Match report by David Elliott at Vale Park

GRIMSBY Town shipped four goals and had Danny Boshell sent off as they crashed to defeat against Port Vale.

The home side took the lead in the closing stages of a first half that had lacked quality from either team, with Louis Dodds profiting from slack marking to volley in from close range.

Danny North had a goal chalked off for offside as the Mariners looked to get themselves level at the start of the second half before a bizarre second goal doubled the Vale advantage, with a free kick from skipper Tommy Fraser beating everybody and trickling over the line.

Boshell saw red with five minutes to go when he brought down substitute Lewis Haldane inside the penalty area, although Josh Lillis went on to save Marc Richards' resulting spot-kick.

The hosts did not take long to get their third, however, with defender Gareth Owen heading in from a corner, before Lee Collins made it four in stoppage time.

Three changes were made to the Mariners XI that lost at home to Aldershot last time out.

Scunthorpe loanee Lillis started in goal for the first time since completing a loan switch from Glanford Park earlier in the week, replacing Tommy Forecast, who has returned to Southampton.

Paul Linwood came into the line-up in place of the injured Rob Atkinson, while there was a completely new centre-back partnership, with Matt Heywood joining the former Chester man at the heart of the defence.

That meant skipper Ryan Bennett was pushed forward into a holding midfield role after impressing there in the closing stages against the Shots.

Robbie Stockdale began at right-back, with Heywood and Linwood in the centre and Joe Widdowson on the left.

Chris Jones lined up on the left of midfield, with Peter Sweeney and Boshell alongside Bennett in the middle and Michael Leary on the right.

That left North as the lone striker, while it was a young substitutes bench, made up of Leigh Overton, Josh Fuller, Jamie Clarke, Bradley Wood, Grant Normington, Nathan Dixon and Matthew Bird.

Danger men in the hosts' side would include midfielder  Dodds and striker Richards, whose two goals knocked Sheffield United out of this season's Carling Cup.

Veteran attacker Geoff Horsfield would provide further firepower from the bench for Micky Adams' side.

The first chance of the game came on two minutes, when a foul by Heywood gave the home side a free kick 35 yards from goal.Captain Fraser took it and his ball into the box was headed over the bar by defender John McCombe.

Dodds worked an opening on the right with seven minutes on the clock but he could not pick out a Vale shirt with his cross, which was claimed comfortably by Lillis.

At the other end, Stockdale laid the ball off for Leary to fizz in a cross on the volley but it was too strong for Sweeney and North and rolled harmlessly away from danger.

On the whole, it had been a quiet start from both teams, with neither goalkeeper called into serious action in the opening stages of the game.

Both teams were finding it difficult to keep the ball and build up attacks, although the home side were doing most of the pressing.

Vale won the first corner of the game on 20 minutes but they did not profit from it.After a short corner, Fraser's cross was taken easily by Lillis.

Town's first flag-kick came three minutes later but Sweeney's near-post delivery was cleared by McCombe.

A foul on Stockdale just inside the Vale half brought about a Mariners free kick but again, the home defence got the better of the Grimsby attackers, with Gareth Owen heading Stockdale's kick away.

The first shot on target came on 27 minutes, with Dodds finding some space and letting fly with an effort from 20 yards that was straight at Lillis.

Another half-chance for Town came when Jones was fouled by Robert Taylor around 30 yards out and right of centre.Sweeney sent a ball in but Lee Collins got there first and headed away.

As the clock ticked past the half-hour, there was still little to choose between the two sides, with neither outfit able to put together any real spells of possession or create any danger in front of goal.

Leary was penalised for a foul on Damien McCrory out on the Vale left before another free kick came quickly after a poor challenge by Sweeney on the other side.This time, Linwood had to slide in to clear after a low cross into the Town six-yard box.

Midfielder Doug Loft was the first to see a yellow card, for a foul on Bennett near the centre circle.

The home side took the lead with two minutes of the half remaining.As a cross came in from Loft on the Vale right, the Town defence failed to pick up DODDS, who ghosted in to volley past Lillis from six yards.

Grimsby could have hit back before the break when a Bennett long throw was cleared back to the skipper.His low cross then came close to finding Jones at the far post but it was swept away before it could reach the former Swansea youngster.

The resulting corner was also dealt with by the home defence, meaning Town were again forced to head into the dressing rooms with a deficit to make up.

The first half as a whole had been short on quality from either side, with clear-cut chances few and far between.

Town had defended well when required to do so, with Linwood in particular enjoying a solid half.

But again, the Mariners had switched off at the crucial moment, leaving them with the now-familiar scenario of being behind at half-time.

No changes were made before the restart and Town had the ball in the net within three minutes of play resuming.After a Stockdale free kick from the right was cleared, Boshell found North at the far post.The striker volleyed past home keeper Chris Martin but the celebrations were cut short by the assistant referee's offside flag.

The home side could have had a second when Loft's 30-yard shot was deflected goalwards but Lillis was still able to gather.

Then at the other end, Sweeney found some space and hit a curling shot from 25 yards on the left.Again though, it proved to be no trouble for Martin.

Another good chance for the hosts came just before the hour mark when centre-back Collins was allowed to take the ball on and fire a shot from 18 yards.Luckily for the Mariners, the effort lacked direction and fell wide.

The first substitution of the game came on 63 minutes and saw Josh Fuller replace Leary on the right of the Town midfield.

Heywood appeared to block a shot with his arm but the referee ruled it was not a deliberate handball and the game continued until Sweeney was penalised for a foul near the halfway line.

Grimsby escaped that time but the second Vale goal was not to be long in coming.

It arrived in bizarre circumstances, after Bennett fouled Dodds on the Vale left.FRASER took the kick quickly and it was missed by both Lillis and striker Richards before trickling over the line.

Robert Taylor looked to make it 3-0 when he picked up the ball on the edge of the box and ran at Heywood.The defender narrowed the angle and when the shot did come in, Lillis was able to stop it at his near post.

Town were having to chase the game and they had a chance to halve the deficit when a Fuller cross found North but he headed over.

Then, a Bennett shot from 15 yards was headed off the line by Adam Yates as the Mariners tried to get themselves back into the game.

Taylor was replaced by Bristol Rovers loanee Lewis Haldane for the last 15 minutes of the game as Vale looked to build on their advantage.

Dodds was also rested for the final 10 minutes, with Anthony Griffith sent on in his place.

Town could have had a goal back on 84 minutes after great play by Fuller on the right.He pulled the ball back for Jones but the Welshman was caught between going for goal and playing in North and the chance was gone.

There was still time for more drama when the substitute Haldane picked the ball up on the halfway line and outran the Town defence.Boshell got back but could only trip the man as he advanced into the penalty area.

Referee Eltringham had no option other than to send Boshell off and give the penalty but when Richards stepped up from 12 yards, his spot-kick was saved by Lillis.

That did not mean an end to the scoring though, as Vale were to get their third of the afternoon a minute later.

A corner from Fraser was met by centre-back OWEN and his header beat Lillis at his near post.

And as four added minutes were signalled, another set-piece from the Vale right brought another goal.This time, Fraser's ball from a free kick was half-cleared and it broke for COLLINS to volley into the roof of the net from 12 yards to complete a miserable afternoon for the Mariners and their 229 travelling supporters.

Town are next in action when they face Hereford United at Blundell Park on Saturday.