Scunthorpe United 3-1 Preston North End
Report from Glanford Park

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The Iron were superb as they recorded a second straight Championship win to see off promotion contenders Preston North End 3-1 at Glanford Park on Tuesday night.

A scintilating first-half display from Nigel Adkins' side saw them go in two goals up at the break through goals from Grant McCann and Gary Hooper.

Hooper added a second soon after the half-time break and, although Jon Parkin pulled a goal back for Preston, a confident Scunthorpe were never knocked out of their stride.

Gary Hooper and Grant McCann returned to the starting line-up for the game. Top scorer Hooper replaced Jonathan Forte, who was magnificent in the 4-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday, in the starting line-up, while McCann came in for Martyn Woolford.

Joe Murphy started the game in goal, with the defence consisting of Jordan Spence, captain Rob Jones, David Mirfin and Marcus Williams.

The midfielders, lining up in a diamond formation to start with, were Josh Wright, Sam Togwell, Michael O'Connor and Grant McCann, while Paul Hayes partnered Hooper in attack.

The substitutes were Sam Slocombe, Cliff Byrne, Matt Sparrow, Garry Thompson, Jonathan Forte, Woolford and Niall Canavan.

It was going to be a tough encounter for Nigel Adkins' side against a strong North End team, who had the first opportunity when Ross Wallace fired over from a distance.

United were pressing hard for that opening goal and, after being played through down the right by Spence, Hooper's low cross was blocked before it reached Hayes.

There was another chance for the visiting team shortly after as Stephen Elliott nipped past Jones, but Murphy came out to stop him after a heavy second touch from the former Sunderland player.

It was a cagey start to the game, but Scunthorpe went ahead with a well-worked goal in the 12th minute. To cap a lovely flowing move, Hooper wrestled his way into the box and picked out McCann with a low cross, and the Northern Ireland international fired home to put the Iron ahead.

United, who looked well up for the occasion, tried to add a second and forced a succession of corners as their decent start to the game continued.

O'Connor's free kick from the left drew a super stop from Lonergan as he tipped over the crossbar. Then Mirfin just missed out out when he tried to get his head on the end of a corner by Wright.

Scunthorpe were having the better of an excellent first half for the football purist, but there was always the threat that the Lilywhites could get back into the game.

Towards the closing stages of the opening period they had a lot more possession, and some corners too but couldn't force a clear-cut chance.

There was a great United opportunity three minutes before half-time as O'Connor played through Hayes who subsequently set up Hooper to drill in a low shot which was cleared off the line by Liam Chilvers.

The hosts kept pushing for their second goal and were awarded on 43 minutes when Hooper notched for United after a scramble in the penalty area. He flicked over Lonergan from 12 yards.

It was a superb first half display from Nigel Adkins' team and they were deservedly given a standing ovation as they left the pitch at half-time.

Eight minutes after the break, United made it three as O'Connor sent a brilliant ball through for Hooper to race onto and smash past Lonergan for his fifth goal of the season.

Preston pressed for a way back into the game and it came through Jon Parkin on 59 minutes, always a threat against United. The giant former Hull striker volleyed home after Chris Sedgwick's corner to make a game of it.

That didn't affect the hosts' confidence though, and Wright fizzed in a low effort which Lonergan did well to cling on to.

The visitors switched to three up front in their attempts to claw back another goal, but Scunthorpe were resolute.

There was a brief flare-up when Sedgwick, who had argued with United fans earlier, felled Murphy when trying to win the ball. A number of players got involved in an argument, and referee Keith Hill showed a yellow card to Sedgwick.

Scunthorpe had an opportunity to add a fourth when Hooper latched on to a long ball by Jones to turn, after his first touch let him down and goalkeeper Lonergan got a hand to the ball, and fire in a shot which went wide.

They made a double substitution in the closing stages as Sparrow came on for Togwell, who received a standing ovation from the buoyant home following. Then, Byrne replaced O'Connor just to tighten up the back line for the last few moments.

There was late pressure from the away side as the assistant referee held up the board for four minutes of stoppage time. United's resolve shone through however, and they continued to frustrate Preston until the whistle was blown for full-time.

Scunthorpe are next in action on Saturday when they visit Bristol City.

Attendance: 5,383 (707 away).

Iron Bar man of the match: Josh Wright.

Sponsors' man of the match: Gary Hooper.