The Old Town and the Sea. Grimsby Town's FA Cup journey.

Words: Richard McClean

Images: Richard McClean

Is football about the journey or the destination? Merely the result at five o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, just the highs? Or all the lows in between with the beatings and bruises, the decades of decline which make those breaking waves so much sweeter, showering just enough hope to sustain the believer.

A party after a five-nil defeat 250 miles from home might be the last thing you would expect, but a party there was at Brighton and Hove Albion.

A dance, a rave, a celebration and a thank you for the pride restored; for the new memories, new hope, new heroes and new fish in new nets. A first FA Cup quarter final in 84 years, the first team to beat five teams from higher divisions in one campaign; History Makers, we salute you.

In the words of the voice of the Mariners, BBC Radio Humberside commentator John Tondeur, “This wasn’t failure. It was the end of a brilliant success.”

©Richard McClean. Grimsby Town at Brighton and Hove Albion.

You can find Richard on Twitter and Instagram: @rjmcclean

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