Contrary to advance warnings there were plenty of away fans welcomed into the ''home supporters'' pub which almost touches the ground, The Crown. All very companionable. Decent pint of real ale. Booked in the Taylor''s Stand, which you access via Coley''s Bar!!. At the Ticket Office we asked for seats not too near the pitch. The lady told us with a wry smile that all the seats were near the pitch. She was right we were in Row F but were only two rows from the back row! Leg room was very limited. Mind you I am 6ft4. View was good, if low down. There were no supporting pillars at all in our stand to block anyone''s view. In fact the other two covered stands were also pillar-free. Well done the architect. Whilst The Crown was a good pre-match pub, do allow yourself time to have a pint in Coley''s Bar which is one of the best-appointed bars I''ve seen in any UK football ground in any division. Breath-taking. I''d say it was 45 yards long and 20 yards wide. Has 12 TV screens and a huge number of serving staff behind the bar. Pie, peas and gravy at £5 available in the corner of this immense bar space. Truly impressive facility for the fans. The visiting fans stood on the open-air terrace behind one goal and were very vocal, making for a great atmosphere. Officially there were over 1,000 Grimsby fans in attendance out of a 2,600 crowd. Well done to them. Match was lively with end to end football. Rarely saw any of that mind-numbing centreback to centreback square passing so prevalent in the Premier League. Grimsby had 3 or 4 players with good first touch and a bit of flair. The same players were also, unfortunately, prone to falling over, and the ref was taken in, awarding numerous free-kicks incorrectly to the visitors, including one from which they scored. He also awarded them a laughable penalty after two players collided face to face in the box. Happily they failed to convert it, the keeper making an exceptional full length save to a firmly struck and well-directed penalty kick. Accrington though less talented deserved their point. 4 days later Manchester United travelled to Grimsby for a League Cup tie, and were 2-0 down with 15 mins to go. Mbeumo and Maguire got them to a penalty shoot-out, but Grimsby won it 12-11 with Mbeumo hitting the bar with the 26th penalty.