The Fleet gave a strong Grimsby side a big scare for 45 minutes of this First Round tie before a sending-off in first-half added time swung the game the way of the hosts.
Josh Wright made five changes but the Fleet were the first to settle and the hosts were disrupted with an early change in the first 10 minutes when Clarke Odour replaced the injured Jayden Sweeney.
And the visitors were certainly the better side, pressing their League Two opposition back and picking up four corners before the 20-minute mark was up. Former Grimsby man Jake Hessenthaler was at the centre of the action with a volley over the bar and a close-range header that forced a save out of Christy Pym.
Grimsby’s first real chance of the match came when Jason Svanthorsson struck an effort goalwards but that caused no problems for Gio Bellagambi, who enjoyed a quiet first period.
Just past the half-hour point, the Fleet took a deserved lead. Charlie Seaman advanced down the right flank and outpaced the defence to fire a low shot under Sym to shock the Mariners.
It might have been worse for the League Two side when Seaman’s delivery just eluded Aaron Cosgrave and then the same players was denied a huge penalty shout after Seaman appeared to be brought down in the area. But the referee waved it away with most of the stadium expecting him to blow his whistle.
The drama continued at Blundell Park in the closing stages of the first-half when a challenge from Ben Chapman on Jamie Walker just past the halfway line saw the Fleet’s No.22 somewhat harshly red-carded. Grimsby thought they’d found the back of the net moments later when Danny Rose fired past Bellagambi but Rose was denied by the offside flag.
With a change made at the break and an extra man, Grimsby came out in the second-half on the front foot and quickly found themselves ahead with two goals in three minutes. A goalmouth scramble led to ball falling at the feet of Rose and he struck the ball home on 54 minutes while a headed effort from Cameron McJannet after another tussle in the box sent Grimsby towards the Second Round two minutes later.
Despite efforts from 10-man Fleet, Grimsby were holding on to possession and they eventually found a third, when Geza Turi’s effort took a big deflection off Rose for his second of the afternoon.
EUFC: Bellagambi, Seaman (Passley 65), Chapman, Olagunju, Nelson, Coker (Peake 82), Hessenthaler (Domi 73), Kennedy, Manktelow, Cosgrave (Samuel 65), Coley (Barnes 82). Subs not used: Appiah, Anthony, Cousins
GTFC: Pym, Sweeney (Oduor 10), Rodgers (Warren 78), Lavelle, Walker (Kabia 56), Khouri, Svanthorsson, Turi, McJannet, Vernam (Amaluzor 78), Rose (Soonsup-Bell 78). Subs not used: Green, Burns, McEachran, Casper
Attendance: 3,392 (178 EUFC)
Photos: ©EUFC/Tom Harris
