The Mariners booked their place in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup with a stylish victory over National League Wealdstone at Blundell Park.

Jaze Kabia’s early goal on his return to the starting line-up sent Town on their way, before Kieran Green’s long-range strike made it 2-0 and Jamie Walker added a third to put the hosts in full control with less than 25 minutes on the clock.

Kabia grabbed his second goal of the game as David Artell’s side continued to dominate after the break.

And they saw out the remainder of the tie to keep a clean sheet and confirm a place in Monday evening’s draw as reward for a professional performance.

Four changes were made to the Grimsby XI following the last-minute Sky Bet League Two defeat by Tranmere Rovers last time out.  They included a return to first-team action for Doug Tharme after he played for 45 minutes in the reserves’ midweek victory at Mansfield Town.

George McEachran, Green and Kabia were the others to come back into the team, as Tyrell Warren, Geza Turi, Evan Khouri and Danny Rose made way.

Christy Pym started in goal, with Harvey Rodgers, Tharme, Cameron McJannet and Reece Staunton forming the defence.  McEachran sat behind Darragh Burns, Green, Walker and Charles Vernam in midfield, as Kabia led the attack.

FA Cup rules allow for nine substitutes, so Warren, Turi, Khouri, Rose, Charlie Casper, Clarke Oduor, Zak Gilsenan, Justin Amaluzor and Elliot Smith were all named on the bench.

Wealdstone made the journey from north London looking to continue a good run of form, with Sam Cox’s men having won three and drawn three of their last six National League games to leave them ninth in the division.

The Stones were also aiming to knock the Mariners out of the FA Cup for the second consecutive season after recording a 1-0 first-round victory at Blundell Park last year. Only Enzio Boldewijn and captain Jack Cook remained in their starting XI from that clash.

 

FIRST HALF

The visitors won the game’s first corner on six minutes when a cross from the right was blocked, although Nathan Tshikuna could not pick out a team mate with his delivery.

Instead, Town opened the scoring at the other end from their first chance of the game.  Burns found Vernam on the left and he squared for KABIA to finish from close range.

Walker saw a shot blocked, then a low ball from Rodgers into the box was cut out as the home side immediately looked to add to their early advantage.

Town’s first corner came on 10 minutes when Vernam’s first-time strike took a deflection on its way wide after good play by Green, although they were unable to create a goalscoring opportunity from the flag-kick.

The hosts had the ball in the net for a second time on 13 minutes when Green diverted a low strike by Staunton past goalkeeper Dante-Astor Baptiste at the far post but the offside flag went up and the goal was ruled out.

The midfielder was not to be denied for much longer, however, as a low clearance from Baptiste went straight to GREEN and he sent it back into the empty net from 40 yards to double the Grimsby lead.

A Tshikuna corner from the Wealdstone left was dealt with, before Burns linked up with Green on the right and the goalscorer hit a fierce cross-shot which was well-held by Baptiste.

Walker was spoken to by the referee after a foul on Olufela Olomola near the halfway line, then a 25-yard strike by Burns was deflected though to the keeper.

The Mariners made it 3-0 on 23 minutes after a great move led to Vernam getting the ball on the left.  He pulled it back across the six-yard line and WALKER was in place to convert from close range.

Vernam was just wide with a low shot after a solo run into the penalty area as both Kabia and Burns were narrowly unable to divert the ball towards goal.

Pym’s first serious action of the afternoon followed as he dived to stop a strike from Olomola, then Kabia was caught offside as he met a ball into the box from Vernam after a free kick on the right.

Town continued to dominate as they looked for a fourth goal before half-time, with McEachran firing just wide from 20 yards on 37 minutes.

Tharme got back to challenge when Dominic Hutchinson looked to have an opening for the visitors and after the ball was put behind for a corner, a good block by Burns from Micah Obiero’s shot brought the danger to an end.

One added minute was played at the end of the first half and with no further chances coming for either side, the Mariners went in at the break with a commanding lead.

 

SECOND HALF

No changes were made before the restart and the away side had the first opportunity of the second half as Hutchinson fired wide of the near post from the right.

Staunton was off-target from Town’s first chance since the interval after good play by Vernam, then Kabia was unable to get on the end of a cross from Green on the right.

The hosts were looking for a fourth goal and they found it eight minutes into the half, as McEachran switched play to Green on the right and he gave the ball to Rodgers, whose low cross was converted by KABIA from close range for his second of the game.

Both teams made changes on 57 minutes, as Turi and Warren replaced Green and Tharme for Town while Anthony Georgiou came on for Tshikuna in the blue and white of Wealdstone.

McJannet blocked a strike from Hutchinson to give the visitors a corner two minutes later but Georgiou’s delivery from the right was headed clear for a throw-in.

Olomola made way for Sakariya Hassan in Wealdstone’s second substitution just after the hour, then Kabia was shown the first yellow card of the afternoon after a foul near the halfway line.  Boldewijn fired high over the bar after the resulting free kick broke for him.

Turi was caught offside as he looked to pounce on the rebound when a Rodgers shot was blocked, before a foul by Boldewijn on the Faroese international brought a free kick to the right of the away penalty area.  It was played back to Burns on the edge of the box and his chip found Warren, whose header was well-held by the diving Baptiste.

Pym blocked a low cross from Georgiou at the other end as the visitors looked for a consolation goal, then Khouri and Gilsenan replaced Rodgers and Vernam in Town’s latest changes on 73 minutes.

Hassan could not pick out a team-mate with a right-wing cross after Wealdstone put a spell of possession together around the 80-minute mark.

A foul by McJannet on Hassan then gave the away side a free kick in a dangerous position and before it was taken, Omar Mussa and Daniel Nkrumah were sent on in place of Dylan Kadji and Obiero.  Gilsenan headed the free kick clear at the near post.

Youth team striker Smith came on for his senior competitive debut as he replaced Walker in Town’s final substitution with five minutes to go.

Wealdstone won a corner as the game moved into at least four added minutes but they could not make it count, then a corner at the other end eventually led to another one on the opposite, left flank.  This time, Staunton’s whipped cross was cleared as far as Turi on the edge of the box but his low drive was blocked.

That proved to be the final opportunity for Town to add to their score as they saw out the rest of the added time to keep their cup run going and ensure there will be a third round tie to look forward to over the weekend of January 10.

Before that, the focus switches back to the league programme, starting with Tuesday’s trip to Shrewsbury Town.

Town: Pym, Rodgers (Khouri, 73), Tharme (Warren, 57), McJannet, Staunton, McEachran, Burns, Green (Turi, 57), Walker (Smith, 85), Vernam (Gilsenan, 73), Kabia

Subs not used: Casper, Oduor, Amaluzor, Rose