Scunthorpe ran out resounding 2-0 victors in Warrington as they took their chances when it mattered to snatch all the points from the game thanks to goals from Jacob Butterfield and skipper Michael Clunan who grabbed his first goal in club colours.
The Iron were on the road for their return to National League North action as they teed up to face play-off hopefuls Warrington Town. This was to be the second meeting between the two sides in their prestigious histories as the only previous meeting was the return fixture at the Attis Arena back in late November when United scraped through the yellows with a narrow 1-0 victory.
In the week leading up to the game, Scunthorpe had been plagued with injuries a scenario that had been unwelcomed by first team manager Jimmy Dean, as his side were in search of a third consecutive victory. As a result of the injuries there were two alterations made to the starting XI that defeated Banbury a week prior. Firstly, talented loanee Flynn Clarke came into the side on the left-flank to replace the long serving Alfie Beestin. Elsewhere, following his dismissal last weekend, towering centre-half Will Evans was replaced by stand-in captain Andrew Boyce, who returned from a previous suspension of his own.
Following a delayed start as a result of a nearby drone over the stadium, proceedings were finally kickstarted at the UNIS Compliance stadium by the hosts. In the games early stages, proceedings were being dictated by the bobbly surface as it played the leveller between the two sides.
As the surface was interrupting United’s conventional style of play, Warrington managed to converge upon a loose pass from goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimons by forging the game’s first opportunity. A long-lofted ball over the top managed to evade Reagan Ogle and find the run of Yellow’s danger man Isaac Buckley-Ricketts who entered the area at pace. Despite the promise of the opportunity, he squandered the chance by placing the ball wide of the post under pressure from the recovering Ogle.
Despite the host’s early chances, it was the Iron who took the advantage over their opposition twenty minutes into fixture. It was courtesy of another controversial Danny Whitehall goal snatch, as both he and Jacob Butterfield wheeled away in celebration. A slick Scunthorpe move from down the right-flank resulted in the ball being played to the feet of Dion Sembie-Ferris. The winger chopped onto his right foot and sent powerful cross across the box that found the leap of Butterfield, the veteran’s header was direct and struck the palms of goalkeeper Dan Atherton with such force that it snuck over the line.
With the score line cemented at 1-0 throughout the first half neither side was making any notable inroads into the oppositions half as time ebbed away on referee Tom Ellesmore’s watch.
Before the first half could be drawn to a close Warrington came closest to grabbing an equaliser so far as a swift counterattack fell to a yellow shirt on the edge of the area a strong-willed strike was stung towards goal. However, in a superb act of defensive courage, midfielder Tom Pugh flung his head in the way of the effort to tun the ball around the post to stop a certain goal in what would also be the last action of the first period.
As the second half was set underway following the break, Scunthorpe were looking to see off the hosts by putting them to the sword with an all-important second goal.
To begin with, the second half’s exchanges were not so dissimilar to the first as the conditions were producing a rather cagey affair for both impressive outfits.
The first chance of second half proceedings was awarded to Scunthorpe a mere matter of minutes since the referee’s whistle had sounded. So far the Norwich loanee Clarke had been reasonably quiet down the left-hand side, however when he collected a loose ball 25 yards from goal he set up to recreate his first goal in claret and blue that came a few weeks prior by striding inside, opening up his body and whipping an effort goalward that landed whiskers wide of the far post.
United had been building towards their second goal throughout the half, and 15 minutes into the still newly born period they came close to creating it in an extraordinary fashion as some scintillating build-up play from coast to coast was deserved of a superb ending from Kian Scales who received the ball on the edge of the area and struck a Duane Holmes-esque strike that bounced directly in front of the 'keeper, but was well handled by Atherton between the Warrington posts.
With time still remaining, the Yellow’s made changes in order chase the equaliser they craved; however, their chances were made all the slimer as they were reduced to 10 men for the remainder of proceedings. It was James Harris to be dismissed for the hosts after he sent Pugh soaring into the air as a result of a disgusting challenge in the centre of the pitch.
As time came to its close, the game gradually flickered away for the hosts as their hopeful push for an equaliser was swiftly dismissed in additional time. The Iron’s original tactic of holding the ball in the corner was quickly changed when substitute Michael Clunan burst into the area and on full stretch prodded the ball beyond Atherton to make it 2-0 and seal all three points.
This was to be the end of the fixture, as United stretched their winning run to three consecutive matches in tie’s that came both home and away - a consistency that is crucial as Dean’s outfit head into the seasons business end.
IRON: Fitzsimons, Ogle, Kouogun, Boyce, Pugh (Clunan, 73), Butterfield, Scales, Clarke (Corbett, 83), Sembie-Ferris (Roberts, 69) Denton, Whitehall.
IRON SUBS: Elliott, Butler.
