Back Hurst to do it again!

By Chris Dunlavy

WE HAVE HISTORY: Grimsby Town hold aloft the Play-Off trophy in 2016, again under Paul Hurst and Padraig Amond, inset

PICTURE: Alamy

GRIMSBY Town hero Padraig Amond has backed “incredible” Paul Hurst to repeat his play-off success of 2016.

Amond, 34, scored 30 goals for the Mariners in that legendary campaign, and started at Wembley as Hurst’s men beat Forest Green Rovers 3-1 to end their six-year exile from the EFL.

Grimsby start today’s encounter as underdogs against an in-form Solihull side, just as they did against Notts County and Wrexham, but Amond says the Hurst factor should not be underestimated.

“One thing I would say is that the spirit of this Grimsby team feels very similar to the spirit of ours,” says the Irish striker, currently a free agent after leaving Newport County last month.

“And it’s no coincidence that Paul Hurst is the manager. Hursty and Chris Doig, they’re incredible at bonding a dressing room.

You saw when he went to Shrewsbury and nearly got them into the Championship. That would have been unheard of.

“To come back the way they did against Notts County, scoring with the last kick of the game to earn extra time. To do what they did away at Wrexham, with all the limelight and razzmatazz that surrounds them at the moment. It’s a special thing he’s got going on there and for all that Solihull are a very good team, you have to fancy Grimsby.”

Amond has since played in multiple play-off campaigns for Newport, and last term won promotion from League Two on loan at Exeter City, but says Grimsby’s promotion remains a career pinnacle.

“The build up to the game was pure excitement,” he recalls. “We knew we’d have a lot of fans there, and that we’d outnumber Forest Green. We were all getting tagged off the fans on the way down, different service stations and things like that.

“My mam and dad were in Trafalgar Square the night before and they told me how everyone was singing Grimsby songs.

Worldie

“So we knew it was a big occasion for the club. They were coming in off the disappointment of the previous year, getting beat off Bristol Rovers on penalties. A lot of the lads were still there, and they wanted to right that wrong. But we were surprisingly calm on the day.

“The game was very cagey, then Omar (Bogle) scored two in quick succession, just before the break.

“At half-time, there were a few people getting a little bit excited, a few getting emotional. The gaffer just had to calm everyone down. Then Keanu Marsh-Brown came out and scored an absolute worldie for Forest Green.

“You’re thinking ‘Oh no, not again’. Then we had that unbelievable moment from Nathan Arnold in the last minute. Everybody was screaming at Jon Nolan to take the ball to the corner. He’s cut inside, laid it across and the ball broketo Nathan. The second Nathan wentaround the keeper,you knew thegame was over.

“The excitement and relief just poured out of everyone. I’d come off about five minutes earlier, so I wasn’t even on the pitch, but it’s still one of my favourite moments in football.”

For Amond and his team-mates it was also a life-changing moment, but his abiding memory is the joy of Grimsby’s supporters.

Experience

“Of courseit’sgreatto climb thosestepsatWem- bley andwinatrophy,” he adds.“Playersmove on. Managerstoo.The supporters arethere through thickandthin, and they’dbeen through a lot of heartbreak with theclub. To see the tears on their faces and see how happy they were – that was the best thing for everyone.

“Great memories, but they’re only great if you win the game. That’s the reality. I know from experience that a big stadium, when you’ve lost a final, is the loneliest place you can be. It leaves you feeling so alone and empty.

“When you win, it’s the opposite. Those Grimsby lads have got a chance to experience that today and I hope they do. With the affiliation I have with Grimsby, and the friends I still have there – Hursty, Doigy, James McKeown, Harry Clifton, Shaun Pearson – I want them to be successful again.”