KARL WHITEHOUSE TAKES A LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF WOLVES V GRIMSBY
Wolves meet Grimsby Town for the 82nd time, and for the 6th time in the FA Cup. Their last cup meeting was in the first round of the competition ending in a defeat.
The two sides have met five times in the FA Cup so far, Wolves have won three times including a replay, Grimsby have won once and there has been one draw between both sides.
Interesting stat as well both teams hold the record at Old Trafford Manchester United’s ground for a FA Cup Semi Final game of 76,962.
Wolves last 6 FA Cup Fourth Round Games
9th February 2025 Blackburn 0 Wolves 2 at Ewood Park
28th January 2024 West Brom 0 Wolves 2 at Hawthorns
5th February 2022 Wolves 0 Norwich City 1 at Molineux
22nd January 2021 Chorley 0 Wolves 1 at Victory Park
26th January 2019 Shrewsbury Town 2 Wolves 2 at Montgomery Waters Stadium
28th January 2017 Liverpool 1 Wolves 2 at Anfield
FA Cup Meetings
20th February 1937 FA Cup Fifth Round Grimsby Town 1 Wolves 1
Grimsby Town (0) 1 (Craven 49): Tweedy, Kelly, Hodgson, Hall, Betmead, Buck, Dyson, Bestall, Glover, Craven, Lewis.
Wolves (1) 1 (Galley 27): Gold, Morris, J Taylor, Wharton, Cullis, Gardiner, Smalley, Galley, Clayton, Thompson, Ashall.
Interesting stat the attendance of 31,651 between both sides is still the record crowd to this day.
24th February 1937 FA Cup Fifth Round Replay Wolves 6 Grimsby Town 2
Wolves (2) 6 (Westcott 7, Clayton 30 57, Jones 70, Ashall 76 89): Gold, Morris, J Taylor, Wharton, Smalley, Gardiner, Westcott, Galley, Clayton, B Jones, Ashall.
Grimsby Town (1) 2 (Lewis 20, Craven 72): Tweedy, Kelly, Hodgson, Hall, Betmead, Buck, Dyson, Bestall, Glover, Craven, Lewis
25th March 1939 FA Cup Semi Final Wolves 5 Grimsby Town 0
Wolves (2) 5 (Westcott 32,41,86,87, Galley 48p): Scott, Morris, Taylor, Galley, Cullis, Gardiner, Maguire, McIntosh, Westcott, Dorsett, Mullen.
Grimsby Town (0) 0: Moulson, Vincent, Hodgson, Hall, Betmead, Buck, Boyd, Beattie, Howe, Jones, Crack.
8th January 1955 Third Round Grimsby Town 2 Wolves 5
Grimsby Town (2) 2 (Stokes 4, Harrison 18): Williams, Brown, Higgins, Conner, Johnston, Walker, Stroud, Harbertson, Stokes, Harrison, Maddison.
Wolves (0) 5 (McDonald 51, Swinbourne 72, Smith 74, Wilshaw 81 83): Williams, Stuart, Shorthouse, Slater, Wright, Flowers, McDonald, Broadbent, Swinbourne, Wilshaw, Smith.
19th November 1988 FA Cup First Round Grimsby Town 1 Wolves 0
Grimsby Town (1) 1 (Cockerill 38): Sherwood, McDermott, Agnew, Lever, Tillson, Cunnington, North, Sanders, O’Kelly, Cockerill, Alexander; Subs Jobling, Grocock.
Wolves (0) 0: Kendall, Bellamy, Venus, Clarke, Robertson, Robinson (Bennett 68), Thompson (Gallagher 77), Downing, Bull, Mutch, Dennison.
Head-To-Head
Wolves have won 39 games
Grimsby Town have won 27 games
There have been 15 draws
FA Cup Meetings
Wolves have won 3 games
Grimsby have won 1 game
There has been 1 Draw
Do you remember last time we played Grimsby in a league game?
Grimsby Town 0 Wolves 1 8th April 2003
Setting the scene
Wolves knowing a win can take them up to 5th place in the league trying to build up a cushion between themselves and the teams below and Grimsby in the relegation zone in 23rd place with manager Paul Groves under pressure needing wins to boost survival chances.
First Half
Grimsby start the game on the front foot testing Murray in the Wolves goal early with Hughes having a shot from 25 yards saved comfortably by the goalkeeper.
The frantic pace still going on allowed Wolves to get the opening goal of the game from Blake who latched onto a neat pass from Miller and put his low shot past Coyne into the corner of the net for his 11th goal of the season.
Wolves could have had a second goal in the game with Ince who narrowly headed wide of the goal.
With Grimsby having moments in the game had a header from Santos blocked by Murray and Hughes fired wide of the goal as they were pushing forward looking for an equaliser.
With half time approaching Wolves had a great chance from Miller only for Coyne to deny him.
Half Time
Grimsby Town 0 Wolves 1
Second Half
Wolves turn to start the game on the front foot testing Coyne with Blake having a shot from 18 yards out at full stretch to tip over the bar.
