The Mariners were beaten by Rochdale in their latest pre-season friendly at the Crown Oil Arena.

A goal in each half earned the National League side the victory, with former Town striker Emmanuel Dieseruvwe giving them the lead on 24 minutes.

Town had spells of pressure after half-time as they looked for an equaliser but it was not to come and instead, Devante Rodney scored in added time to secure Rochdale’s win.

Christy Pym started in goal for Grimsby, behind a defence of Tyrell Warren, Harvey Rodgers, Cameron McJannet and Reece Staunton.  George McEachran, Kieran Green and Jamie Walker were the midfielders, while Justin Amaluzor and Charles Vernam began either side of Jaze Kabia in attack.

Seb Auton, Jayden Sweeney, Evan Khouri, Cameron Gardner, Geza Turi, Darragh Burns, Doug Tharme, Matty Carson and Henry Brown were all listed as substitutes.

Rochdale would be aiming for promotion from the National League this season, having finished fourth last term but missed out on a return to League Two through the play-offs.

Head coach Jimmy McNulty’s starting XI included former Mariner Dieseruvwe, who was part of the promotion-winning team of 2021-22.

FIRST HALF

After a quiet opening to the game, Rochdale goalkeeper Oliver Whatmuff came off his line to beat Amaluzor to a through-ball from Kabia as Town were the first to attack.

The home side’s response saw them win the game’s first corner on 15 minutes when a cross from the left was put behind by Warren, although nobody could connect with the flag-kick.

A foul by McEachran on Aidan Barlow gave Rochdale a free kick in a dangerous position soon afterwards but the offside flag went up as Ryan East chipped it into the penalty area.

Pym was called into action for the first time on 19 minutes as he got down to stop a 20-yard strike from Dieseruvwe.

But the next time the hosts went forward, the keeper could do nothing to stop them from opening the scoring as a cross from the right was headed home by DIESERUVWE.

Vernam was denied by Whatmuff when a low Warren cross from the right found its way through to him as Town looked for an equaliser, with the offside flag then going up against the attacker.

Kabia set off on a run through the middle moments later and looked for Amaluzor, who won a corner, but the ball from the flag was dealt with.

Warren saw the yellow card for a poor challenge near the edge of his own box but the hosts were unable to capitalise from the free kick as Joe Pritchard’s powerful strike hit the Town wall.

Grimsby’s next chance came on the counter-attack and led to Kabia firing off-target at the near post, then Amaluzor was caught offside as the visitors looked to build another attack after the half moved into two minutes of added time.

And with no further chances coming before the referee’s half-time whistle, Rochdale’s one-goal advantage remained intact at the interval.

SECOND HALF

Gardner replaced Kabia before the restart, with veteran striker Ian Henderson coming on in place of a trialist for the home side.

An early free kick from Pritchard looked to have caused problems in the Town box but the ball was eventually sent wide for a goal kick, then Walker won a corner for the away side but Vernam’s delivery from the left was caught by Whatmuff.

Amaluzor saw a shot blocked after McEachran won a loose ball in midfield, before Green brought the ball into the box from a short corner and sent a driven cross towards the far post.  Whatmuff could not hold it but the keeper recovered well to get to Gardner’s rebound.

The Grimsby pressure was building as the hour mark approached and Vernam saw a shot blocked, then a header from Warren went through to Whatmuff.

Rochdale captain Kyron Gordon was booked for a foul on Staunton and before the free kick was taken, Tharme, Turi and Burns replaced Rodgers, McEachran and Amaluzor.

Gardner looped a shot wide as Town continued to attack, before the home side made wholesale changes on 65 minutes, with only half-time sub Henderson remaining from the team which started the second half.

Gardner linked up with Green to create the Mariners’ next chance, although the home side’s trialist goalkeeper was equal to the midfielder’s powerful strike.

Vernam headed wide from a Burns cross on 71 minutes as Town kept searching for an equaliser, then Pym had to make a good block after a neat Rochdale move led to a low strike from Tarryn Allarakhia.

McJannet had to clear for a corner after another eye-catching move from the home side led to Rodney pulling the ball back across goal.

Four further Town changes saw Auton, Sweeney, Brown and Khouri replace Pym, Staunton, Vernam and Walker on 77 minutes.

But it was Rochdale who were now looking the more dangerous of the two sides and Corey Edwards created another opportunity for them but could not hit the target from 25 yards.

Carson replaced Green with three minutes to go and Town were still pushing forward as the game moved into two added minutes but were ultimately unable to find a breakthrough.

And instead, Rochdale wrapped up their victory when a long ball found its way through to RODNEY and he beat Auton with a low shot on the turn.

That proved to be the last action of note and the Mariners will now look forward to a return to Blundell Park on Tuesday, when they host Lincoln City in their first home friendly of the summer.

Town: Pym (Auton, 77), Warren, Rodgers (Tharme, 61), McJannet, Staunton (Sweeney, 77), McEachran (Turi, 61), Green (Carson, 87), Walker (Khouri, 77), Amaluzor (Burns, 61), Kabia (Gardner, 45), Vernam (Brown, 77)

UTM