Following a disappointing result against King’s Lynn in their previous fixture, the Iron were back in National League North action on a wet and windy bank holiday Monday for an encounter with the inconsistent Peterborough Sports.
A victory would keep United’s title hopes alive and could prove crucial with just one week of the campaign remaining.
First team manager Andy Butler would make several alterations to his Iron line-up for the fixture including a change in shape that allowed Scunthorpe striker Danny Whitehall to return to the starting XI for the first time following his return from injury, the change in formation would lead to Whitehall partnering Alfie Beestin a top the Iron strike force. Elsewhere, Tyler Denton’s move to midfield to replace Mo Fadera allowed Joe Starbuck to slot seamlessly into the United defence further proving that Butler’s boys were aiming to attack Sports with numbers.
When proceedings were set underway at the Attis Arena it was fair to say that the Iron were stunned early on in the fixture, this was due to an impressive start from Sports that caught United off guard, pinning them back to within their own final third.
Despite Sports looking the most likely to take the lead during the opening exchanges it would be the Iron who gained the advantage with 10 minutes on the clock. After Cal Roberts’ initial corner found the head of Beestin in the area a goal line scramble would ensue, goalkeeper Peter Crook had done extremely well to deny Beestin’s headed effort but could only stand and watch as Denton nudged the ball beyond him to put his side in the lead.
Following the first goal of the afternoon the Iron would begin to grow into the encounter, however despite controlling the game they would still be open to a Sports attack when midfielder Hugh Alban-Jones won back possession in his own half and attempted to fire an effort over the retreating Ross Fitzsimons. The shot from Alban-Jones was an ambitious one but Fitzsimons was equal to the strike as he just about managed to pull the ball into his grasp.
The next chance in the game would be a clinically finished one from United who doubled their lead off the back of an almost unbelievable decision that had the whole stadium confused. The confusion occurred when Roberts’ deflected shot from inside the Sports penalty area landed at the feet of Maxim Kouogun with a simple tap in from a matter of yards. When he received the ball in what appeared the offside position the whole of the Scunthorpe faithful sunk into their seats, however they were shocked to find that assistant referee Richard Morris had deemed Kouogun to be onside hence making it 2-0 to the hosts.
With a matter of minutes remaining in the first half that Iron would put the cherry on top of a brilliant period from an attacking perspective. It would be Roberts who finally claimed his more than deserved goal to make it three when he finished off a swift counterattack from the right-flank. After he chopped inside Roberts had worked the ball onto his favoured left-foot, this move left him with the chance to wrap the ball beyond Crook which he did in style with a fantastic curling shot into the bottom corner.
Following the half-time break Scunthorpe would rally to try and find more goals in the second half, which they would go on to do with their quality showing through in abundance.
After an early chance for Roberts to double his tally went a miss, the Iron would come forward again on the 60-minute mark with some serious attacking intent. After Roberts broke down the line with a rapid burst of pace. He would then slot the ball into Whitehall who teed up substitute Mo Fadera with a luscious dink to the back post. With his first touch of the ball Fadera would set the ball back to Beestin on the edge of the PSL penalty area who snatched at his shot; dragging the ball back into the path of Whitehall who failed to turn the ball home from a tight angle.
United were in complete control of the fixture to this point and were so almost tormenting the Turbines every time they attacked. This would result in the Peterborough defence finally cracking for a fourth time when Carlton Ubaezuonu who had not long been introduced to the fray rolled his marker and slotted the ball into the feet of fellow alteration Max Brogan. With just the goalkeeper to beat Brogan made no mistake when smashing the ball beyond Crook, hence strengthening his teams lead with a composed strike from inside the area.
With time running out for Sports to get any sort of consolation goal to end the game they would be punished for a final time when Ubaezuonu put them to the sword. Less than a minute after assisting Brogan, the Irishman would bring the ball down inside the visitors area, beat a defender before wrapping a sensational finessed effort into the far-left corner to increase United’s lead to five.
This would bring an end to a thrilling home encounter from the Iron’s perspective as Andy Butler’s side were consistently on top of Sports and in the process took their chances when it mattered to achieve their second largest victory of the campaign. This particular triumph almost all but mathematically guaranteed Scunthorpe a minimum of a third-place finish in the National League North for the season, hence setting up a blockbuster final day of the season with their fate still to be decided.
IRON: Fitzsimons, Kelly, Kouogun (Boyce, 75), Evans, Clunan, Beestin (Scales, 69), Whitehall (Ubaezuonu, 63), Roberts, Rowley (Brogan, 69), Starbuck, Denton (Fadera, 56).