There has not been much in terms in chances for Grimsby since the half restarted.
Cooper a second half substitute almost got a second goal for Wolves hits his shot from the edge of the box, but goalkeeper hardly tested in that moment.
Wolves survive the pressure late into the game from Grimsby as they were pressuring late on for the equaliser.
Conclusion
Wolves looked a nervous side to start with, but they grew into the game, but Grimsby had spells in the game to pressure for an equaliser but lacked the cohesion in the finish needed.
Full Time
Grimsby Town 0 Wolves 1
Teams
Grimsby Town 0: Coyne, McDermott, Gallimore, Santos, Ford, Campbell (Boulding 64), Bolder, Groves, Hughes, Keane (Livingstone 85), Mansaram; Subs Allaway, Chettle, Cooke.
Manager: Paul Groves
Wolves 1 (Blake 13): Murray, Irwin, Naylor, Butler, Lescott, Ndah (Cooper 65), Cameron, Ince, Kennedy, Blake, Miller (Simpson 82); Subs Oakes, Rae, Edworthy.
Manager: Dave Jones
Attendance: 4,983
Played for both clubs
Dave Beasant
Played for Grimsby in a loan spell 1992 for 6 games and played for Wolves in a loan spell 1992 for 4 games.
Jack Beattie
Played for Wolves 1933-1934 made 44 appearances scored 13 goals and played for Grimsby Town 1938-1939 made 59 appearances scored 13 goals.
Kyle Bennett
Played for Wolves 2000-2010 did not make a single appearance and played for Grimsby Town 2020-2021 in a loan spell made 13 appearances.
Ryan Bennett
Played for Grimsby Town 2007-2010 made 117 appearances scored 6 goals and played for Wolves 2017-2020 made 92 appearances scored 3 goals.
John Burridge
Played for Wolves 1982-1984 made 74 appearances and played for Grimsby Town 1995-1996 did not make any appearances.
Lewis Gobern
Played for Wolves 2004-2009 made 13 appearances scored 2 goals and played for Grimsby Town 2010-2011 made 9 appearances.
Ryan Green
Played for Wolves 1997-2001 made 16 appearances and had a trial with Grimsby Town 2001.
Scott McGarvey
Played for Wolves 1984 in a loan spell from Manchester United made 13 appearances scored 2 goals and played for Grimsby Town 1987-1988 made 65 appearances scored 14 goals.
Adam Proudlock
Played for Wolves 1998-2003 made 71 appearances scored 13 goals and played for Grimsby Town 2008-2010 including a loan spell made 55 appearances scored 9 goals.
Graham Rodger
Played for Wolves 1984-1985 made 1 appearance and played for Grimsby Town 1992-1998 made 147 appearances scored 11 goals.
Jackson Smith
Played for Wolves 2021-2023 did not make any appearances and is currently playing for Grimsby Town had 2 loan spells 2024 and 2025 to current day made so far 14 appearances.
Steve Stoutt
Played for Wolves 1985-1988 made 94 appearances scored 5 goals and played for Grimsby Town 1988-1990 made 3 appearances scored 1 goal.
Robert Taylor
Played for Wolves 2000-2002 made 9 appearances and played for Grimsby Town 2002-2003 including loan spell made 5 appearances scored 1 goal.
Donovan Wilson
Played for Wolves made 4 appearances scored 1 goal and played for Grimsby Town 2023-2025 made 45 appearances scored 10 goals.
Other Players who played for both clubs
John Bell, David Black, John Bradford, Wilfred D’Arcy, Dickie Dorsett, David Felgate, Jack Ferguson, Tom Galley, Mick Halsall, George Harper, George Harris, John Harris, Charlie Henderson, Mark Hine, Tom Mayson, Jamie Pardington, Roy Sowerby, Ronnie Stockin, Terry Taylor, Billy Tennant, Malcolm White, Frank Wildman.
Played, Coached, Managed Both Teams
Graham Taylor
Played for Grimsby Town 1962-1968 made 189 appearances scored 2 goals and managed Wolves 1994-1995.
John Ward
Played for Grimsby Town 1981-1982 made 3 appearances and was at Wolves been an assistant manager and caretaker manager 1998-2003 managed for 4 games in his caretaker role.
Stuart Watkiss
Played for Wolves 1984-1985 made 2 appearances and was caretaker manager for Grimsby Town 3 times in 2006,2008 and 2016.
ARTICLE BY KARL WHITEHOUSE
I’ve been a dedicated Wolves fan for over 30 years, supporting the team through the highs and lows of the 80s, 90s, and 00s. I’ve followed them home and away, growing my love for the game into a passion for analyzing Wolves’ performances, especially diving into the stats behind their Premier League matches.
As the go-to person for Wolves stats on podcasts, I also love exploring football history for deeper insights. One of my proudest achievements is completing the journey to all 92 Football League grounds.