In what was his first permanent game in charge of the Iron, United manager Russ Wilcox was bitterly disappointed his side let a 2-0 lead slip.
Scunthorpe were 2-0 up through goals from Sam Winnall, but the leading marksman was subsequently shown his marching orders by referee Geoff Eltringham for his second booking for his celebration of the second strike.Bury soon reduced the deficit through Chris Sedgwick, before Daniel Nardiello rescued a point with the last kick of the game.
It meant that the team had suffered the same fate in two consecutive away games, resulting in a draw feeling like a defeat.
“It’s been assessed exactly how I feel,” Wilcox told The Iron Player.
“That’s how the players feel as well and personally this one is a little bit harder to swallow. We had ten men for the best part of 25 minutes and I thought we managed that period quite well. They’re going to get on top, they’re going to push their full-backs right up.
“We had to go 4-4-1, which doesn’t allow us to press up the pitch, which we wanted to do. We had to sit a little deeper.”
He added: “I still thought we were going to be okay. To lose the extra two points in the last ten seconds is a bitter pill to swallow. We have to swallow it though, it’s gone now. We address it, we move on and we go again against Oxford.”
On what was a tricky surface to play against, United weren’t at their very best, but still managed the game well in most periods; a fact that makes the result even harder to take.
“I used Deon Burton as an example,” Wilcox continued.
“At Gillingham last year, I’m sure they went away from home six or seven times but picked up the three points – and that’s what teams do in the top three. We’ve not quite managed that today, which is disappointing, but we’ve come very close.”
He added: “We wasn’t at our fluent best, but I think you saw straight away from the kick-off, the ball was played back to David Mirfin and it bobbled – it was like that today; a scrappy game.
“We were looking to pick up three points. You’re not always going to be playing great football or a passing game.”
Sam Winnall takes his tally for the season to eleven goals, with the pending suspension in the top of the table clash against Oxford on Sunday set to make the game slightly harder.
“Obviously we’re delighted with the two goals,” said Wilcox.
“The goals have come from things we’ve been working on as well – sliding balls across in between centre halves and goalkeepers. It was a terrific ball from Terry (Hawkridge) for the first goal and a great ball from Dave Syers for the second.
“They’re both similar goals and if the strikers keep getting between the sticks, that’s where the ball has to come eventually – and Sam did that well today, as Deon did it well against Morecambe.”
The second of the leading marksman’s goals saw him dismissed for his second booking. His first came following an adjudged dive on the edge of the box, with his second walking a tightrope following a celebration with the following crowd.
“It’s a two-way thing,” he assessed.
“Point A, I’m a little bit disappointed with Sam. He’s disappointed with himself as well. We know the rules and in my opinion they need changing, but we do know the rules. We have to adhere to them and on that occasion we’ve not done that.”
“Saying that, the game is about scoring goals and celebrating goals. It’s not like he’s over-celebrated. He’s gone in that, taken a few pats on his back and run straight back out.”
He added: “The referee hasn’t actually seen it. He was walking back to the centre circle, so whether he’s been told by one of his assistants or the fourth official, I’m not sure.”
“The bigger picture is that the rule needs looking at.”
See much more from Russ Wilcox, Terry Hawkridge and Christian Ribeiro on The Iron Player.