Iron midfielder James Perch feels as though Scunthorpe didn’t take their chances in the 2-0 loss to Gillingham at Glanford Park on Saturday afternoon.
However, the 32-year-old believes a strong performance against Doncaster next weekend will put them back on track, as the Iron look to get more points on the board during the crucial Christmas period.
Talking to iFollow Iron after the Gillingham game, Perch said: “It was very disappointing. In the position that we are in, I thought that we should have done a lot better and we could have done a lot more to try and win the game, but we didn’t. They took their chances and they have managed to outdo us with a 2-0 win.”
Two goals in the second-half from the Gills proved to be enough to seal the win, after much of the first 45 minutes was evenly contested.
After going into the break level pegging at 0-0, Perch was disappointed with the final score at the end of the game. He went on to say: “It’s a devasting result to take. In our position, we need to go out there with a bit more conviction especially in the home games.
“We need to show more desire and try to take the game by the scruff of the neck. I don’t think we did that enough in the match and I feel like we’ve let ourselves down in that sense.”
Tom Eaves opened the scoring for Gillingham and it could have been worse for the Iron, had the striker converted a penalty in the 79th minute, but luckily for Scunthorpe, he stepped up and fired over the crossbar, leaving Perch feeling as though justice was done.
Speaking about the decision to award a spot-kick, Perch stated: “I think the first contact from the one with Dalesy (Andy Dales) just before was more of a penalty than the one that he actually gave it for.
“I was a bit surprised by the decision, the referee said it was definite, but I didn’t think it was. However, luckily the lad stepped up and missed it.”
Following defeat to Gillingham, the versatile midfielder – who can also play right back, insists the Iron need to start picking up points again. He said: “We can’t keep throwing away these opportunities to get three points and I feel as though we did that today.”
Perch added: “Going into next week, we go to Doncaster and they are in a good bit of form, but we just have to go there and fight it out, that’s what we are going to do in every game. We need to put on a decent, solid performance and get the win we desperately need.”
It’ll be a feisty game out on the pitch at the Keepmoat Stadium, however Perch hopes the Iron can put a spanner in the works and cause Rovers’ problems when they travel there on Saturday.
Previewing the fixture, he said: “I’m expecting them to be high on confidence. They are going to try and pass the ball around and try to cut us open, but I hope we are wise to that and we can then start to make it very uncomfortable for them.”
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