Report: Iron 4-1 Wealdstone

The Iron made just the one change coming into the game. Andrew Boyce was on the bench as Ben Richards-Everton returned to the squad. The Iron faced a high flying Wealdstone side, they sat just one place outside the play-offs.

Within the first minute, Jacob Butterfield whipped a dangerous free-kick into the Wealdstone box. It caught the defence napping and Fin Shrimpton almost got on the end of the cross. However, Sam Howes was quick to react and he managed to get the ball first and prevent a potential big chance for the Iron.

In the sixth minute, Wealdstone broke forward and managed to put a dangerous cross into the Iron area. Richards-Everton had to intervene and he got a vital touch on the cross to turn it behind for a corner. From the resultant corner, Wealdstone put a cross into the area and United managed to clear their lines.

The Iron managed to take the lead minutes later. Butterfield picked up the ball in the middle of the pitch and drove towards the heart of the away side’s defence. He had so much space and this meant that he had time to assess his options. He saw he had no options upfield so he waited for support to arrive. Cameron Wilson rushed to the Iron midfielder’s right and he received the ball. He was faced by a Wealdstone defender so he decided to cut inside onto his left foot. This gave the Iron winger space and time and this allowed him to line up the shot. He curled an effort towards the far corner and the ball found the bottom corner. It was an excellent goal and a superb start to the game for the homeside.

United continued to create chances. 15 minutes in, Richie Bennett headed the ball towards Butterfield and this set the Iron central-midfielder up for a volley. He took on the volley but his effort didn’t have the precision and it went wide of the target.

Alex Dyer made a risky pass to his goalkeeper which almost led to a second goal for the Iron in the 25th minute. He played a backpass towards his own goal and Howes was out of goal. Therefore to prevent an embarrassing own goal, Howes had to sprint back into his goal and stop the ball from going into the back of his net. It was a scary moment for the visitors.

A few minutes later, Jake Leake found Wilson with a long ball upfield. The Iron winger brought the ball down brilliantly and his first touch allowed him to get a shot away with his second touch. He found himself in a one-on-one situation with Howes and it was the Wealdstone goalkeeper who came out on top. Wilson’s strike had the power to beat the keeper but not the accuracy. He drove his shot straight at the goalkeeper and it was a fairly straightforward save to make for Howes.

Former Iron forward Olufela Olomola had a chance to grab the equaliser minutes later. Aaron Chapman rushed off his line to meet the ball but Olomola got there first and lifted the ball over the iron keeper. It looked as though it was going to loop into the back of the net but the strike had too much power on it and it went just over the bar. It was a lucky escape for the Iron.

The first card of the game went to Charlie Barker. The Wealdstone man pushed Bennett to the ground and received a yellow card for his actions.

Will Smith grabbed a second goal for the Iron just before half-time. A corner from the right by Butterfield made its way to the near post and Will Smith rushed in to meet the ball. The Iron defender directed the ball goalward; his glancing header had a lot of power and this made it difficult for Howes. He managed to get down quickly to make an important save but the ball rebounded off him and into the path of Smith once again. Smith reacted very quickly and got to the ball once again. This time he managed to turn it home and this gave United a two goal lead. It was an important goal as it gave Scunthorpe breathing space in the game. This was the Iron defender’s third goal in three games.

The visitors got the second half underway and they immediately started on the backfoot. United continued where they left off in the first half; they were piling a lot of pressure on the away side and this paid off in the 51st minute. Wilson grabbed his second goal of the game after Bennett slotted him through on goal. Wilson took the shot on first time and he placed the ball past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net from six-yards-out. It was a dominant display from United.

Wealdstone pressed up the field to try and grab a goal back. Nathan Feguson tried a shot from distance but he was closed down quickly and a block was made which stopped his effort threatening Chapman’s goal.

In the 65th minute, Wilson almost grabbed his hat-trick. Butterfield spotted Wilson making a darting run up field and he found the Iron winger with a nice throughball. Wilson once again chose to cut in field and take the shot on with his left foot. He was in a similar position to where he scored his first goal, but at the opposite end of the field he tried to direct his shot towards the bottom-left corner but his effort curled away from the target and went out for a goal kick. The shot was close enough to the target to worry Howes but it wasn’t close enough to force him into a save.

Wealdstone continued to search for their first goal and they found it in the 75th minute of the game. Ferguson took a shot from just inside the Iron penalty area and his shot went all the way through and into the top-left corner of Chapman’s goal. It was an excellent finish from the midfielder.

Two minutes later, United restored their three goal lead after Leake broke down the left-hand flank and into the penalty area. He had time inside the area and this allowed him to choose where he was going to place his shot. He chose the bottom corner and he found it. The shot was driven along the ground with a lot of power and this gave Howes no chance.

Danny Elliott was the next Scunthorpe player to test their luck on goal. He cut inside on his left foot, curled his shot around a couple of Wealdstone defenders and nearly found the far corner. His effort went just marginally wide of the target.

Substitute Liam Feeney drove the Iron forward once again and he managed to create a chance from nothing. The winger nutmegged his man and drove forward before playing the ball to Elliott. The striker controlled the ball and took the shot on with his second touch. However, his left footed strike was dragged wide of the target. It was a great chance to grab another goal in the game.

United saw the game out and held onto their three goal lead. It had been a dominant display from the home side.

The Iron are next in action at Notts County next Saturday (3pm kick-off).

IRON: Chapman, Ogle, Richards-Everton, Butterfield, Wilson (Elliott, 73), Shrimpton, Leake, Smith, Pugh, Shields (Feeney, 70), Bennett (Daniel, 83).

IRON SUBS NOT USED: Whitehouse, Boyce.

WEALDSTONE: Howes, Cook (Barrett, 85), Ferguson, Olomola, Obiero, Dyer, Kretzschmar (Charles, 36), Barker, Whittaker (Andrews, 46), Habergham, Taylor.

WEALDSTONE SUBS NOT USED: Lo-Everton, Hutchinson.

ATTENDANCE: 3,651 (128 away).