After Saturday’s promising victory over National League side Halifax Town, Andy Butler’s Scunthorpe side were set to be put up to the test again as they travelled north to face another higher division opposition in the form of Hartlepool United.
A side not too dissimilar to United, the Monkey Hangers had experienced recent relegation into the non-league pyramid and would be looking to prove themselves in an all too familiar encounter.
In regard to team news, the Iron made minimal changes to the side that toppled the Shaymen the weekend prior, most notably goalkeeper Maison Campbell made his way into the starting line-up between the sticks in place of Ross Fitzsimons. Also, after an absence from the previous game, striker Danny Whitehall returned to the squad, and would partner fellow forward Alfie Beestin at the spearhead of the Scunthorpe XI.
The hosts kick-started proceedings in a positive fashion, and were proving their status in the opening minutes with a number of high intensity counterattacks that forced the Iron blockade to sit back and weather the early storm.
The opening 15 minutes were tightly contested between the Iron and the Monkey Hangers, as the theme of the game was being set in motion by two very impressive footballing sides.
Scunthorpe had began to establish themselves upon the fixture and this would unveil a golden chance for Danny Whitehall to give his side the lead. The ball was swiftly worked out to Ross Barrows on the edge of the penalty area, after a quick shift of feet Barrows drove a low effort goalward that was heavily deflected on its way to drawing a save out of the Pools 'keeper. The save was spilled and allowed Whitehall to tap the ball in in true poachers’ fashion, only to have his celebrations cut short by order of the assistants raised flag.
Scunthorpe’s football was now becoming liquid, and their slick passing was starting to overcome their opponents. It was this style of play that would allow the Iron to claim the lead in the 28th minute. A pinpoint crossfield ball from Cal Roberts managed to find its target in Michael Kelly on the left-flank. Kelly’s first touch was excellent, and his pass through his markers legs to find Roberts on the edge of the area was equally as impressive. Roberts came steaming onto the ball from 20 yards and wrapped a perfectly placed effort around the trialist goalkeeper and into the top corner to make it 1-0.
Despite United housing the advantage, the rest of the half remained positive from both sides and Hartlepool seemed determined to find an equaliser before the break. Five minutes prior to the break, the hosts would’ve felt hard done by not to have found an equaliser as, after the original cross from Luke Charman was turned away in the nick of time by Andrew Boyce, Jack Hunter’s ambitious drive from range on the follow up was certainly goal bound if not for Boyce’s intervention on the line.
This would be the last major action of the first period of what had been a thoroughly entertaining encounter up to that point. When the sides returned to the turf for the second half the Pools would’ve been hoping for a quick route back into the game against the iron who had made five alterations in order to get excess minutes into the substitute’s legs.
The second period of play started in a similar manner to the first with Hartlepool attacking with confidence and flare, however the Pools desire to find an equaliser left them exposed in defence and when Campbell calmly caught a set-piece and dispatched Cal Roberts in acres of space, the goal scorer looked up, spotted the keeper off his line and from within his own half attempted an audacious chip that marginally missed the target.
From that moment on a period of dominance would ensue for the hosts as they went in desperate search of an equaliser. Some nice interplay down the right-hand side allowed right-back Dan Dodds to charge in behind and placed a stunning cross onto the head of Manny Dieseruvwe who somehow managed to direct his header slightly over the crossbar to the relief of Campbell.
The Iron were under monumental pressure and adding to their lead was exactly what they required. After being awarded a free-kick in a promising position, Roberts clipped a perfectly placed free-kick into the path of Will Evans in the area who directed his header down into the ground and on target, but it was somehow clawed away by the Hartlepool 'keeper who spared his side's blushes.
Scunthorpe would live to regret their missed chances as they allowed their opponents to draw level on the 63rd minute mark through some sublime work from Dieseruvwe. The six-foot-five striker did superbly well to clip David Ferguson’s deep cross back across goal and into Trialist B, who smashed the ball past Campbell for 1-1.
Momentum continued to build for the hosts who’d began to push for the winner. It was the Monkey Hangers' persistence that allowed them to score a second late on in the tie. Again, crosses into the box bared fruit for Hartlepool as a corner ball delivery found the rising leap of Dieseruvwe in acres of space in the area. The forward's original effort was swept away by Boyce only for the rebound to land kindly and be dispatched for the Pools talisman.
Following the goal that had given the home side the lead for the first time in the game, they managed to shut out the Iron’s attempts for an equaliser courtesy of some valiant defending. Despite this defending that would continue until the full-time whistle, there were still a magnitude of positives for Butler to take away from the fixture.
IRON STARTING XI: Fitzsimons, Kelly (Denton, 45), Kouogun (Nicholson, 61), Evans (Braithwaite, 66), Boyce, Clunan (Shrimpton, 45), Beestin (Fishburn, 45), Whitehall (Ubaezuonu, 66), Roberts (Law, 66), Brogan (Rowley, 45), Barrows (Scales, 45).
