Manager David Artell professed Grimsby will not celebrate survival in League Two after beating Swindon 2-0 at Blundell Park to secure their fate for next term.
Cheltenham loanee Liam Smith and forward Donovan Wilson scored the goals in the final quarter of the game to secure the win for the Mariners, who toiled for an opening goal for 75 minutes before the two late strikes came.
Closest rivals Sutton drew with Crawley which meant Artell’s side would have stayed up regardless of their own result but he was pleased to see quality prevail in the end to grab the win.
He said: “We’re not celebrating staying up. We’ve done our job by winning the game through having a good defensive shape and showing some quality in the final third when it mattered.
“We’ve often lacked quality in games but when we have had it recently then we’ve won games of football. Callum Ainley comes on and shows a great bit of skill to play in Liam when others might not have seen that pass.
“Goals change games and that moment changed the game and then Donovan scores a cracker. We’ve done our job in staying up but we’re not going to celebrate because we shouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place.
“I’ll take a fair amount of blame for that – it’s not about portioning out blame really but I make the decisions and the buck stops with me. Since the Doncaster game, we’ve undoubtedly improved and we haven’t lost many [at Blundell Park] since as a result.”
For Swindon, interim head coach Gavin Gunning got a chance to look at some young and upcoming talent in the game with their safety already secured as he reflected on a difficult campaign with one game still to play.
He said: “The composure Harley [Hunt] has shown in the game is fantastic and the young players are learning all the time and doing brilliant stuff at the same time. They’ve made mistakes but they’re learning from them which is part of the process.
“It’s been a bad season – we had a good first eight games but after that it has not been good enough and it is as simple as that. We stemmed the tide to start with [after the managerial change] and we’ve had to look at things differently in recent weeks.
“The last two games have been about giving some of the younger players a chance.
“We could’ve been ruthless and not given them a chance but when you know you’re safe, having won three out of the previous four, it is key to take this chance to see what the youth players can do at this level.”
Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Watford: Two-goal Gray rescues point for Rooney's side
Andre Gray scored twice against his former club to salvage a point for struggling Plymouth Argyle as they drew 2-2 with Watford on Friday.
Gray curled in an equaliser in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to seal a crucial point for Wayne Rooney's side in their bid for survival in the Championship.
The visitors made a quick start at Home Park when Ivorian striker Vakoun Bayo bundled in a cross from Yasser Larouci only eight minutes in.
Plymouth did, however, equalise against the run of play in the 23rd minute when Lewis Gibson's long ball into the box was met with a spectacular volley from Gray.
Watford regained the lead before the break when Imran Louza's free-kick was knocked back by Mattie Pollock, with centre-back Ryan Porteous on hand to steer the ball home.
But just as it looked like Watford would go home with all three points, Gray picked up the ball on the edge of the area and fired home a stunning effort beyond Daniel Bachmann.
Tom Cleverley's Watford sit in fifth place and trail leaders Sunderland by five points, while Plymouth are 17th with 17 points from 16 matches.
Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Toulouse: Neves stars in comfortable home win
Paris Saint-Germain maintained their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Toulouse on Friday.
Following Monaco's 3-2 win over Brest earlier in the day, Luis Enrique's side responded emphatically to stay five points clear at the top of the table.
After a dominant start, PSG got themselves ahead in stunning fashion when Achraf Hakimi's cross was brilliantly driven first-time into the bottom corner by Joao Neves.
But Toulouse provided a threat after the break and should have drawn level in the 70th minute through Shavy Babicka, but he fired over with only Matvey Safonov to beat.
That mistake ultimately proved costly with the hosts doubling their advantage eight minutes from time when Beraldo took advantage of some poor defending to finish inside the box.
The triumph was sealed in the first minute of second-half stoppage time through substitute Vitinha, who danced into the box before finishing high into the corner from close range.
Luis Enrique's side will now turn their attentions to the Champions League, with a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich awaiting on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Party in Paris
PSG's dominance in Ligue 1 continued on Friday, with Luis Enrique's side now having lost just one of their last 41 matches in the top-flight (W30 D10).
Neves was a particular standout for the hosts, winning more duels (nine), registering the joint-most shots on target (two) and the joint-most final third entries (seven) during the game.
Despite the scoreline, PSG were perhaps fortunate to emerge victorious. Though Luis Enrique's side accumulated 17 shots to Toulouse's 11, it was the visitors who ended the contest with a higher expected goals (xG) total, managing 1.39 to the Parisiens' 1.35.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
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