Grimsby Town 1 Doncaster Rovers 1: A night at Blundell Park offers little attraction for fans dreaming of Arsenal

It promises to be a special occasion for not only the 5,000 fans expected to travel, but also the players and their manager as a new version of the ‘Ferguson-Wenger’ rivalry is played out in north London.

What that glamour tie won’t be is anything like last night’s low-key bow for Rovers in this season’s Checkatrade Trophy, a competition whose revamp a year ago could not have done more self-inflicted damage to its image if Gerald Ratner had been in charge of PR.

A Wet Tuesday night in Grimsby might sound like a fitting title for a particularly bleak Harold Pinter play, but it has, over the years, become the ultimate symbol of one-upmanship among travelling fans.

To survive a trip to Blundell Park is almost a badge of honour, as proved by one Millwall supporter who not only borrowed the well-worn phrase for a book about his football travels but also added Diary of a Masochist for good measure.

He, and all those who seem to believe Cleethorpes has its own micro-climate that dictates the heavens open without fail on every second day of the working week, will be disappointed to hear no rain fell during Doncaster’s visit.

Nor, however, were there many fans, either, as the football public flicked yet another metaphorical V-sign in the direction of a competition that began life 35 years ago as the Associate Members’ Cup.

A crowd of just 862 were present as the two sides fought out a 1-1 stalemate that, thanks to the ridiculous rule that means all draws must be decided by a penalty shoot-out, ended with Rovers claiming two points and their hosts one.

Marko Marosi was the hero for the visitors, saving from Sam Jones, Tom Bolarinwa and Harry Cardwell to ensure what had been a 3-2 deficit after three spot-kicks suddenly became a 4-3 triumph in sudden-death.

The swathes of empty seats as Marosi turned the final spot-kick from Cardwell onto the crossbar made for a pitiful sight in a ground that, barring the Findus Stand built in the early Eighties, has not changed too much since the days before the Second World War when almost 32,000 once squeezed inside for an FA Cup tie.

Such a paltry turnout for Rovers’ visit was a continuation of last season, when boycotts and protests became the order of the day as fans registered their disapproval of Academy teams from the Premier League and Championship being invited to take part.

Last night brought another as fans of Grimsby and Doncaster met three miles away in Humberston for a charity game that drew a crowd of 161 paying customers and another 595 watching a live feed on social media.

Those that stayed away from Blundell Park missed one spectacular goal from Andy Williams in the first half and not a lot else, despite the committed efforts of both teams and the late heroics of Marosi.

Williams’s big moment came seven minutes before half-time and a minute or so after goalkeeper Ben Killip had executed a quite exquisite Cruyff turn inside his own penalty area that left the Doncaster striker totally wrong-footed.

Revenge came quickly via a first-time shot that packed so much power that Killip had barely moved by the time the ball had crashed against the underside of the crossbar and down over the line. ‘You’re not singing any more,’ was the rather unnecessary chant from the 319 travelling fans from Doncaster, as even going ahead just before the half-hour mark had not been enough to nudge the locals into song.

Cardwell was the man in the right place at the right time for the Mariners, as he fired in from close range after goalkeeper Marosi had only been able to parry Diallang Jaiyesimi’s shot into his path.

With neither side able to find a winner in 90 minutes, the tie went to a shoot-out played under the new ABBA format.

Marosi and Rovers eventually prevailed, though the low-key celebrations hinted at just how little this new format adds to a first round that now takes the best part of three months to compete.