United defender Conor Townsend believes his side were made to pay for a sloppy fifteen minute period as he reflected on Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Crewe Alexandra.
Goals from Greg Leigh and Marcus Haber in the early stages of the second half secured the Railwaymen their seventh home win of the season.It was Mark Robins’ side’s ninth game in the space of a month as they have played a fixture every Saturday and Tuesday since the second week of February.
Townsend, who made his third appearance for the club on Saturday, said it was a tricky match at Gresty Road and it is nice for the squad to now have a week’s rest before their next League One fixture.
He said: “It was difficult. It was a disappointing result because we came here looking to win and we were probably the better team.
"In the first half we showed that but in the second half there were fifteen minutes when we didn’t and we’ve been punished for that. We’ve now got a week to prepare for the Sheffield United game so we’ll rest up and go again next week.
“It’ll do us the world of good to have a week’s preparation because we do have a quite a lot of young lads so the games do come around quickly.”
Saturday’s result didn’t change the Iron’s position in the Sky Bet League One table and they go into next weekend’s clash with Sheffield United in 17th place.
Townsend played the full 90 minutes in the Scunthorpe back line as he continued his integration into the Iron side.
The 22-year-old, who arrived at Glanford Park on a loan deal in February from Premier League side Hull City, also revealed how he has found his time at Scunthorpe since his arrival.
He added: “I’ve really enjoyed it; the games have been coming thick and fast so I haven’t had much chance to train.
"I’ve been really impressed with what I’ve seen, it’s a good team that like to play football and I think if we play like we know we can then we’ll be alright.
“We’re creating chances. I think if we weren’t creating chances then we’d be worried.
"On another day, Paddy’s effort goes in in the first half; it just wasn’t to be today. We’re creating chances so it’s not a worry.
“I think I’ve done alright on a personal level but I still think there’s more to come.
"I had about a month off with not playing so I’m still getting up to speed with everything but I’ve been happy with how I’ve done so far and hopefully I can keep improving.
"I’m 22 and I need to be playing every week and the manager has given me the chance to do that here so hopefully I can repay him with some good performances.”
Townsend and his team mates will now try and recuperate and make the most of their first midweek without a game since early February.