David Artell expressed his pride in Grimsby’s performance to defeat League Two promotion rivals Port Vale 3-0 at home.
Cameron McJannet gave the Mariners the lead in the first half, which they defended for a large portion of the game before adding two more goals late on from substitutes Doug Tharme and Jason Dadi Svanthorsson.
It was a great way for Artell and his side to end the calendar year, conquering a promotion rival in Vale, who were unable to stamp their authority on the game as they have done in many away trips this term.
Artell said: “I’m proud. I thought it was a brilliant performance. We deserved what we got because we executed the game plan really well. We didn’t really look to be in any danger, and Jordan (Wright) didn’t have many saves to make.
“It’s a really pleasing performance against a team that are going to be in and around the top this season with the best away record in the league, and we deserved to beat them.
“It was the best atmosphere we’ve had here all season, and the crowd helped us.
“We want to create a team that everyone is proud to support, and that was a character-filled performance in which the players showed a desire to run through a brick wall for the team.
“Our pitch is difficult to play on, but we had enough quality at the right times and in the right areas of the pitch.”
For Vale, it was back-to-back defeats to end 2024 and seven league games without a win, which has allowed leaders Walsall to pull clear and seen Notts County, Doncaster and Grimsby join Darren Moore’s team on 37 points.
“The manner of defeat was disappointing,” said Moore.
“The lack of desire that was on the pitch today, and we told the players that what we saw from them was unacceptable.
“I don’t associate the side with a performance like that, and there is no place to hide. I wanted the players to stay in front of the fans (at the end of the game) and listen to what they were saying because I wanted them to feel and hear the disapproval.
“The fans will applaud them off the pitch when they perform well, but they were right to react as they did after this performance because it was unacceptable. There are things we’re not doing right as a team at the moment, and we need to get back to basics.
“Everything that we built before goes out the window because we can’t live on false pretences.”
