John Yems relieved with a point after Crawley survive Grimsby onslaught

Posted Monday, December 30, 2019 by PA

Head coach John Yems admitted his Crawley side had goalkeeper Glenn Morris to thank for their point against Grimsby.

After falling behind to an early opener from Jake Hessenthaler, the visitors earned a share of the spoils when Ashley Nadesan struck in the run-up to half-time.

Morris was called into action to deny substitute Jordan Cook, while Charles Vernam also went close for Grimsby as the game finished 1-1.

Former Bournemouth football operations manager Yems said: “It was a very good point. As I told the lads, it’s always hard to come here.

“When you are in the Premier League, you lose the feeling of what it means to the supporters.

“This is what football is all about. There are a few bones and legs still out there on the pitch, but that is what the game is all about.

“It was blitzkrieg for the first 20 minutes. Fair play to them – that’s the way they play.

“It took us a while, especially coming off the back of the Northampton game where everyone thinks you are going to win the European Cup because you have won one game.

“Sometimes you have got to roll your sleeves up and battle. We had a couple of chances, but our goalkeeper kept us in it.

“Credit to Grimsby – they kept at it and are a good, tough side.”

Grimsby’s interim manager Anthony Limbrick added: “We got off to a great start. After about 10 minutes, though, we weren’t as composed as we needed to be. It was probably our worst first half in terms of possession and passing for a while.

“We didn’t quite pass it well enough and their goal was, perhaps, deserved because they started to get a bit more possession. We didn’t want that to happen and we tried to find a way of stopping it.

“In the second half, it was a bit scrappy at the start.

“But there was only one team trying to win it. We were positive and got the ball into the box. I would ask how many saves their goalkeeper had to make compared to James McKeown.

“We deserved to get the win again but, again, we are sitting here and saying that. You can see that every single player is giving everything they have got out there.”