A late stunner from Bury’s Danny Rose stopped the Iron going three points clear at the top of SkyBet League Two on Saturday.
But the 2-2 draw meant Russ Wilcox’s men would still go one point clear at the top, after Rochdale’s 3-0 defeat at Mansfield.An upbeat Dave Syers conceded that, whilst the goal went against the run of second half play, it was probably a fair result and another point gained, rather than two dropped.
“It was a solid performance against a team on good form, having won their previous three games,” Syers told The Iron Player.
“Obviously, it was disappointing to concede late on and you can sit there and say what could’ve been but sometimes you’ve got to hold your hands up when it was a great goal in the last minute of the game.
“We had our best spell of the game up until our second goal and we were extremely comfortable from then on until their second.
"They didn’t have any chances up until that and he came up and curled one past Sam, who was perhaps unsighted, and that’s how it goes sometimes, but it’s a point which has taken us to the top of the league.”
The draw did exactly that, returning Scunthorpe to the league’s summit for the first time in two-and-a-half months, the first day of February to be exact, and Syers is relishing how it appears as the season’s end is in sight.
“It’s very nice to look at the table and see that we’re back up there after playing so hard and so well on this good run," he said.
The return to the top comes after weeks of Chesterfield and, more recently, Rochdale, leading the chasing pack, despite the Claret and Blue’s record-breaking run under Wilcox.
“It’s a testament to how they have played. It’s a very good time to be showing our form, though, having won four and drawn two of our last six," he stated.
“Now it’s down to the final four games and we’ve just got to make sure we’re up for every game and that we take every chance we get.”
The next hurdle Syers and his team-mates face is a tough trip to the west coast, where Morecambe will be hosts at the Globe Arena, on Good Friday.
Sitting in 19th, Jim Bentley’s men are edging closer to safety and they will be full of confidence, having held local rivals Fleetwood to a 2-2 draw last weekend.
“Morecambe have got themselves in a comfortable position in the league and the pressure comes off them and they can play with freedom which can make it harder for us,” Syers said.
“We need to get on top of the game early and they got a great result against Fleetwood at the weekend and we know they’ll be looking for the same against us on Friday.
“It’s a tough place to go, but with our away form, I’m hopeful we’ll get the three points.”
With as little as four games remaining, the Iron are edging ever closer to League One status, but our goal-scoring midfielder insists the job is far from finished, claiming anything is possible until it is mathematically sealed.
He continued: “A win would take us three points closer to the target the team was set at the start of the season and then we can worry about the other things such as the title.
“All that we can affect is that we get three points and then we go onto Monday.
“We’re on top, with four games to go and a seven point gap, we know that if we perform like we have in the last four or five months, we will get over that line and we have every confidence we will.”
The incentive is promotion and it would also see Russ Wilcox’s great start to management continue into next season, providing the Iron avoid defeat and Syers has praised the part his team-mates have played in setting the record.
“The 26 game run is a great achievement, it shows the consistency we’ve put up in the last four or five months and that’s the main achievement and it’s why we are where we are," continued Syers.
"In the last six games, we’ve taken 14 points and that’s a great return from a tough run of fixtures at this stage of the season and we can take a lot of confidence from that going into the final few.”
With another great away following expected to travel to Lancashire to support United on Friday afternoon, Syers has reiterated the part you, the fans, can play in the coming games.
He said: “Our away form has been partly down to the great away crowds we get. To be getting 300-400 or so fans down to Plymouth from Scunthorpe is some feat, it’s a long way for the fans to travel.
“When you get down there and see them in their numbers and hear them in full voice, it gives you that extra bit of energy and spurs you on to get that result for them.
“We’re going to need them in these last four games, both home and away, starting at Morecambe.
“It’ll be a great day out for everyone and hopefully we’ll have got that much closer and set ourselves up for Easter Monday to seal promotion.”
See much more from Russ Wilcox, Dave Syers and Niall Canavan on The Iron Player.