Report: Notts County U18s 0-2 Iron U18s

The Iron’s Under-18 side defeated Notts County 2-0 away from home on Saturday afternoon to increase their winning streak to three games.

A first-half penalty from Tom Pugh and a well-taken goal from Levi Gallimore gave United the victory in a dominant performance.

Inside the opening eight minutes, Sam Riches was called into action following a cross from the hosts. The goalkeeper made a fine stop from a shot.

Two minutes later, the Iron had their first dangerous attack. Harry Jessop cut in from the right-hand side, however he saw his shot blocked by a Notts County defender. 

Good build-up play then allowed Harry Baker to whip a ball across the face of goal, but no-one could get on the end of it.

The home side then forced Riches into another fine stop from a free-kick on the edge of the box. Palming it away, County followed up the rebound, but the goalkeeper reacted sharply to make a double save. 

In the 38th minute, the Iron were awarded a penalty. The ball was played down the line for Jessop, who pressed the defence into making a mistake. The forward then entered the box and was brought down by the goalkeeper. Pugh stepped up to take the spot-kick, converting to put Scunthorpe 1-0 up. 

After the interval, United started the second-half strongly and there were appeals for the Notts County goalkeeper to be sent off. Miracle Okafor raced onto a throughball and was taken fouled by the ‘keeper outside of the area, but the referee showed a yellow card.

A smart counter attacking move nearly allowed Okafor to have another chance in the 52nd minute. However, he struggled to get a shot away before the hosts eventually cleared the ball. 

The Iron continued to take control of the match throughout the second-half, adapting to the blustery weather conditions better than their opponents.

Defensively, County stood strong until the 84th minute when Gallimore increased the lead. A good spell of possession set Gallimore through and from 20-yards out, he drove the ball into the top right corner.

One minute later, Pugh looked to get his second of the match from the edge of the box, but the goalkeeper made a superb save.

United saw the contest out from that point to record their third successive win, which is a big confidence booster heading into a few cup games in the coming weeks.

TEAM LINE-UP:
Iron: Riches, Baker, Morfoot (Shrimpton, 88’), Pugh, Barks, Harrison, Gallimore, Collins, Jessop, Okafor, Silva (Chadli, 82’). 
Unused substitutes: Crosher, Wilson.