Grimsby Town manager Michael Jolley says he was pleased with the Mariners’ strong finish in their 3-1 pre-season friendly win over Grantham Town.
Town took an early lead thanks to James Hanson’s fourth goal in two games, before Craig Westcarr equalised for the Gingerbreads.
But the Mariners continued their perfect start to the pre-season schedule as Mattie Pollock headed home late on, before Ahkeem Rose made it three with a 90th-minute penalty at the South Kesteven Stadium.
And Town boss Jolley was impressed with the way his side ended the game, utilising their substitutes’ energy and freshness.
Speaking on iFollow Mariners, he said: “The main point is it’s a good workout. Obviously it’s still relatively early – we’re doing double-sessions, and we did that on Monday.
“So it was really about getting more game-time into everybody, and we got 60 minutes into the starting 11.
“And then the other guys came on and got 30 minutes, and we’ll flip that around for the game against Boston United on Thursday.
“The substitutes were probably a bit fresher than the ones who started the game – all the guys who came on did a good job.
“And obviously Max Wright, Ahkeem Rose, Harry Clifton, and Brandon Buckley all brought a good energy, and I think that helped us finish the game strongly.
“It was a competitive game, and the pitch was tough for both teams at this stage of the season.
“It was a more competitive game than Saturday, so it’s definitely moved us forward from where we were then.
“So hopefully everybody has come through it unscathed, and that’s the main thing.”
Jolley praised the partnership of new strikers Matt Green and James Hanson as they continued to work well together in their second pre-season friendly.
He said: “We’re open-minded on exactly how we’re going to combine all the front players that we’ve got.
“But certainly those two have got a lot of experience, and I think they play well together, so there are good signs from those two certainly.”
And Jolley also revealed that he’s working hard to bring at least another new signing to Blundell Park before the end of the summer transfer window.
“There are a couple of things that we’re working on, but nothing’s imminent in terms of signing somebody today or tomorrow.
“But we’re certainly working away to bringing at least one more player into the squad because I think we need to do that.”
Watch Michael Jolley’s full post-Grantham Town press conference for free on iFollow Mariners.
