Grimsby Town boss reacts to Christy Pym red card in defeat to Chesterfield
Grimsby Town manager David Artell had no complaints over the decision to send off goalkeeper Christy Pym in Chesterfield’s 1-0 win.
The Mariners were reduced to 10-men eight minutes after the break when Pym was sent off for wiping out Lee Bonis on the edge of the box. And the Spireites made the hosts pay when Dilan Markanday’s trickery forced Harvey Rodgers to slice the ball into his own net and that was enough to secure a good win for the visitors at Blundell Park.
When asked if he had complaints about the red card, Artell replied: “No. It was the one thing he (referee Martin Woods) got right. I am not going to say any more about the ref.”
Chesterfield stopper Zach Hemming was on hand to make some smart saves but the visitors had some chances of their own through Ronan Darcy, Bonis and Markanday. Pym’s red card galvanised the home crowd and Grimsby were spirited but they came undone when Markanday’s cross was Rodgers got his clearance all wrong.
"I thought we were the better team in the first-half,” Artell said. “We should have been at least 1-0 up. I didn’t think there was much in the game when we were a man down. I thought we showed great desire, courage and resilience but we ultimately come away from it with no points. There were lots of positives.
"We didn’t score when we were on top. If the numbers had remained equal, I genuinely think we would have gone on and won the game. With the exception of Markanday’s chance, they haven’t opened us up with 10-men. I thought we gave up very little against a Chesterfield who scores lots of goals themselves.”
The victory means the Blues leapfrog Grimsby and they climb from 10th to sixth in the League Two table, extending their unbeaten run to eight.
Artell continued: “We have had a few great chances but we haven’t taken them and goals change games. I thought the lads, when we had 10-men, were very good.
"The performance was there again today, against a decent team. I thought it was a good game. On another day it goes our way. Whilever the performances are there I am not too worried. We are the top scorers in the league but we have got to be even more ruthless.
"I thought we competed very well (with 10-men). There were things we did not get right. When you go down to 10 you have got to get more legs on the pitch to cover more ground. It is a difficult one to take.”