The Iron mounted a brilliant comeback to salvage a 3-3 draw against Oxford United on Saturday after being 3-0 down after 55 minutes at Glanford Park.
Three goals in just six minutes for Scunthorpe turned the game on its head and midfielder Matthew Lund was delighted with both the performance shown by the team in the second half to earn a valuable point and to get on the scoresheet as well.
Speaking about the match, he told iFollow Iron: “It was a frantic game at times, but I think that shows what all the lads are about. We showed brilliant character and we displayed that to the fans. We are working hard, and we are trying to do things right.
“However, going 3-0 down at home is criminal and we shouldn’t be doing it, but the willingness we showed to get back into the game was great and we could have even won the game towards the end. We have to take our hats off to all the lads out there and the supporters as well for getting behind us.”
The 27-year-old’s goal kickstarted the fightback in the 60th minute after he got a touch on a long-range effort by Jordan Clarke to divert the ball into net.
He said about his goal: “Nobody really saw it, but I definitely got a little flick on it at the front post and it went in! Jordan (Clarke) did see it. He looked at me when the ball hit the back of the net and gave me a smile, but it’s always nice to be able to get a goal for the team.”
Despite not winning the game, the Iron can be proud of the response by showing great team spirit and belief and Lund believes that it now gives them a basis to build on going forward into the next few weeks as the build-up to the Christmas period continues.
He added: “It does give us a boost for sure. However, we have to make sure that we stop conceding goals. That said, the result today made it feel like we got all three points.
“I know we didn’t get the win, but I think we need to really focus on the positives, keep the positivity up and carry on going like we did during the second half.
“The way we managed to deal with it was really good because it can be difficult when you are low on confidence, conceding goals and going 3-0 down to a team who are down there fighting at the moment. Although, I thought that we were fantastic to show that character and get ourselves back into the game.”
He continued by saying: “It’s never easy to go 3-0 down, especially at home. Although, after that, we started to get the ball down, playing it down the sides and used the likes of Ike (Ugbo) and Lee Novak to hold the ball up. George (Thomas’) free-kick was fantastic as well and Chaz (Charlie Goode’s) finish was also good.”
Looking ahead to this weekend and it’s the return of the FA Cup. Scunthorpe host fellow League One side Burton Albion at Glanford Park and Lund is excited about the prospect of progressing in the cup and facing his former club.
Talking about the importance of the cup, he stated: “It’s huge. It’s massive every year to have a good cup run and they are always fun to play in. The FA Cup is always a brilliant competition and I can’t wait to get out there and play against my old team as well.”
Having played for Burton, the midfielder knows all about what to expect from the opposition and he said: “I watched them when they played last week against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup and they were a really good side.
“I expect nothing less when they come here next week, so we have to be at it and on our game like we were in the second half against Oxford to show them what we are all about as a team.”
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