Since a Coca-Cola Cup exit at Liverpool in November 1997, Alan Buckley’s Grimsby Town side had been on a marvellous run of results. This performance saw them surge towards the fringes of the Division Two Play Offs.

The week before this fixture against the Bees, the Mariners’ run had come to a halt. They suffered a 4-1 hammering at title-chasing Bristol City. Town were like a wounded animal for this visit of the West Londoners, and they were at their most dangerous.