Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma, left, celebrates after scoring his side’s fifth goal during the English FA Cup quarterfinals soccer match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Grimsby Town at the AMEX Stadium in Brighton, England, Sunday, March 19, 2023. (AP Photo/David Cliff)
Deniz Undav, Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma netted one each for Brighton and Evan Ferguson netted the other two as the Premier League club gave a harsh reality check to the overachieving fourth-tier Grimsby
Brighton dashed League Two Grimsby’s dreams of a trip to Wembley with a 5-0 thrashing to book a place in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday, as Sheffield United edged out Blackburn 3-2 to set up a last-four meeting with Manchester City.
Fourth-tier Grimsby had made history on their way to the quarter-finals by beating five sides from higher divisions.
The visitors were cheered on by thousands of fans brandishing inflatable haddocks, a nod to Grimsby’s history as one of the world’s biggest fishing ports.
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But Paul Hirst’s men were caught out by the class of in-form Brighton, who are eyeing the club’s first-ever major trophy.
The floodgates threatened to open when Deniz Undav scored for the Seagulls after just six minutes.
Grimsby held out to limit the damage before half-time, but ran out of steam in the second half.
Evan Ferguson scored twice and had another strike ruled out by VAR check for offside.
Brighton’s free-scoring wingers Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma then rubbed salt into Grimsby wounds by scoring in the final 10 minutes.
The Seagulls will face either Manchester United or Fulham, who meet later on Sunday, in the semi-finals on April 23.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
