19 March 2023 , 12:22
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Grimsby have never been a big fish in Europe - apart from the cod war with Iceland 50 years ago.
But when Mariners captain Luke Waterfall leads another coastal skirmish at Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday, the 250-1 outsiders won't be worrying if the depleted fleet of trawlers are bringing home haddock or cod in the back of the net.
For those unfamiliar with local house rules: In Grimsby, haddock is the preferred dish of the day. Cod is for the cat or peasants across the Humber. But beware of the League Two giantkillers who have already shocked top-flight Southampton and Championship high-flyers Luton - these minnows bite like piranhas.
Around 4,600 travelling Mariners with their inflatable Harry Haddock toys will generate a turbot-charged atmosphere at the Amex, just as they did at St Mary's in the last round.
And Waterfall, 32, has seen it all before. Cup quarter-finalist? Been there, done that, with non-League Lincoln City six years ago.
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Brighton? Beat them 3-1 in the fourth round on the Imps' fairytale run in 2017.
Lifting a trophy at Wembley? Piece of hake – he did that when Lincoln won the EFL Trophy the following year.
Waterfall is up for the Cup again, happily rehearsing his trophy-lift with a souvenir mug from the Mariners club shop and drawing on the unforgettable experience of Lincoln's run.
He's up for the cup - Waterfall is no stranger to FA Cup upsets (Paul David Drabble)“Before the quarter-final at Arsenal, we visited the Red Arrows base at RAF Scampton just outside the city,” he said. “It was a real eye-opener speaking to the pilots about teamwork and their trust in each other.
“For them, just one mistake at 600mph up in the sky is not really an option. It was a good lesson in the importance of discipline and working together. It was a magical time to be involved in the rebuild of a football club, and that Cup run was the start of Lincoln climbing back from non-League to where they are now.
“Gates were down to 2,500 when I first walked in the door, but they were up to 9,500 by the end of that season and it was a fast track towards reconnecting a club with its fans and the city. Getting promoted back into the Football League was the important part, but it was the Cup run that generated the excitement and made the supporters dream.
Waterfall has praised the "good connection" Grimsby players have with the fans (Action Images)“Now I'm seeing it again with my own eyes here. It makes the people walk tall, it makes them believe in their club. On that run we beat Brighton, who were managed by Chris Hughton and flying high in the Championship at the time, and when we went 1-0 down early on you think, 'Oh no, this is going to be a long day at the office.'
“We managed to hang in there and deservedly won 3-1 in the end. It's a very different Brighton team now – I think there's only Solly March left from their side that day.”
The following season, Lincoln won the EFL Trophy – at the expense of current Grimsby boss Paul Hurst – and Waterfall discovered the magic of climbing 107 steps to the Royal Box in triumph.
The Mariners won 2-1 at Southampton in the last roundHe said: “Lifting a trophy at Wembley is something you dream of as a kid, and funnily enough we played the gaffer's team, Shrewsbury, in the final, because he was managing them at the time and we beat them 1-0. Maybe it's not the FA Cup, but when you walk up those stairs and there's a pot with your club's ribbons on it, and you're the one who lifts it above your head, it's something I'll always remember.
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“Every young kid rehearses doing that in the mirror, but only a handful get to live the dream. It does make a difference to a footballer's life in the lower leagues. In the street, fans come up to you and shake your hand or ask for a photo instead of walking past you with their heads down.
“Nobody expected us to go down to Southampton and win, and I'm sure nobody will give us a chance at Brighton. Miracles don't come along very often in this game, so it will be important to try and stay in the game as long as possible. It was brilliant at Southampton when all those inflatable fish were flying on the pitch at full-time and we were chucking them back. It's a good connection.”
Hurst's second spell in charge at Blundell Park is proving as memorable as the first, and Waterfall said: “This is a working-class town, we know how much this club means to the fans and they believe in the manager. Right from the off, when he came back, they got behind him and believed he was the gaffer who would take us back into the Football League. To do it once was a big achievement, but come back and do it again six years later was fantastic.”
In fact, like some fishermen's catch in the Grimsby docks, it was just brill.