Iron midfielder Sean McAllister was disappointed that Scunthorpe could not see off Worcester City in a tight game that finished one apiece.
The ex-Sheffield Wednesday man felt that the hosts allowed the visitors a route into the game by giving the ball away too cheaply at times, but was confident of United’s chances of progressing.Paddy Madden scored for the Iron, but a goal just a minute into the second half pegged them back and forced a replay at Worcester.
McAllister was frustrated the Iron could not see the game out. He told The Iron Player: “It’s disappointing. We wanted the win to get through to the next round.
“To be fair to them it was a massive game and they got right up for it. Going in at half time 1-0 up, we felt quite comfortable, so to concede so early in the second half is criminal from our perspective.
“For some reason we weren’t quite at it the way we have been in certain weeks. The passing wasn’t as slick, we were overrunning the ball and taking too many touches so that was one of the most disappointing things from the game today.”
The draw keeps The Iron’s unbeaten run going, but the visitors from the Vanarama Conference North showed why they were 14 games without defeat.
Worcester beat Coventry to get this far and have been impressing lots of people with their football along the way, including McAllister.
He said: “I think a lot has been said in the press about the run they’ve been on so they are a very confident team at the moment and against Coventry they beat them so they are not going to be terrible players.
“They lasted the game a bit better than I thought they would and it was probably down to us giving the ball away a bit too cheaply.
“We tried to keep the ball moving and try and tire the out, but unfortunately we’ve played into their hands a little.”
The visitors were relishing the occasion and were cheered on by over 2,000 fans that had made the trip from Worcestershire.
The passion from the stands was matched on the pitch, with the game a physical battle between both sets of players, something that McAllister enjoyed.
He said: “It’s not a side of the game I shy away from as you know and it’s not something that I’m disappointed by. I like that and it’s something that you come to expect.
“We played into their hands at times taking touches and allowing them to get a foot in.
“We’re still in the draw though and we’ll see who we get and make sure that, come the next tie against Worcester, we’re right on our game and we come away with a win there.”
The draw means that the Iron are still in the hat and are set to face Chesterfield, should they defeat Worcester in the replay in just over a week’s time.
McAllister was firmly focused on the job in hand though and wanted to ensure United were professional in their quest to reach the third round.
He said: “For us we just look at it (the draw) and see who we get and make sure we approach every game the right way.
“We have to beat Worcester, that’s the first game, but we will take it in and see who we get."