Reacting following the goalless draw in the Emirates FA Cup at home to Brackley Town, manager Jimmy Dean gave his views on the encounter and impending replay on Tuesday night.
The match to settle the tie, which will be played in such a quick turnaround, will be United’s first under the lights away from Glanford Park.
“It’s a midweek away for the first time this season, but I thought we should have won the game in the second half,” he said.
“In the first half, it was flat with no real urgency for the second week running. It’s something I’ve got to address, and it’s something I addressed at half-time. They came out and gave us a good reaction, and we should’ve won the game.
“We’ve hit the post twice, Fin (Shrimpton) has just got to roll it in with his chance. It was a great move. We go again Tuesday.”
In securing the draw, the Iron came away with their first clean sheet since the 3-0 away win at Rushall Olympic in mid-August, which was the standout plus point from the match on home soil.
“It’s a big positive,” he stated.
“We’re back to keeping clean sheets, and there was one big save from Ross (Fitzsimons) at the end of the first half, but in the main I thought the back four were superb. That was Michael Kelly’s first start of the season and he did well. His use of the ball was quality, Tyler Denton was outstanding and the two centre halves marshalled the line well.”
It could have been a different story, in terms of the game’s outcome, had referee Alex Sawden pointed to the spot when Cameron Wilson was brought down in the penalty area inside 17 minutes.
The United gaffer commented on that incident: “I thought it was a stone-waller personally, but I’m on the other side of the pitch.
“It looked as though Cam had gone by him and he was away. He’s round the back of him, why would he go down?”
United will now meet the Saints for a second time in their history in three days time, with Brackley also the Iron’s next league opponents at Glanford Park. To say both sides will be used to each other by October 7th is an understatement, but there will have to be a winner on Tuesday night, even if the tie goes to penalties.
“I fancy us,” he continued.
“It’s not the end of the world for us (to take it to a replay). They’ll be saying the same in taking us back to their place. If we start well, play the game and make it about us, we’ve got a hell of a chance of winning. We’ll know the draw as well at that point. We will know what tie we are playing for, so I’m looking forward to it.
“I much prefer it when we have a midweek fixture, so I’m looking forward to it. We apologies for the extra cost for the fans who will travel to Brackley for the replay. We’re always indebted to them and I said that to the players at half-time. I reminded them at half-time of their responsibilities to this club and this fanbase, and they reacted positively to that.
“We can only ask for the supporters to come and back us again. We apologise we haven’t got the job done today, but we’ll do our best to get the job on Tuesday night for them.”
United had six out of the allotted seven on the bench on Saturday afternoon, with Ross Barrows returning following his recalling from Ilkeston Town, while there was an absence of Tom Pugh, who had been one of the five in recent weeks in the league.
The replay does bring one further positive for the club though, with Kian Scales now able to serve the second of his three-match ban on Tuesday night.
“Tom’s injured with a bit of tendonitis,” Dean said.
“We could name seven substitutes today and brought in a goalkeeper as one, but with the injuries we have, we couldn’t fill the bench today. Hopefully, we will have a few back soon, but probably not for Tuesday.
“It’s what Kian wanted. He wanted a replay, and a win on Tuesday night, and then he will be back a game earlier.
“There are three real positives today - the second half performance, the clean sheet, and Kian having an extra game off his suspension.”