Coulson strikes but fears remain

THE eyes of the sporting world will be focused on Cheltenham this week as the annual horse racing festival gets underway – but it's likely the mere mention of the place will make Grimsby Town's players feel sick.

League Two relegation rivals Cheltenham stifled any satisfaction of an away point for the Mariners in Morecambe with an astonishing 6-5 victory at Burton Albion – after being 5-3 down with three minutes to play.

It was an incredible result that dampened the Town mood post-match. They left the pitch still four points adrift, but entered the dressing room six points from safety.

The remarkable late drama at the Pirelli Stadium could lead anyone with Town at heart to fear that destiny is already taking their survival race down a rocky road

If that didn't, then the first half at Christie Park certainly would have – it was an awful display by Town.

The anticipated injury doubts saw three changes to the side that started the defeat at Crewe the previous midweek as Peter Sweeney, Dean Sinclair and Jamie Devitt joined Olly Lancashire in the treatment room.

Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro did shake off a groin strain to play and in came Nick Hegarty, Michael Leary and fit-again Tommy Wright up front with Lee Peacock dropping back into midfield.

Sammy McIlroy also made three changes for Morecambe – the most notable a debut for Colchester loan winger Simon Hackney on the left.

Town started brightly and found a way to goal through Michael Coulson who battled his way into the box from the right and made Barry Roche work low down at his near post.

It wasn't the strongest of efforts, but awkward for the keeper nonetheless.

At the other end, Town had Nick Colgan to thank for a stunning reaction stop on his line to hold Jim Bentley's volley from close range after Town's back-line again looked shaky as they stood off Hackney, and then former Mariner Phil Jevons, before Bentley drove on target.

There was another scare when experienced frontman Paul Mullin ran free to the near post but wasted an easy chance by his standards by diverting his header the wrong side of the post.

The Mariners defence looked like it was still haunted by the midweek mauling at Crewe and Town struggled to get out of their own half.

And they rode their luck again on 18 minutes when Rob Atkinson got in a clearing header under pressure a few yards out, but the ball came back in and Hackney curled an effort just wide from 14 yards.

Town started to get to grips gradually, but were still on the back foot and offered very little going forward, despite an attacking 4-4-2 formation.

What little did come their way fell mainly to man-in-form Akpa Akpro and, on 32 minutes, he swivelled in the box to try to convert a long free-kick but couldn't get enough pace on his effort to trouble Roche.

Renaissance man Colgan was again in inspired form and pulled off another superb one-handed stop a minute later at the other end when he saw Laurence Wilson's 25-yard pile-driver and just managed to get down and get his left hand there in the nick of time.

With the side already patched up, the last thing Town needed was another knock, but boss Neil Woods was forced into a change nine minutes before the break when Peacock limped off to be replaced by Mark Hudson.

The pressure from the home side finally told four minutes before the interval when another deep cross by Hackney found Mullin at the back post, and he converted back across a helpless Colgan – with the help of a brush off his own hand on the way.

Within a minute, however, Town had a glorious chance to level when a high Coulson cross ended up with Hegarty at the back post and he lashed it back low across goal where Akpa Akpro was waiting unmarked – but he blazed a left-footer over from just a few yards.

There was a hefty delay after the passage of play as Roche required treatment to a nose injury after trying to reach the first cross under pressure.

It had been a forgettable first-half display and Woods made another change for the second half as he looked for more attacking impetus. Adam Proudlock came on for Hegarty with Akpa Akpro switching to the right wing and Coulson to the left.

But it could have been 2-0 to Morecambe five minutes after the restart when Mullin rose well, only to see his header from inside the six-yard box come back off the top the bar.

Stewart Drummond tried to follow it up but Colgan was there to turn it around for a corner.

It looked like it would continue to be one-way traffic but, on 58 minutes, Town's best piece of play going forward brought them an unlikely leveller.

Left-back Joe Widdowson was the architect with a great run down the left to the bye-line, and when his low pull back somehow made it through a clutch of Shrimps players, Coulson composed himself to side-foot home past Roche.

It gave the Mariners renewed hope of getting even more than a point and their confidence was visibly boosted as they began to push the home side back for the first time in the match.

They kept plugging away and won a first corner of the game on 70 minutes but couldn't make anything of it.

The game was finely poised for either side to clinch victory and, with Hudson having a big influence since his introduction in midfield, it was Town in the ascendancy.

Bore was also coming to the fore on a ground where he had a huge impact two years previously with a quick-fire brace in a 4-0 triumph.

But they had to ensure they didn't push on recklessly and could have paid when Mullin again found a gap inside the box but flicked over at the near post.

Jevons, meanwhile, had had less of an impact and failed to complete the full 90 minutes against Town again when he was replaced by Wayne Curtis on 74 minutes.

Town, however, were looking a lot better – Leary twice firing in shots from distance and an instinctive effort from Proudlock swerving wide of the mark.

Wright also tested Roche with a daisy-cutter six minutes from the end.

Try as they might, Town couldn't find a winner and the ramifications of that were stark as that scoreline from Burton came through.

A much-better second-half display had earned Town a point on the road again, but unless they turn draws into wins, there will always be a nervous eye on other results.