Andy Cook scored his first goal since returning to Grimsby Town as the Mariners beat Cleethorpes Town to reach their first Lincolnshire Senior Cup final in 12 years.

In a keenly-contested semi-final at the HBS Plant Hire Stadium, Town took an early lead through Clarke Oduor and doubled their advantage seven minutes before the break when Cook made it 2-0 from the penalty spot.

Cleethorpes had plenty of pressure after half-time as they looked for a way back into the tie but the Mariners defended well and Seb Auton made a string of great saves to keep the Northern Premier League Owls out and set up a meeting with Lincoln United or Boston United in the final.

Following his substitute appearance in Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two victory over Barnet, Cook was named in the Grimsby starting line-up for the first time since completing his temporary move from Bradford City last week as head coach David Artell opted for a mixture of youth and experience.

Auton started in goal, with Tyrell Warren, Sam Lavelle, Alex Graham and Mamudu Jalloh forming the defence.  Henry Brown continued his comeback from injury as he joined Justin Amaluzor, Charlie Hatton and Oduor in midfield, with Elliot Smith partnering Cook in attack.

Charlie Elliott, Carlo Midwinter, Kian Hawley, Fortune Onoh, Harvey Booth, Josh Edwards and Charlie Carrick made up a youthful substitutes’ bench.

Town reached the last four with a penalty shoot-out victory over Scunthorpe United following a 1-1 draw at Glanford Park, while Cleethorpes beat Bourne Town and Spalding United to get this far.

The hosts made just three changes to the XI that started their 2-1 league defeat at Leek Town on Saturday, with Zimbabwe international and former Sheffield Wednesday youngster Joey Phuthi among those to come in.

Prolific striker Liam Hughes made his first home start since joining the club from Worksop Town earlier in the month, while former Mariners Ollie Battersby, Aaron Braithwaite and Callum Ainley were also included.

FIRST HALF

An early Oduor cross proved too far ahead of Cook and was turned behind for a corner, before a foul on Brown brought a free kick wide on the left.  Oduor found Cook from it but his header was deflected wide for another corner.

And this time, the Mariners took the lead from the flag-kick, as the ball was played to ODUOR and he worked an opening inside the box to fire a low strike past Battersby and into the far corner of the net.

Phuthi missed the target from Cleethorpes’ first chance after a well-worked move, then Braithwaite saw the yellow card for a foul on Amaluzor.  Oduor sent the free kick into the box from the right but Amaluzor could not connect with a header.

Phuthi fired at Auton after cutting inside from the home left on 11 minutes but the next chance did not come until four minutes before the half-hour, when a foul by Warren gave Cleethorpes a free kick on their left.  Ainley delivered a good ball into the box for Hughes,  whose header looped onto the bar.

Amaluzor showed good skill to make progress down the right and set up Town’s latest attack but when the ball eventually came back to the winger, his shot was blocked.

Cook then had the ball in the net on 32 minutes as he turned and finished from inside the box, although the offside flag meant the goal was ruled out.

Braithwaite escaped further punishment after a late challenge on Auton, before the Mariners were given an opportunity to double their advantage from the penalty spot when Amaluzor was brought down by Phuthi.  COOK stepped up to power a low strike past Battersby and into the corner of the net for 2-0.

Another Ainley free kick proved just too high for Hughes and was cleared for a throw-in as the hosts looked to reduce their deficit before half-time.

A foul on Phuthi brought a further opportunity to get the ball into the Town box but Ainley’s free kick was headed away and the return ball was also dealt with.

The Mariners almost made it 3-0 soon afterwards after good play by Brown and Oduor led to a chance for Cook but this time, the striker’s low shot was just wide.

That proved to be the last opportunity of the first half, with Town holding a two-goal advantage at the break.

SECOND HALF

Onoh replaced Cook for Town before the restart, with Billy Whitehouse coming on for Devon Brockie in the blue and black of the Owls at the same time.

Cleethorpes were first to attack, winning an early corner on the left, but Hatton brought the ball clear from it and the Mariners went on to force a corner of their own, although it did not lead to a chance in front of goal.

Braithwaite headed through to Auton after a free kick was flicked on inside the box, then a home double-substitution saw Ainley and Josh Wilde make way for Callum Foster and Brad Abbott.

Auton confidently claimed the ball from a free kick given for a foul by Onoh on the Cleethorpes right, before Smith was off-target from distance at the other end.

Josh Walker replaced Phuthi on 62 minutes and he almost made an immediate impact, drawing a superb save from Auton with a powerful header which the keeper dived full-length to push around his post for a corner.

Elliott came on for Lavelle in Town’s second change on 65 minutes and Booth followed him onto the pitch in place of Brown soon afterwards, with Cleethorpes pushing forward in a bid to haul themselves back into the contest.

Walker won a free kick in a promising position but the home side could not make it count, then Auton had to be at his best again to claw a header from Connor O’Grady away from goal.

Hawley replaced Hatton in the Town midfield with 10 minutes to go as the visitors still held a two-goal lead, despite pressure from their hosts.

Hughes lifted a shot over the bar from close range as Cleethorpes continued to come forward but the young Mariners side were defending superbly against strong opposition to keep their advantage intact.

Booth created a chance for Town with a run down the left but missed the target when he shot from 20 yards and Braithwaite flicked a header wide at the other end.

Another attempt from Booth was stopped by Battersby just before the game moved into four minutes of added time, then an Abbot free kick from the home right proved comfortable for Auton.

The keeper made another good stop when he dived to hold a header from Bailey Conway and Town saw out the remaining time to ensure an excellent performance was capped with a clean sheet.

It means they will now play for the right to lift the county cup trophy for the first time since a 2-1 victory over Lincoln City in October 2014, with the second semi-final set to be contested between Lincoln United and Boston United on February 18.

The Mariners are back in league action on Saturday, when they face a trip to Cheltenham Town.

Town: Auton, Warren,  Lavelle (Elliott, 65), Graham, Jalloh, Amaluzor, Hatton (Hawley, 80), Oduor, Brown (Booth, 67), Smith, Cook (Onoh, 46)

Subs not used: Midwinter, Edwards, Carrick

UTM