February had been another month of progress for the Iron, despite a few setbacks along the way.
United headed to Fleetwood Town on Tuesday on March 3 for the first game of the month.The Iron had to recover from a slow start, which saw Jamie Proctor give the hosts the lead inside three minutes, but they were back level on the stroke of half time after neat play from Gary McSheffrey, before his shot flew past Chris Maxwell.
Another setback was dealt, with Josh Morris putting the hosts back in front with just under 20 minutes left to play.
But once again the Iron were to show their steely resistance, as they fought back for the second time in the game, this time George Evans was the scorer, as he let fly from outside the box – His first professional goal.
The following Saturday the Iron travelled to Crewe, and despite matching the Railwaymen for 50 minutes, United were behind on 54 minutes to one of the goals of the season. A cleared corner found it’s way to Greg Leigh on the edge of the box, and he hit an unstoppable shot – a goal worthy of taking the lead in any game. A minute later, Crewe had their second, and this time it was the head Marcus Haber that defeated Luke Daniels in the Iron net. 2-0 it finished.
Looking to bounce back from the defeat at Crewe, local side Sheffield United came to Glanford Park in the only home fixture of the month. Neal Bishop gave United the lead on 37 minutes, before a drilled strike from Kieron Freeman levelled things just before the break.
With the game still at 1-1, United created numerous chances to win the game – including a controversially disallowed goal, when Blades keeper Iain Turner fumbled the ball into his own net following a McSheffrey corner. But the referee had seen a push on the keeper, and disallowed the goal, much to the grief of the Scunthorpe players and fans alike.
We headed to Rochdale next. A cross-cum-shot from Michael Rose would give Dale the lead with 22 minutes gone, and that would be the way the scores would stay until half time.
With 60 minutes on the clock, a long ball from Connor Townsend was perfectly controlled by Kevin van Veen, who then took the ball past a Dale player, before firing beneath Jamie Jones.
Sadly for the Iron, Dale hit straight back and took the lead once again a minute later through Ian Henderson. The game was then put to bed in the 84th minute, when Peter Vincenti rose highest to head home and make it 3-1.
With a chance to bounce back once more just three days later, the Iron made the short journey to Sheffield United. This was a game which was originally scheduled for December 28, before it was postponed due to adverse weather.
A game to forget for the large Iron following, as two Jose Baxter penalties and one from both Jason Holt and Jamie Murphy saw the Blades cruise to a 4-0 victory.
Looking to finish a disappointing month on a high, there was another relatively short trip to Nottingham to face Notts County to contend with.
The Iron would make their fastest start of the season, when on loan Theo Robinson scored within the first minute, latching onto a Paddy Madden shot that had hit the bar. The lead would only last 10 minutes before a trademark Gary Jones thunderbolt flew past Luke Daniels, bringing the scores back level.
County looked like they could have dealt United the sucker punch with 73 minutes gone, as substitute Balint Bajner scored to complete the turnaround. But Niall Canavan’s 86th minute header saved the day, and secured a vital point in the process.
Not quite the month to remember, but the Iron were still out of the relegation zone by a point – and with a game on hand on a number of teams too.