Grimsby got ever so close to promotion but missed out yet again and face another campaign in the Conference next year. The season started with expectation about a strong promotion challenge after getting to the play-off semi-finals in the previous season. The squad seemed upgraded as Scott Brown, Aristote Nsiala and Carl Magnay looked like good additions, while no key players departed. The first few weeks of the season were frustrating as the Mariners struggled to really get going and dropped points against mediocre opposition. They did send a reminder of their undoubted quality in hammering Gateshead 6:1 on the road in August but have found wins hard to come by in the first couple of months, winning just three out of the opening ten outings. Paul Hurst was confident that his side would quickly pick up their form and they indeed went on an excellent run of one loss in 12 games after that. Picking up narrow wins against strong sides like Wrexham, Torquay and Halifax saw them rise in the table and they were second by late November. They developed into a strong promotion challenger by playing an effective brand of football that was based mostly on keeping clean sheets and relying on the power and bustle of Lenell John-Lewis up front to deliver the goals. The wins kept on stacking, even if a couple of painful losses to Lincoln and Macclesfield over the festive period stalled the momentum a bit. But the team was in imperious form at the start of 2015 after beating strong sides like Barnet and Eastleigh to move into a position to challenge for the title. Ollie Palmer proved an excellent loan addition up front while the form of Nathan Arnold after an injury-disrupted start of the season was exceptional as well. Another win over the leaders, Barnet, on the road further bolstered the belief in the camp and Hurst’s men looked like the ark horse in the three-way battle for automatic promotion. They were on a run of ten wins out of 13 games but eventually dropped big points against Gateshead and Wrexham at home to miss out on the top spot. They shrugged that off quickly and were superb in the play-off semi-final to see off Eastleigh 5:1 on aggregate. It set up a big final clash against a strong Bristol Rovers and there was really nothing to separate the two teams. The Mariners only fell short due to missing one more penalty in the shootout. It meant that they fall short again and will have to come back strong. They have the quality and strength to do it and Hurst will be desperate to finally complete the journey in the upcoming campaign.
