Santiago Bueno’s second-half winner ensured a safe passage into the FA Cup fifth round for Wolves as the League Two side Grimsby bowed out with pride intact.
The Premier League visitors had not won away in any competition since last April and look certain to be relegated to the Championship this season. But Rob Edwards’s side showed impressive resilience to avoid the kind of ignominy which led to Manchester United being dumped out of the Carabao Cup here this season.
After beating Ruben Amorim’s side on penalties, Grimsby went on to win at Sheffield Wednesday before being hammered 5-0 at home by Brentford. They went into this FA Cup fourth-round tie on the back of a 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions, a sequence which has encouraged hopes of promotion to the third tier in the coming weeks.
The Mariners’ head coach, Dave Artell, has connected the club with the local community and their exploits in both major domestic cup competitions this season have put the Lincolnshire side back on the map. Certainly their dramatic penalty shootout win against United marked one of the famous nights in Grimsby’s history.
There was to be no Premier League scalp here as Wolves showed guts to eke out the win in conditions that were, at times, atrocious.
