Grimsby boss Michael Jolley hails ‘terrific’ James Hanson after Walsall win
Posted Sunday, September 01, 2019 by PA
Grimsby boss Michael Jolley believes James Hanson will cause havoc for League Two defences after he continued his fine start with a brace in a 3-1 win at Walsall.
Former Bradford striker Hanson – signed on a free transfer from AFC Wimbledon this summer – took his tally to five goals in six games for the fourth-placed Mariners, who are the division’s top scorers on 13.
His bullet header and penalty – given for Cameron Pring’s push on Max Wright – capped a Grimsby comeback after Elliott Whitehouse’s header cancelled out Caolan Lavery’s early strike for Walsall.
The victory ended Grimsby’s 122-year wait for a league victory at Walsall – their last triumph coming in 1897, a run spanning 26 winless visits.
“When you have got a player like James Hanson, you have always got a chance and I thought he was terrific – he was the difference between the teams,” Jolley said.
“If you put the ball in the right areas, he’s got a really good chance of scoring because he wins so many headers.
“We are pleased to have him with us and we think he can help the team enormously over the season if we keep him fit and playing. I thought it was a great performance from him.
“There are a lot of good forward players in League Two but Hanson and Matt Green give us good experience and at the moment they are producing the goods, so long may that continue.
“But we’ve got different ways of scoring, we try to attack teams in different ways – if people want to double up on James, we think we’ve got other players who can hurt them.”
Walsall, relegated last season, slipped to 21st after a third loss in four but boss Darrell Clarke is convinced he will turn their fortunes around.
“It doesn’t matter how you perform and how much possession you have if you are going to give the sloppy goals away that we did today,” Clarke said.
“We have to be braver in the final third. We’ve created more opportunities today, had a lot of possession, a lot of the ball but not been clinical enough.
“And we’ve not done our defensive duties as I expect us to do them. And that’s the reason why we’re coming in on the back of another defeat.
“I knew when I took the job, it was going to be a massive, massive job to turn the momentum around with a club that got relegated.
“What I will say is when we do turn it around – and we will turn it around – it’s even sweeter.
“We’ve had a bad start to the season with a new group of players, let’s dust ourselves down and move on.”
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