Evan Ferguson threw on a corset Brighton Grimsby’s fairy tale ended his FA Cup streak with a decisive 5-0 win over League Two’s 15th-placed side in the quarter-finals. Amex Stadium.
Deniz Undav scored in six minutes and 18-year-old Ferguson had a great afternoon and Solly March nodded in the fourth minute and Kaoru Mitoma decided the Mariners’ fate.
Town were the fifth fourth tier team to reach this stage in the history of the competition and hoped to accomplish what no one had done before by beating their commands. Premier League competitors
The Seagulls’ upcoming semi-final journey will be only their third, leaving them in contention to reach their first cup competition since 1983.
Grimsby More than 4,500 fans flocked to Amex Stadium, where home fans responded with plastic seagulls, many of them rocking the Mariners’ signature inflatable Harry Haddocks.
It’s always going to be a tough question for Town, who sits 76 rows down from Sunday’s rivals in the pyramid. Grimsby had beaten Southampton to get here, but Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton, with European eyes on it, was of a different caliber.
Ferguson tested Max Crocombe with a low kick from just inside the field in the first two minutes, and the visiting keeper coolly took the ball.
Grimsby enjoyed a short spell on the home team’s court before Brighton re-attacked and patiently passed before seizing the best opportunity to net an opener.
Moises Caicedo He thought the moment was his when he made a sharp low effort off center, but was instead rejected by Crocombe, who was there to make the save but was unable to stop and waited, allowing Undav to jump in and bury the rebound in six minutes.
The Mariners’ backers didn’t give up, escalating even higher as their side won a handful of unimportant set pieces, and Anthony Driscoll-Glennon made a good slip interception to narrowly clear Mitoma’s effort – though ultimately it seemed inevitable. against the goal.
Crocombe thwarted Undav’s attempt to nod in mid-March while Albion remained on the attack, the host approached when Pascal Gross from the right of the area sent a delivery to the distant Mitoma.
The Japanese international reached out to get the ball in, but instead diverted the ball six yards away.
Several subsequent attempts through Mitoma, Caicedo, and Pascal Gross all failed to find the back of the net, and the visitors did well to break Mitoma’s run in additional time to give themselves a shot after the restart.
Instead, early luck fell on Brighton when March’s mid-left flank hit the left post and the ball bounced off Undav, who misfired from his unwanted left foot.
But it didn’t take long for the hosts to push the game to two. Alexis Mac Allister found Ferguson with his back to the goal, Ferguson deftly knocked the ball down with his left foot, passed it to his right at the center, and shot home.
Ferguson completed his support when Undav swiped the ball and directed the ball into the lower left corner, setting up the Republic of Ireland international for a simple finish.
March sent a header past Crocombe in the 82nd minute, which looked like it would seal the scoreline before Mitoma was assured of a goal in each of their four games in the FA Cup this season and Brighton at home in the last minute of regular time. scored his fifth goal.