The Iron defeated Sunderland 3-0 in the Leasing.com Trophy group stages on Tuesday night to seal their passage into the next round.

A Lee Novak brace in the second-half, with a Abo Eisa strike inbetween, sealed the victory for Scunthorpe, who finish second in their group.

Four minutes in, the travelling Black Cats shouted for a penalty after Luke O’Nien was brought down in the box but referee Darren Handley awarded an Iron goal kick.

The Black Cats’ closest chance of the opening half came in the 17th minute when Duncan Watmore missed an open goal, sending his shot sky high over the crossbar, despite Jake Eastwood having ran forward to defend an earlier attempt.

The Iron bounced back 20 minutes in after a pass from Lee Novak to Matthew Lund. His shot skimmed the fingertips of Black Cats goalkeeper Lee Burge to only just miss hitting the back top left corner.

Soon after, the Iron had another chance after John McAtee chipped the ball from the edge of the six-yard box where James Perch received the ball and flashed it over the goal line and out of play.

The Mackems tried to continue to push for the goal that would hopefully clinch a victory and a place in the next round but good defending by Rory McArdle and Alex Gilliead around the halfway point of the half stopped the away side in their tracks, tackling skilfully and stealing possession from the opposition.

The Iron’s best chance of the half came three minutes from half-time time when a McAtee corner was crossed into the box and headered by Novak, who saw the ball deflected off the line and over the crossbar by O’Nien.

Early in the second half, Eisa did well to control a ball from midfield and turn the last man. Burge was quick off his line to diffuse the situation, despite Eisa being bundled to the ground by the Black Cats 'keeper. However, nothing was given.

The Black Cats were still searching for the first goal of the match, as Grant Leadbitter’s dangerous cross into the box was seamlessly headed away by McArdle.

With 57 minutes gone, Jake Eastwood did brilliantly to save from Marc McNulty's close range effort. He turned the ball behind for a corner, and gathered well. On the counter attack, Eisa fired an effort wide of the mark under pressure.

Moments later, a penalty in the 66th minute then put the Iron in the lead after Eisa ran down the left wing, latching onto a ball from substitute Kevin van Veen, before being taken down in the box by O’Nien who was then shown a red card.

Novak stepped up to the plate, effortlessly kicking the ball straight into the bottom left corner and putting the home side in the lead. 

Soon after, Lund found Eisa down the left with a brilliant outside-of-the-foot pass, and the latter beat Max Power before seeing his cross tipped away by Lee Burge.

Eisa pushed forward 10 minutes from time into a heavily defended Black Cats box where he kept possession until his close-range shot was blocked by the keeper.

Eisa then grabbed a second goal for the Iron two minutes from time after a van Veen corner saw McArdle’s shot deflected by the Sunderland wall to then be intercepted by Eisa, whose low effort went straight past the arms of Burge and into the back of the net.

One minute into added time, Novak made it three and got his second goal of the game after a right wing cross into the box gave him the opportunity to head the ball home.

The draw for the next round will be on Saturday November 16th when Iron will find out who they will face next in this competition.

IRON: Eastwood, Clarke, Lund (Pugh, 89’), Perch, Novak, Gilliead (Dales, 89’) McArdle (C), Brown, Eisa, Bedeau, McAtee (van Veen, 57’).

UNUSED SUBS: Watson, Butler, Colclough, Butroid,

SUNDERLAND: Burge, Lynch (De Bock, 45), Willis, Power, McNulty, O’Nien, Watmore (Maguire, 74), Dobson, McGeady, Leadbitter (C), Hume.

UNUSED SUBS: Patterson, McGeouch, Kimpioka, Mumba, Taylor

ATTENDANCE: 1,002.