Graham Alexander has been providing reaction following the Iron’s 3-1 Checkatrade Trophy group stage home win over Sunderland Under-21s.
Kevin van Veen, Duane Holmes and Josh Morris were on target in the victory over the Black Cats, which saw Scunthorpe pick up their first three points in Group H.
Further group games against Grimsby Town and Doncaster Rovers follow in October, but Alexander told iFollow Iron he was satisfied overall with the night’s work.
ON THE MATCH…
GA: We’re delighted to win the game, that’s what we set out to do and I thought the players showed the mentality to win the game. We played some really good stuff at times. We had to do some things better over the course of the 90 minutes, especially defensively as a whole team because we were a little disjointed at times, I thought we were better in the second half on that side of it, and we played some really good attacking stuff. We had other opportunities to score as well. It was a tough test for us, Sunderland were good, moved the ball well, were mobile and aggressive in their play. It was a real good advert for this competition between a League One and Under-21 side. Playing the 90 minutes will have done the lads the world of good because they’ve needed that. We took Haks (Hakeeb Adelakun) and Hops (Tom Hopper) off after Saturday’s exertions to look after them. The lads put in a great shift on the night though and deservedly won the game.
ON RECOVERY…
GA: We need them all for the league, they need to recover ready for Saturday. We have a good tight unit of a squad who are all competitive and all close to starting, and they need to be ready. The work ethic they showed out there would have done them the world of good in their physical preparations. Going out there and winning a competitive game of football in front of the crowd will have been even more enjoyable for them. We now move on to Saturday.
ON INJURIES…
GA: I think everyone got through it unscathed so that was good to see. Even though it was a competitive game, the lads got through it well. They will be feeling a few bumps and bruises in the morning but nothing to worry majorly about.
ON TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY APPROACHING…
GA: I’m sure the heat will be turned up in the next two days or so. A lot of clubs including ourselves have had games to contend with. There are no games between now and the deadline, so I expect there to be a lot of activity around the leagues. Hopefully we’ll be involved in it with a couple of deals but we’ll wait and see.
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