Jimmy Dean reflects on a battling performance with 10 men

Having played 100 minutes including added time a man light, following the early dismissal of midfielder Kian Scales, manager Jimmy Dean had plenty of praise for his side that battled on in the heat away at Alfreton.

United twice went in front but were pegged back at the Impact Arena, with the gameplay changing and the encounter becoming uphill following the early red card.

Speaking following the game, he said: “I think we’ve got to acknowledge what the players have put on the line today. It’s a 50-50 red. He’s gone in a little bit late, but I think it can be managed.

“I ask for consistency and I’ve watched their forward smash both of our centre-halves with elbows. Both are red cards by the letter of the law. If you set your standards with the red he gave, you’ve got to be consistent, and I don’t think he was.

“Will’s had his nose smashed open with an elbow, and that was the second one. The referee says he didn’t see it. The boys got on with it and we shuffled the pack around two or three times through the game and changed the shape to combat the situation and by and large we’ve managed it really well.

“Taking that away, of course there are things we could have done better. We could have been tidier with the ball.

“But they’ve played in the blistering heat for 100 minutes against 11 men and a side who have only won one game less than us. I’d argue, we’ve probably edged the game.”

Both Dannys continued their scoring runs, with Whitehall notching a free-kick to take his tally to five, while Elliott continued where he left off on Bank Holiday Monday to add a third (if you’re asking him!) to his total.

“They were great goals,” Dean stated. 

“We’ve talked about getting Danny (Elliott) in on the inside left channel. He did the same off the inside right channel really well on Monday. He’s best when he’s moving and not too static, and he took it really well.

“Danny Whitehall has scored two free-kicks in seven games and he’s only taken four, which is a sensational return. You’d have to argue, in my opinion, the better chances fell to us in the second half. We played on the break a little bit.”

Scunthorpe welcomed Connor Smith on loan from Heart of Midlothian on Friday, with the youngster making his debut from the substitutes’ bench, making a favourable impression on the game.

“Connor Smith impacted it really well,” he continued. 

“You can see the quality the boy is going to bring. With Kian taking the red card, him coming in couldn’t have come at a better time. We’re well set. We’ve got two home games now where we want to target maximum points.

“He’s got a lot of guile, he’s clever and he works hard. He’s good with the ball in tight areas and I think he will suit Glanford Park really well and the fans are going to love him. We’ve looked at it after the Curzon game, you can’t help but think teams are going to put 10 men behind the ball, and we need that bit of extra quality to break teams down, and I think Connor is going to provide that.”

With around 1,000 away fans on the journey to Derbyshire, Dean once again reserved his final comments for the travelling support with around 75% of the ground made up of away fans for the second weekend in a row.

“Amazing. Amazing. I remember some fans saying to me that they wanted to see a side that gives them 100 per cent, and they will give us 100 per cent back, and they’ve done that today.

“They’ve carried us through when it was tough. We know how privileged we are to have them behind us, and we’re going to keep fighting and keep pushing to make them proud this season.”