We only sing when we’re fishing!

A bit of a stressful day at work, eased by a walk in the sunshine. 

Then there was a football match on the telly that I‘m sure many missed - Grimsby Town Football Club (English Football League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system) versus Manchester United (Premier League). David versus Goliath in the Carabao Cup.

I first came to the UK 50 years ago when I was eight years old. My mum gently tried to get me to support her local-ish football club, Burnley, who play in claret and blue. I didn’t like the colours and, since I’ve always loved red, chose Manchester United instead. I have been a fan ever since.

In 1999 I first went to a Grimsby Town match at Blundell Park. My ex husband is a lifelong fan and he claimed the marriage vows included an allegiance to Town. I learned a lot about supporting a club that has little chance of winning, that is a plucky under dog and I found out tonight I still support them.

We watched the first ten minutes and I was amazed the score was still nil nil. We switched over to watch something else, and then switched back in the second half to see how badly Town were doing. I can’t have been the only one who was surprised that Town were leading 2 - 0! At the end of regular time Man U have evened the scoreboard. It felt like just a matter of time before the inevitable loss. 

Thankfully they skipped over extra time and went straight to penalties. I’ve cringed through many sets of penalties, but I’ve never seen anything like these ones. At the end of the first five pairs, they were tied at four each. Then they headed into sudden death overtime. Another set of five - still tied. They were running out of players to take a penalty, so both keepers had to take one! I have never seen anything like it! 

In the end, the Mighty Mariners of Grimsby Town beat Manchester United by 12 penalties to 11!! Unbelievable, but true!! 

This will be a night that lives on in the memory of Grimbarians forever more!!