Grantham Town Left Empty-Handed After Late Winner

March 27, 2026 Gary Grantham Town, Local Non-League Clubs 0

Grantham Town travelled to Ashby Ivanhoe for the return fixture hoping to repeat the result from Saturday’s home victory, but this time they came away empty-handed after a late winner from the hosts.

Ashby, who are battling relegation in the bottom four, were never going to be easy opponents, something they had already shown with their second-half performance against the Gingerbreads just five days earlier. With Sherwood and Boston Town sitting four points ahead in the table, this was an important catch-up game for Grantham if they wanted to remain in the automatic promotion race, and they were also looking to continue the good run of form that had put them in such a strong position.

Grantham started the game well and created a couple of early chances. Their pressure paid off in the 20th minute when they were awarded a penalty, which Terry Atem converted to give them the lead. The visitors continued to push forward and had further opportunities, including an effort cleared off the line and a strong save from the Ashby goalkeeper. There was also another penalty appeal for what looked like handball in the box, but the referee waved play on. The Grantham manager later suggested that the referee may have been reluctant to award a second penalty after already giving one earlier in the half. Despite creating chances, Grantham went into the break only 1-0 ahead.


The second half followed a similar pattern to Saturday’s game, with Ashby coming back strongly. This time they made their pressure count, equalising in the 64th minute. The goal lifted the home side, but Grantham knew a draw would not be enough and began pushing forward in search of a winner. Changes in both personnel and tactics saw them commit more players forward, but this left gaps at the back, and Ashby took advantage in the 88th minute, scoring what proved to be the winning goal.

The defeat leaves Grantham third in the table, four points behind with four games remaining. Attention now turns to a very important upcoming match against fellow play-off contenders AFC Mansfield, who are also in good form. Automatic promotion may now be slipping away, but the focus will be on securing a play-off place, starting with that crucial home fixture.