With the Iron sitting bottom of the table going into November, the hopes were high that a good run of form would drag them off the foot of the table, and towards safety.
First up for Scunthorpe was a tricky trip to Peterborough United who were sitting in fourth place in League One at the time.We started brightly and found ourselves in front with just under 15 minutes gone, as Luke Williams squirmed his way through the Peterborough defence, and finished neatly into the right hand corner of the goal.
With 57 minutes gone, Conor Washington equalised for the hosts and looked to have delivered Scunthorpe with a suckerpunch.
But the Iron weren’t going to let that equaliser stop them pressing, and when Isaiah Osbourne got into a shooting position with 64 minutes on the clock, his deflected shot beat the Posh keeper and sealed all three points for United, including a first win under manager Mark Robins.
With that first win out of the way for Robins, he set his sights on an FA Cup run, with a long journey to face Forest Green the Iron’s next task.
Their route to the second round was sealed following two deflected strikes from Gary McSheffrey – the first coming with 20 minutes on the clock, and the second after 60.
It was an evenly matched affair, which was credit to the non-league side's determination and ambition, but United took the chances that came their way, and played the match with great professionalism.
Looking to continue their 100% record in November, Scunthorpe travelled to Crawley Town. Things were looking extremely positive when United took a 1-0 lead through a 26th minute Paddy Madden goal, thanks to good work from Luke Williams and Gary McSheffrey, and a slick finish from Paddy.
The second Iron goal would come courtesy of a 55th minute flick of the boot from Lyle Taylor, and the Iron were looking good for their lead.
But, after a sustained period of pressure from Crawley, Scunthorpe’s goal was breached first on the 76th minute, and again in the 80th minute via the penalty spot, Dean Leacock scoring the first and Izale McLeod the latter. 2-2 it finished.
In the final game during the month of November, Scunthorpe travelled to Barnsley for their fourth consecutive away game.
United went behind to a thumping Marcello Trotta strike with 29 minutes gone, but incredibly, within a minute of the ball hitting the Iron’s net, it hit Barnsley’s too, as Scunthorpe raced up the other end of the pitch, and after McSheffrey’s shot was parried by the Tykes keeper, it allowed Paddy Madden to score a crucial goal to bring the scores back level.
The Iron were playing some of their best football of the season so far, and just before half time they were rewarded for their play once more.
Paddy picked the ball up just inside the Barnsley half before advancing on a mazy run, which ended with a wonderful strike into the corner of the net. Scunthorpe sustained some intense Barnsley pressure during the second period, but held on for three vital points.
A record of three wins and one draw during November left Iron fans on a high, and although United found themselves still in the League One relegation zone on 19 points, the club were on the up. With performances and results beginning to go their way, a good December would surely move them away from the drop zone.