Grimsby Town made it through to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 23 years following a narrow 1-0 victory over League One Burton Albion at Blundell Park. 

The deadlock was broken on 76 minutes when a strike from outside the box from Harry Clifton took a deflection of Burnley loanee Lewis Richardson, which crept into the back of Jordan Amissah's net. 

The result for the Mariners means they will be involved in the forth round of the FA Cup for only the first time since 2000, when they lost to eventual semi-finalists Bolton Wanderers when they were playing their football in Division One (now the Championship). 

Here are a few things we learnt from the game.

League One? No problem

Grimsby's route to the fourth round has been an interesting one to say the least, coming up against three teams that play their football in the division above. 

In the first round, the Mariners completely wiped the floor with Plymouth Argyle, who currently sit top of the pile in League Oneby demolishing them 5-1 at Blundell Park, with Grimsby leading 4-1 at the break after being 1-0 down. 

The second round saw Paul Hurst's men take a trip to Cambridge United, who needed penalties to claim their place following two goalless games against non-league Curzon Ashton. 

At the Abbey Stadium, a brace from winger Otis Khan, including a 90th minute winner following a U's equaliser from Sam Smith, earnt Grimsby a deserved passage into round three for the first time since 2019. 

This all culminated with the third round tie against Burton Albion at Blundell Park, where in the end, Grimsby were deserved winners following a relatively scrappy affair in difficult conditions.

With these victories against teams in a higher league to Grimsby, the players and staff may feel that they have it in them to perform at a higher level on a regular basis by achieving promotion from League Two.

They haven't won these games by accident either.

You could argue that they have been the better team in all three rounds against the sides mentioned and heading into the next round, Mariners fans would fancy their chances against a side that play their football in a higher division than League One. 

A special day for Harry Clifton

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It may have been a special day for Grimsby by reaching the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 23 years, but it was also a special day for Mariners midfielder Harry Clifton, who made his 200th appearance for the club. 

Clifton, who was named captain for the day, came through the youth ranks with the North East Lincolnshire outfit, with then manager Russell Slade handed him his debut as he came off the bench on 79 minutes in a 3-0 defeat to Yeovil Town back in early 2018. 

The 24-year-old might have felt a little deprived that his strike in the 76th minute didn't result in a goal for himself on his 200th appearance, with Lewis Richardson being credited for the goal as it cannoned off his backside. 

Clifton however was full of pride come the end of the game for making his 200th appearance for his hometown club, a bit of a rarity these days, but along with that, progression in the FA Cup. 

"It's just unbelievable really," said Clifton. "I had a moment in the changing room to try and take it all in.

"You don't normally get too many days like that in football where everything just seemed to fall into place.

"Playing my 200th game, being named captain and then getting into the fourth round of the FA Cup in which we haven't done for so long, it just fell into place nicely and it's an amazing feeling."

Another clean sheet 

In terms of the game, despite the victory, one thing that will please Paul Hurst and Mariners supporters alike is that they've kept another clean sheet. 

It's Grimsby's second clean sheet in as many games, following on from their 1-0 home victory against Stockport County in League Two on New Years day. 

Before that, the Mariners had failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 12 games in all competitions, conceding a total of 20 goals in that time. 

In the game however, other than a 20 minute spell in the first half where the Brewers were on the front front, the Grimsby defence nor Max Crocombe were never really troubled on the whole, with Burton only having two chances on goal, with one on target. 

Grimsby were pretty comfortable throughout with no real threat coming from the Brewers as they kept what looks to be one of the easiest clean sheets they'll keep this season.

Brewers bow out

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When the draw for the third round was made, Grimsby Town v Burton Albion wasn't exactly one of the glamorous ties, far from it in truth. 

What it did mean however is that with one team in the thick of a relegation scrap in League One whilst the other team sat comfortable in midtable in League Two, it could be seen by fans of the two clubs as a great opportunity to progress and earn some extra prize money. 

As previously mentioned, other than a 20 minute spell for Burton where they kept the ball well and got into some good area without creating any real attempts at goal, they were gradually getting worse as much as Grimsby got better as the game grew older. 

For Brewers fans alike, the defeat at Blundell Park is likely to be seen as a missed opportunity but above else, a much-needed distraction from the league, with their last game resulting in a 5-0 drubbing at Morecambe. 

In the end, they ended up getting beaten by the better side and on the whole, with two shots in the game, including only one on target against a side in the league below who have only won three league games at home all season, it just wasn't enough to progress. 

The wait continues

With this result, a return to the fourth round for Burton, the furthest they've ever gone in the FA Cup back in 2011, goes on. 

The tie seemed like a great opportunity for either team to progress into the next round in the hope they would get that glamour tie against a Premier League side. 

In the end, it was Burton who just fell short as Grimsby progress, a result that manager Dino Maamria is bitterly disappointed about, especially with how his side played in the second half. 

"Overall I’m bitterly disappointed," expressed Maamria. "Fair play to Grimsby - they showed a lot of courage in the second half and battled really well for their team.

"The goal we conceded was a deflection, a shot from the edge of the box, and I knew today was going to be really close, a battle more than anything else. We came second best in that battle."

As well as that, Maamria has insisted his side need to quickly move on from this result and focus on the league as he tries to bring in more players in the January transfer window to give his team a chance to avoid the drop. 

"We didn’t deserve to go to the fourth round after the second half performance today. It’s done and now it is total focus on the league and the transfer market to give us a fighting chance."

Into the hat

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As disappointing as Burton were, the Mariners will now look forward to the fourth round of the FA Cup, their first appearance at this stage of the competition since 2000.

The draw has got the potential to be a big reward for Grimsby, following their efforts in this season's competition by knocking out three League One sides to get to this stage. 

When asked if he was hoping for a big draw, Hurst replied: "Of course, I think you have to.

"There are some other teams left in there that will look at us and say 'they've done extremely well to get to the fourth round', but you live the dream for a little while, and that's what we'll do on Monday.

"Looking at the teams left and you almost feel a little bit sick thinking about the draw and what might happen

"I usually watch the draw. Whether I'll do on Sunday, we'll see."

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