum had disappeared from the hosts. It is to Brentford’s immense credit that they were able to do what others have failed to achieve so far this season and stunt a team who are promotion hopefuls under David Artell this season.
By the end, Brentford had scored three more and looked relatively comfortable throughout. It left Andrews in an understandably positive mood. “They were better than us in that early period but we’re good in the chaos,” he said. “I enjoyed seeing the players play. It was nice to see what that group is capable of and who we’re about.”
It is now three successive wins in all competitions for Brentford, who are settling into a rhythm after an indifferent start to the season. They have also reached the quarter-finals of this competition for the second consecutive season, and will fancy any side they may be drawn against on Wednesday.
Reiss Nelson, who looked sharp on his first start since joining on loan from Arsenal, made it 3-0 as half-time approached with a wonderful finish and it was perhaps Artell who best articulated the flow of Brentford’s play. “We had two great chances early on and if we take one of those they take a punch on the nose,” he said. “Instead, we took a punch on the nose, one in the ribs and then one down below to finish us off.”
Grimsby’s cup run was finished off nine minutes after the restart when Fábio Carvalho was brought down in the box, and he dusted himself off to send Christy Pym the wrong way and make it 4-0.
What would have pleased Andrews most was the way his side kept the pressure on. The likes of Nelson and Lewis-Potter in particular will have done plenty to try and convince the Brentford head coach they can come into the fray in the Premier League from the start given their impressive showings here.
Both sides rotated in the final half‑hour with the contest over. One of those Brentford substitutes, Nathan Collins, headed in a clever corner with 15 minutes left to bring up the Bees’ biggest win in the competition. To Grimsby’s credit they kept going until the very end, with a standing ovation from the stands for Artell’s men at full time. But this night belonged to only one side.
