Grimsby Town’s Youth Alliance Cup journey came to an end on Saturday afternoon as they were beaten 4-1 by Blackpool at Brigg Town’s EC Surfacing Stadium.

Town made the perfect start to the quarter-final, taking the lead inside the opening minutes. Returning from a lengthy lay-off, Midwinter marked his comeback in fine style by calmly slotting past the goalkeeper to give the Mariners an early 1-0 advantage.

However, Blackpool grew into the contest and began to assert control for long spells. Their pressure told when a header from a set-piece was judged to have crossed the line, bringing the scores level. The visitors then turned the game on its head, capitalising on a pull-back from wide which was driven home to make it 2-1, before adding a third before the break with a near-identical finish.

Town looked to respond after the interval but struggled to find rhythm despite creating a handful of chances. Blackpool remained composed and sealed the result late on, adding a fourth goal to put the tie beyond reach and bring the Mariners’ cup run to a close.

Grimsby Town’s young side will now turn their focus back to league action, with their next fixture seeing them travel to face Burton Albion on Saturday 10th January.

Starting XI: Hayden Rogers (20′ Roberts), Josh Edwards (60′ Pratt), Alex Graham, Charlie Hatton (60′ Hawley), Charlie Elliot, Fortune Onoh, Harvey Booth (60′ Sharp), Mamudu Jalloh, Carlo Midwinter, Elliot Smith, Lennon Peterson (55′ Carrick)

Subs: Kian Hawley, Joe Roberts, Tyler Pratt, Ted Sharp, Charlie Carrick

UTM