Walsall were back in action on New Year's Day as they made their way to Blundell Park where they took on Grimsby Town in their opening game of 2024.
The first goal of the game went the way of the hosts as, with around thirty-minutes of the first-half played, Danny Rose got on the end of a Kieran Green cross to prod the ball into the back of the Walsall net.
The Mariners' lead didn't last long, however, as Douglas James-Taylor levelled the scores nine minutes later as he broke away from his marker to put the ball home, getting his team back on track.
Walsall went on to take the lead a few minutes before half-time as Isaac Hutchinson grabbed his tenth goal of the season after a superb attacking move saw James-Taylor feed Hutchinson, who was only too happy to crash the ball home.
Walsall added to their head five minutes into the second half as Jack Earing, who was making just his second start in a year, got on the end of a Danny Johnson pass to make it 3-1 to the Saddlers.
Mat Sadler's men continued to pile misery upon their opponents as Isaac Hutchinson was afforded an opportunity to add another goal as Kamil Conteh felled Earing inside the area leaving referee Ed Duckworth little opportunity to point to the spot as Isaac stepped up and slotted home.
The goalscoring didn't end there either, as Priestly Farquharson got on the end of Taylor Allen's pass to bundle the ball into the back of the net, a nightmare of an afternoon for the hosts.
Walsall bagged their sixth goal of the contest in second-half injury time as Danny Johnson grabbed an all-too-rare goal following Isaac Hutchinson's well-judged pass.
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO
| GRIMSBY TOWN | 1-6 | WALSALL |
| ROSE (29') |
GOALSCORERS |
JAMES-TAYLOR (38') HUTCHINSON (43') EARING (50') HUTCHINSON (P) (55') FARQUHARSON (66') JOHNSON (90+5') |
| GREEN (29') |
ASSISTS |
EARING (38') JAMES-TAYLOR (43') JOHNSON (50') ALLEN (66') HUTCHINSON (90+5') |
| 66 | POSS (%) | 33 |
| 8 | SHOTS (TOTAL) | 18 |
| 3 | SHOTS (ON TARGET) | 7 |
| 9 | CORNERS | 7 |
| 12 | FOULS | 14 |
| 0 | YELLOW CARDS | 1 |
| 0 | RED CARDS | 0 |
| AT | BLUNDELL PARK |
| ATTENDANCE | 6,355 (215 WALSALL) |
| REFEREE | ED DUCKWORTH |
GRIMSBY TOWN
Cartwright; Mullarkey, Waterfall, Maher, Driscoll-Glennon, Conteh (Hunt, 50'), Green (Braithwaite, 72'), Clifton, Andrews (Khan, 79'), Eisa (Vernam, 79'), Rose
Unused: Eastwood, Rodgers, Gardner
WALSALL
Smith; Okagbue, Farquharson, Daniels; Comley; Knowles, Hutchinson, Earing (Allen, 60' 🟨), Gordon; Draper (Johnson, 33'), James-Taylor (Maher, 90+1')
Unused: Evans, Foulkes, Menayese