The Iron kickstarted their 2025-26 campaign with a pre-season trip to local outfit Bottesford Town, a fixture synonymous with Scunthorpe and their pre-season preparations in recent years.
The Poachers always produced a firm test for United and it was bound to be no different for Andy Butler’s men on the day.
Scunthorpe would produce two different line-ups for both either half of the fixture at the Barrett Stadium. Attempting to combine a mixture of experience and youth being shown throughout both starting XI’s, Butler aimed to showcase the club’s latest signings with all six additions so far featuring throughout the fixture.
The Iron got the game underway and were left shocked by some early pressure from the hosts. After a defensive mishap was pounced upon by a Poachers forward, Campbell would be forced into a smart stop to palm the ball away from goal.
Despite Scunthorpe growing into the fixture, the next chance of the game would belong to Bottesford again, It was Luke Ayris who robbed a loose ball in the Scunthorpe area and under pressure from the onrushing goalkeeper somehow misplaced his shot wide of the mark from point blank range.
United’s first chance of the fixture would come through debutant striker Declan Howe. When the forward received the ball on the edge of the area he would manufacture a yard of space for a snapshot that was pushed wide of the target by the Bottesford goalkeeper.
Following this first chance it wouldn’t take long for the Iron to take the lead through another debutant in the form of Joey Dawson. After a well worked move resulted in Dubem Eze chopping the ball back into the area, Dawson latched upon a defensive mix up to tap the ball into the open goal for 1-0.
With 24 minutes on the clock the second goal of the game would come Scunthorpe’s way when Eze would turn from provider to goal scorer. After Dawson was released down the right-hand side he would tee up Howe at the back post with a long winded cross. Howe would rise highest to knock the ball back into the danger area, where Eze was waiting to rifle the ball into the top corner.
Butler’s side were now in free flow and were testing the Bottesford defence every time they ventured forward, and Eze could’ve easily of doubled his tally for the evening when he found space on the edge of the area and fizzed a powerful effort at goal that stung the palms of the keeper.
With the first-half in its final moments the Iron would finally make it three through trialist Uppal. After receiving the ball in a promising area on his stronger left-foot, the winger would leave the goalkeeper rooted to the spot with a finessed effort into the bottom corner.
After the half-time break a new Iron side would take to the pitch and set about breaking down their opponents as their team mates did in the first period.
It was winger Carlton Ubaezuonu who came close to opening his account for the pre-season by cutting in off the right hand side and attempting to wrap an effort into the far corner from 20 yards. His shot was sent spiralling towards the target but failed to trouble the keeper as it dropped wide of the mark.
The next goal of the game would come in the 70th minute when Ubaezuonu made no mistake on this occasion. After some neat build-up play to work the ball onto the edge of the Bottesford penalty box, the Irishman would take advantage of the position he found himself in by wrapping the ball around the goalkeeper for 4-0.
The game was more than killed off at this point and the Iron would proceed to see it out comfortably. It could’ve been oh so different however as Campbell’s clean sheet came close to being taken away, the shotstopper he was forced into making a sublime save from point blank range during a goalmouth scramble that occurred in the United box.
This would inevitably be the final chance of the game as the Iron confirmed their first victory of pre-season in comfortable fashion.
IRON FIRST HALF XI: Campbell, Horton, Boyce, Howe, Eze, Brogan, Scales, Starbuck, Dawson, Dawes, Uppal.
IRON SECOND HALF XI: Campbell, Belehouan, Evans, Beestin, Whitehall, Rowley, Ubaezuonu, Ewing, Shipstone, Gjoshe, Munoz.
ATTENDANCE: 1,100
REFEREE: David Jones
