Jamie Devitt scored on his Grimsby debut as Neil Woods' side battled to a 1-1 draw at Notts County.
Mariners earn a point as Hughes is sent off late on
Jamie Devitt scored on his Grimsby debut as Neil Woods' side battled to an impressive 1-1 draw at promotion-chasing Notts County.
Devitt, making his first appearance for the Mariners following a loan move from Hull, rifled in the visitors' first meaningful chance on the stroke of half-time after being found in space by Peter Sweeney.
Lee Hughes had given County the lead after 18 minutes when he deftly headed home an inswinging free-kick from Ben Davies, although the striker was sent off for a second bookable offence late on.
County showed no signs of a hangover following their 4-0 FA Cup defeat to Fulham and should have been out of sight by the interval, with Jamie Clapham and Karl Hawley spurning chances.
That proved costly as relegation-haunted Grimsby equalised against the run of play.
It was one-way traffic in the second half, with Mariners shot-stopper Nick Colgan forced into saves to deny Stephen Hunt, Davies and Craig Westcarr.
But with the game opening up, Grimsby looked to end their long winless run, which now stands at a club-record 22 games, and Michael Leary struck the bar before Hughes' late dismissal.
