Following up on AFC Emley's good win over promotion rivals, Pontefract, it was time, last night, to go to the other extreme, seeing off a bottom of the table team in Grimsby Borough. Matches like this are a real, to use a cliche, banana skin. Fail to win and you look a proper nana!

So, we fired up the Berlingo and set off for the Welfare ground in perfect conditions. Dry, no wind (amazing for Emley) and four degrees on the slightly dodgy external thermometer on the car. (I've had it at -39 degrees in the middle of summer on it!).

The first job was to distribute the Jaffa Cakes. Give them to the wrong person (you know who you are Kenny and Ingy) and the rest of the team just see the empty packet. So, having safely given them to Rolly to take into the dressing-room, we wandered to our place. We know our place because it is next to the piece of the stone wall where the top is SCREWED to the rest with three screws. I hasten to add that that is the only part of the wall screwed in place.

Evidence that the Jaffa cakes had reached the dressingroom and been divided up was borne out by the fact that the younger Jerome took his place on the bench with, at our estimate, three of them in his mouth. Somehow, I can't see his brother doing that at Carrow Road! 

Teams like Grimsby, at the bottom of the league, tend to have problems. This was evident from the fact that, with fifteen minutes to kick-off, Grimsby only had seven players warming up. Luckily, the others arrived and, with five minutes to go, they had a full team, but only one substitute. 

Having said this, full marks to the lads that did turn up. Grimsby have taken a few drubbings this season and it must have been very tempting to stick with Holby City and Masterchef, rather than driving the 270kilometres round trip to, possibly, be on the end of another football thrashing.

Basically, the match was almost all Emley. Grimsby's tactics became obvious fairly early on- pack the box and hope to hit the opposition on the break. It is interesting that, of the two teams we have gone to work on this season, Lincoln and Grimsby, they both had very good goal-keepers. Maybe it's the practice!

Two goals from Max Leonard, one of which, in the common vernacular, left the keeper grasping at air, a penalty from skipper, Paul (Syko) Sykes, and a header from the returning from injury, Doran Jordan sealed the points. 

News filtered, or twittered, through of the lights going out at Worsborough ten minutes into the match with rivals Hemsworth and the defeat of AFC Mansfield on the slopes of Hallam FC. At the end of the march, the 113 in the crowd applauded both sets of players off. The referee, who can be described as erratic, received good-natured boos. 

The spooky thing is that home matches this season against the bottom two teams, Lincoln Moorlands and Grimsby Borough both had crowds of 113!) 

Eyes will be on the Pontefract-Shirebook clash tonight (a draw would suit Emley, please) and then, it's off to sunny Rossington on Saturday.