Grimsby Town Women came from behind twice to secure an entertaining 5-3 victory over Leeds Modernians in their latest pre-season friendly.
Town made the perfect start at the weekend, taking the lead just two minutes into the contest. A corner was initially cleared, but the ball fell kindly to Abbie Emslie 20 yards from goal, with the midfielder producing a superb finish into the top corner to put the Mariners ahead.
Town continued to hold the advantage through the opening stages, with the first drinks break arriving with Grimsby still in front. Leeds Modernians then turned the game on its head with two goals in the space of nine minutes.
The visitors levelled in the 25th minute when their number 20 raced clear before slotting the ball beyond the Town defence. Modernians then completed the turnaround five minutes later as their number eight found the top corner with a long-range effort.
Town made a change immediately afterwards, with Scarlet Norman, Halle Roberts and Milly North introduced for Alica Davis and two further changes. The visitors extended their lead in the 39th minute following a corner, with the ball falling loose in a scramble inside the box before being turned home. However, the Mariners responded before the interval. Milly North produced excellent work inside the box, beating a couple of defenders before finding Beth Wharton, who made no mistake with the finish to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
Town made three further changes at half-time, with Tilly Burnett, Chloe Thorpe and Laura Flecknor replacing Izzy Thompson, Brooke Howe and Brook Mayall.
The changes had an immediate impact as Town levelled almost straight from the restart. North was again involved, providing the opportunity for Brooke Howe to produce a fine finish and make it 3-3.
The Mariners continued to push for a fourth, with both sides going through the second-half drinks break level. Town eventually completed the comeback in the 77th minute. North was once again at the heart of the move, setting up Emslie, who found the bottom corner from 20 yards to score her second of the afternoon and put the Mariners back in front.
Town then added a fifth with six minutes of normal time remaining. A well-delivered ball from Eden Pedersen was met by North, who headed home to complete the scoring and cap an impressive individual performance. Alisha Dejonge replaced Wharton in Town’s final change of the afternoon before the Mariners saw out the remaining minutes to secure a 5-3 victory.
It was an entertaining afternoon for Town against a well-organised and dangerous Leeds Modernians side, with the Mariners showing excellent character to recover from 3-1 down and finish strongly. The victory represents another positive step in Grimsby Town Women’s preparations for the 2026/27 campaign.
Grimsby Town Football Club would like to wish Leeds Modernians all the best for the new season in the North East Regional Premier Division.
Town: Jasmine Lacey, Chloe Thorpe, Sophie Gray, Halle Roberts, Eden Pedersen, Brooke Mayall, Alisha Dejonge, Abbie Emslie, Alicia Davis, Issy Thompson, Beth Wharton
Subs: Scarlett Norman, Tilly Burnett, Milly North, Laura Flecknor, Brooke Howe
UTM
