Match report: Grimsby Town 2 Barnet 1

GRIMSBY Town's game-plan worked to a tee against Barnet on Saturday, but Paul Hurst won't take all the credit.

In the run-up to the clash, the Town boss warned that patience would be key against a team with a possession-conscious approach – a characteristic largely attributable to their iconic player/coach Edgar Davids.

And so, throughout the week, the Town boss and his squad worked diligently on a game-plan to limit their visitors' effectiveness – and all their hard work paid off on another heartening afternoon at Blundell Park.

Goals from Ross Hannah and another from second-half sub Liam Hearn were enough to seal Town's fourth consecutive victory – despite Dave Stephens' spectacular late strike making for a nervy finish.

And after the final whistle, Hurst was understandably delighted with his side's performance and paid a glowing tribute to the players.

"We knew they were going to knock the ball around and keep it well and so it proved," he said, "And so we talked about staying patient and we did that well throughout the game."

"We had a game-plan that we worked on in training and the lads carried it out well, meaning Barnet didn't really cut us open during the game.

"We stuck to our task and took our chances when they came our way and I was delighted to get the victory. As well as a good result, it was also a good performance and I couldn't be more pleased with them.

He added: "At the minute, the decisions I'm making seem to be working, but they're only working because of the players.

"I threw on Liam and Andy Cook on Saturday and they combine to score the second. So at the minute, I'm looking like an okay manager I guess! But that's all down to the players – I'm really pleased with them."

Another decision that Hurst would have felt vindicated in was to tinker with his previously unchanged side by bringing in Paddy McLaughlin and Alex Rodman for Joe Colbeck and Scott Neilson, who both dropped to the bench.

Davids, who can count Barcelona, Ajax and Juventus among his former clubs, decided to make the long trip up north, naming himself in the centre of the midfield alongside Curtis Weston.

And the Dutch master was at the heart of everything that was good about the Bees in the opening 20 minutes as the North London outfit, as expected, knocked the ball around with patience, tempo and no small amount of skill.

But for all their possession, the visitors rarely troubled James McKeown in the opening exchanges with only Luisma Villa bringing a routine save out of the Town stopper through a long range free-kick.

Town in fact had the ball in the net as early as 15 minutes in when Hannah rifled home following Lenell John-Lewis' clever dummy – but only after the whistle had gone for offside.

McKeown was then called into action to field Elliot Johnson's fine left-footed effort before easily claiming Andy Yiadom's tame free-kick after Shaun Pearson had been booked for a pull-back on George Sykes.

Jack Saville followed his Town counterpart into referee Peter Banks' notebook for a deliberate handball and when the resulting free-kick wasn't properly cleared, Hannah squandered the Mariners' best opportunity of the half when, unmarked, he dragged wide from just seven yards.

Just over a minute later, Town had strong appeals for a penalty turned down when John-Lewis went to ground as he looked to round former Arsenal stopper Graham Stack, however Banks was unmoved and the two sides went in goalless at the break.

The Mariners roared into the second half, clearly intent on building on their hard work in the first and just 12 minutes after the restart, many inside Blundell Park thought they had broken the deadlock.

A deep cross from John-Lewis, looped over Hannah's head before falling to McLaughlin, who after taking a touch, drilled a half-volley goalwards from yards out.

It looked as though the Northern Irishman had scored, but he had in fact only found the side-netting – much to the disappointment of those inside the Pontoon, who slumped back into their seats, thinking Town's big chance had gone.

But they needn't have worried.

On 67 minutes, Craig Disley won an excellent header in the middle, with the ball falling to John-Lewis, who shielded the ball well before slipping in Hannah.

The former Bradford City man kept his cool and stroked the ball past Stack before racing away to celebrate in front of a healthy crowd in the Main Stand.

Undeterred, the visitors look to hit back and a good chance went begging as Kieron Cadogan headed wide after a fine cross from substitute Jon Nurse.

Hurst then made a double switch with Hearn and Cook coming on for John-Lewis and the visibly exhausted Hannah before Sam Hatton curled an excellent free-kick into Stack's side-netting from fully 25-yards.

Hearn may not yet have reached the heights of previous seasons, but the frontman then proved his eye for goal is still as sharp when he doubled Town's lead with nine minutes to go.

Excellent work from Cook saw him skip into the box before unselfishly squaring to his strike-partner who brought the ball onto his right foot before drilling past Stack.

With that, Town looked as though they'd sealed a comfortable win – but the Bees proved to have a sting in the tail.

A late cross was half-cleared to the edge of the box and Stephens – up from centre half – took a touch before firing a scorching volley that flew past McKeown and drew applause from most inside Blundell Park.

That strike, and an initially nasty-looking knock to Hearn, served to set-up a nervy finish for the home faithful, but Town stood firm to hold off a late push from the visitors and claim another victory that keeps them handily-placed in the Conference title race.