Grant McCann hailed an “excellent” performance as Hull City eased past Grimsby to reach the Papa John’s Trophy knockout stages.
Martin Samuelsen’s brace and a strike from substitute James Scott earned the Tigers a convincing 3-0 win to guarantee top spot in Northern Group H.
“I thought we were excellent,” said McCann.
“From the minute we started the game, we had to make sure we were right tactically.
“They play in a certain way, a little bit similar to the way Sunderland played against us in the Carabao Cup, with the two 10s.