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It will go down as one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history.
Penalties either side of half-time from midfielder Gavan Holohan gave the Mariners a two-goal cushion and despite Saints defender Duje Caleta-Car setting up an agonising finale, the visitors held on to spark wild celebrations among the Grimsby players, staff and 4,000 travelling supporters inside St Mary’s.
Mariners fans can now look forward to a trip to European hopefuls Brighton in their first quarter-finial since 1938-39, when they lost to beaten finalists Wolverhampton Wanderers in the semi-finals.
Paul Hurst’s Grimsby are only the sixth team from the fourth tier or below to reach the quarter-finals since the introduction of the Fourth Division of the Football League in 1958-59, and only the second since 1989-90.
It is also the first time they have beaten top-flight opposition as a fourth-tier side in the FA Cup since January 1989, when they defeated Middlesbrough in the third round.
‘I said we could lose 10-0’
“I’m in shock,” Hurst, whose side are 16th in League Two, told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I’m so delighted for the owners and supporters, and the incredible away support.
“I [told the players] we could lose 10-0. I was saying I might have to bring a blindfold. It’s always the fear – if a Premier League team turns up, they can blow any League Two side away.”
The Mariners only returned to the EFL after finishing sixth in the National League last season, and needing extra time in all three play-off games – edging past Notts County and Wrexham before overcoming Solihull Moors in the final.
ITV summariser Ally McCoist admitted he “didn’t give Grimsby a chance” before kick-off.
“I couldn’t see a way they would get a result,” he said. “It’s magic.”
“We need to talk about Southampton another day because they have been shocking. It’s all about Grimsby. What a night for those 4,000 fans.
“It’s one of the greatest nights in their history.”
‘Eighteen months in dreamland’
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Alex Green of the DN35 Grimsby Town podcast said he backed his team to pull off an upset against the Premier League strugglers after seeing off higher-ranking opposition in each of the previous rounds.
Town overcame League One trio Plymouth Argyle, Cambridge United and Burton Albion in rounds one, two and three before thumping Championship side Luton in a fourth-round replay last month.
“We played Luton and I preferred to play Southampton,” he said. “The performance was incredible.
“We’re a very underrated knockout football club – so many teams have found that out. Compare our resources to someone like Wrexham – they massively outstrip us. It’s been 18 months in dreamland.
Manager Hurst is now in his second spell in charge at Blundell Park, having previously managed them alongside Rob Scott from 2011 to 2013.
He was reappointed in December 2020 following the departure of Ian Holloway but was unable to prevent the club from slipping back into the National League for the first time in five years.
“Some managers just click at clubs, and he does that at this club,” Green continued.
“The problem now is, we go from some fans disgruntled that we are 16th to being worried Hurst might go elsewhere.
“The love he has at this club is sensational.”
