A youthful Iron XI suffered a 3-0 defeat in a Lincolnshire Cup quarter-final against Grimsby Town at Glanford Park on Tuesday.
The game was played behind-closed-doors due to the policing and stewarding costs for a home tie against the Mariners.
The game against a Grimsby side that featured first year professionals saw valuable game time given to Ethan Young and Jordan Hallam, making his return from a long-term hamstring injury.
On two minutes, goalkeeper Ewan Oxborough was quick to thwart a Grimsby attacker after a throughball from the left.
After an opening 10 minutes, where the Iron tried to play their way into forward positions through the midfield, the away side attacked down the left, with a low left wing cross gathered by Oxborough.
A minute later, the first Scunthorpe shot came as Tyrell Sellars-Fleming weaved his way into a shooting position on the left side of the area, but his effort was blocked by an away centre-back.
The next opening came in the 15th minute when Sellars-Fleming tried to play Harrison Poulter through down the right. He got to the ball and dragged back for Hallam, but a Grimsby player got a touch to it. Charley Stouther then shot from the edge of the area but sent his header wide.
Oxborough was called into a save a minute later when a right-wing cross was met by a free header which he tipped over the bar.
Following a good move down the left, Strouther drove forward and sent a low cross in for Sellars-Fleming, but the striker couldn't get a shot away.
There was another good Iron move in the 22nd minute, this time for the left as Sellars-Fleming guided a header wide following Poulter's cross.
Scunthorpe won a corner on the left side in the 25th minute. Charlie Burden-Whittleton's delivery dropped to Harvey Cribb, whose low shot was saved by the away shotstopper.
The Mariners took the lead on 31 minutes though when a corner was delivered from the right side, and headed onto the crossbar. The deflection was then turned home despite the Iron's best attempts to clear off the line.
The away side then added a second two minutes later as they broke and a striker found space to attack the area and fire beyond Oxborough from just inside it.
Scunthorpe looked for a way back into it though and following a flowing move in the 35th minute, Sellars-Fleming played in Poulter down the left side of the area, whose effort just couldn't beat the goalkeeper.
With four minutes of the opening half left, the Mariners attacked down the right side of the area, dragging a low shot across goal and wide.
Before the break, they attacked down the right with a cross drilled into the danger area but turned into the side netting by a striker.
There was a pre-planned double change at the interval as Hallam and Poulter were replaced by Ed Devine and Lucas Dickinson.
The second half started with the Iron full of energy and they attacked as Sellars-Fleming tried to get a shot away, but it was blocked.
Six minutes into the second period, Stouther sent a low ball into the box which Harry Elliott-Bell tried to meet, but the ball got deflected out for a corner.
Cribb then tried to connect with a cross from the right by Lucas Dickinson, which also went out for a corner, but the away side got the ball clear.
On 65 minutes, Oakley Hill came on for Burden-Whittleton.
A few minutes after, following a great challenge by Devine to win possession and then be brought down, Sellars-Fleming took aim with a free-kick from the edge of the 18-yard box that the away goalkeeper was equal to.
Nevertheless, in the 75th minute, Grimsby were presented with a chance to make it three as they won a penalty on the left side of the area, which was promptly dispatched, beating Oxborough at his bottom right post.
Soon after, Sellars-Fleming won a free-kick on the right side of the area. Strouther took it and saw his shot blocked, as Cribb took aim with the rebound, but his effort cleared the crossbar.
Following a foul on the edge of the area which Devine was booked for, the Mariners took aim with a free-kick from the edge of the area. The Iron wall did its job and cleared the danger though.
There was a late Scunthorpe alteration as Josh Murtagh came on for goalkeeper Oxborough, and then Harrison Whiteley came on for Elliott-Bell.
IRON: Oxborough (Murtagh, 87), Burden-Whittleton (Hill, 65), Strouther, Abraham, Pike, Young, Hallam (Dickinson, 45), Elliott-Bell (Whiteley, 90), Poulter (Devine, 45), Sellars-Fleming, Cribb.
IRON SUBS NOT USED: Cunningham.