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 haddock, a nod to Grimsby's history as one of the world's biggest fishing ports.
But Paul Hirst's men were caught out by the class of an in-form Brighton, who are eyeing the club's first ever major trophy. The floodgates threatened to open when Deniz Undav opened the scoring for the Seagulls after just six minutes.
Grimsby held out bravely 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.
March 19, 2023