Daws post-Wrexham (H)

Scunthorpe United interim boss Tony Daws has praised both the endeavour and effort his players showed during the side’s 3-1 loss at home to National League leaders Wrexham.

Having conceded twice in the opening 32 minutes, defender Jai Rowe halved the deficit before half-time, before the division's top scorer Paul Mullin added a third to put the game beyond reach in the second period.

Reflecting on the performance as a whole, speaking to the Iron Player, Daws said: "I think there are lots of positives. It was always going to be a difficult game. They are the big spenders of the league, they have some top players and they are on a roll because they are winning games. 

"With winning games breeds confidence and there are players who understand their shape and how they play and we did really well. I thought we competed with them and when we came back in at 2-1, I thought we were on top for the first 15 minutes and the third goal killed us really. I was just proud of the lads and the commitment they put in, they fought right until the end. I thought we had a real go tonight and credit to our players."

With the Red Dragons flooding forward in the second period, United goalkeeper Marcus Dewhurst pulled off some superb saves to keep the score at 3-1. Daws however insisted concentration is key at any level, especially when chasing the game from behind. 

"Fair play to them and they had other opportunities to score," he added.

"They are a very good side and I thought we competed well with them. We are disappointed with the goals that we conceded because we look back and after seeing them back on the computer afterwards, they were all goals we could have potentially done better with in terms of blocking or clearing in terms of dealing with the danger. 

"I thought Marcus [Dewhurst] did well and tonight he showed what a good goalkeeper he is. He has had some stick over recent weeks and as a young lad everyone makes mistakes in life, but when you are a goalkeeper and you make a mistake it tends to end up in the net and it gets highlighted more. I have stuck by Marcus and I have backed him. He is a good goalkeeper, and I see him on a daily basis. He is very good and tonight he probably showed people how good he is."

On-loan forward Rob Apter hit the woodwork with just seconds remaining, with our interim boss also opting to throw Marcus Carver on, in an attempt to rescue something from the game. 

"We tried to be really attacking, bringing [Marcus] Carver on and at one point we had four strikers on the pitch in the last 20-25 minutes or so because we were trying really hard to get back into it, which can then sometimes leave you vulnerable on the counter attack," he added. 

"But we had a go and we said we would have a go, I respect them very highly because they are very good but I thought the first team did well tonight."

United must brush themselves down and go again ahead of this weekend’s clash with Maidstone United, with the onus on returning to winning ways against the Stones. "I went in there at the end and the lads were really down because professional footballers don’t like losing games," said Daws. 

"But I went into the changing room and I said well done, because their attitude and application, the work rate, the endeavour, the effort that they put into tonight was valued and I think the supporters appreciate that. 

"That’s how I asked them to play, heart on the sleeve, you run about and you press and you put a shift in, I thought we did that and I just said to the players, you need to bring that same level of performance on Saturday. Hopefully if we can do that Saturday we should be okay."