CRAWLEY TOWN 0 GRIMSBY TOWN 1

Grimsby Town kicked off their Blue Square Bet Premier season with a long trip to Crawley Town backed by nearly 800 vociferous fans at the Broadfield Stadium.

Neil Woods handed starts to five of his summer signings with Kenny Arthur taking his place between the sticks with Darran Kempson, Steven Watt and Lee Ridley in front of him and Alan Connell up front.

Bradley Wood was given the nod at right back after an impressive pre-season, whilst the midfield consisted of Peter Bore on the right, Michael Coulson on the left and Michael Leary and Mark Hudson anchoring the centre of the park. Lee Peacock completed the starting XI by partnering Connell up front.

The big-spending visitors could boast plenty of quality in their ranks with Dutch goalkeeper Michel Kuipers in goal and former Sheffield Wednesday defender Adam Quinn marshalling the defence with ex-Rotherham captain Pablo Mills also named . Sergio Torres was expected to be the main threat from midfield whilst last season's Blue Square Bet Premier joint top scorer Matt Tubbs started up front with former Exeter man Craig McAllister.

Town lined up in a 4-4-2 formation and looked to stamp their authority on the game early but it was the home side who were making all the early running and Tubbs was the first to a get a good sight of goal but he shot wide when well-placed.

The visitors were struggling to get to grips with the Crawley attack and Tubbs again missed a glorious chance when he headed over from eight yards out after a cross by Barry Cogan on 14 minutes. Shortly after, debutant Watt was cautioned for a foul on the former Salisbury man.

There was a worry for Town as the game approached the 20-minute mark when Wood was clattered by Simon Rusk, the Crawley man being booked for his efforts. The Mariners began to impose themselves more on the game shortly after this and Watt should have done better when Coulson's free kick landed perfectly for him but the Scot could only direct his close-range header off target.

The Red Devils' best chance of the half followed just before the half-hour mark. Torres wriggled free of his marker and advanced into the area. The angle was tight but he only had Arthur to beat. The Argentine opted to square the ball across the face of goal though and the chance was lost.

The Mariners then took the lead seven minutes before the interval. A long clearance by Arthur troubled Kuipers and, under pressure from Connell, the former Brighton man handled the ball outside of his area and was dismissed by referee Carl Berry.

Crawley manager Steve Evans sacrificed McAllister for substitute goalkeeper Nick Jordan and his first job was to pick the ball out of the back of the net after PEACOCK stroked the free kick given against Kuipers into the corner of the goal from 18 yards.

The hosts responded well and Quinn found himself in space seven yards out but could only steer his header over the crossbar as the Mariners went into the break in front.

Evans made one change at the break, bringing on another front man in the shape of Liam Enver-Marum for Cogan and adopting a 4-3-2 formation.

For the early periods of the second half the home side were on top and had a couple of good chances to equalise. Tubbs worked himself some space ten minutes into the second period and tried to chip Arthur but the big Scot recovered well and tipped the ball over the crossbar.

Town manager Neil Woods brought Rob Eagle on for his debut in place of the ailing Wood. This prompted a reshuffle from the Mariners with Bore dropping to right back and Coulson slotting in at right wing with Eagle taking up his customary position on the left-hand side of midfield.

Just after the hour the home side had a golden opportunity to equalise. The Mariners failed to deal with a cross into the area and Torres found himself one-on-one with Arthur but could only place the ball into the side netting.

Evans made another attacking switch with eleven minutes left, pacy midfield Mikey Malcolm replacing Rusk. Town then strung together their best move of the half, moving the ball quickly from left-to-right, where Coulson swung a ball across the face of goal with Leary inches away from making a significant connection.

Crawley were enjoying plenty of possession and putting the Mariners under intense pressure but it was Grimsby who fashioned the next opening. Eagle crossed long for Connell who laid off for Coulson but the effort went wide of the target. That was Connell's last action of the game and he was replaced by youngster Nathan Dixon with five minutes remaining.

The hosts continued to pump balls into the Mariners' area but Woods' side held firm to hang on for the three points. The last time the Mariners opened a season with a win was 2006/07 when they defeated a Boston side, managed by Steve Evans, at Blundell Park 3-2.

CRAWLEY: Kuipers; Quinn, Hall, Wilson, Mills; Rush (Malcolm), Torres, Masterton, Cogan (Marum); Tubbs, McAllister (Jordan). Subs not used: Smith, Reason

TOWN: Arthur; Wood (Eagle), Ridley, Kempson, Watt; Bore, Hudson, Leary, Coulson; Peacock, Connell (Dixon). Subs not used: Garner, Cummins, Samuels.