Following an impressive victory in midweek against Skegness Town, the Iron kickstarted the more competitive of their 2025-26 pre-season fixtures with a trip to the Brewery Field, where National League North outfit Spennymoor Town awaited them looking to carry on their good record on home soil against United.
Scunthorpe set up for the fixture in a defensively solid formation that had proven to be very fluid so far in pre-season. There were major positives for the Iron as Danny Whitehall was deemed fit enough to start from the off despite having limited minutes in recent weeks due to nursing a slight knock.
With the sun gleaming through the clouds on a perfect day for football, the Iron would get proceedings underway and immediately got to work breaking down their opponents with a relentless onslaught of early pressure.
The first chance of the game would be forged following some impressive build-up play from the Iron. A long-winded direct switch from Will Evans would find Joe Starbuck on the right, a fantastic touch and cross from the wing-back would follow which found the leap of Whitehall in the middle, but under pressure the forward could only steer the ball over the crossbar.
The next opportunity in the game would lead to the fixtures opening goal and it would come for United who made the most of their early possession. It was the creative eye of Scunthorpe midfielder Kian Scales that set up the goal as he received the ball and skilfully slotted it into the path of Cal Roberts in the area. From the position Roberts had taken up there was no doubt that he would finish the job, which he did comfortably with a sublime finish into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.
Following the first goal the Iron would look to build upon their early lead and immediately ventured forward in search of a second. This search would almost come to a quick end when Roberts worked space on the edge of the hosts’ penalty area. With a progressive touch to set himself, the winger would attempt to drive his shot beyond goalkeeper Brad James, who would do really well to deny the effort let alone smother the loose ball down to his left.
Scunthorpe’s fast start would even out for the remainder of the half as the Moors grew increasingly into the fixture. The early introduction of Cameron Salkeld was working well Spennymoor, and he came close to setting up the chance that would’ve brought the game level when he broke down the right. A low cross into the area from Salkeld almost found the run of Junior Mondal In the penalty area who would’ve surely turned the ball home if not for the intervention of Andrew Boyce who helped the striker bundle his effort over the bar.
This would be all she wrote for a majorly dominant first half for the Iron who went into the break with a slender lead but one that could be built upon in the second half.
When the sides returned to the carpet like surface for the next period they would begin in a similar manner to the first with a fantastic tempo that would eventually lead to a more than deserved second goal.
Roberts was in fine form on the afternoon and when he picked up possession inside the Moors half he would drive with intent towards the opposition penalty area before being hounded to the ground by a recovering defender, with referee James Bancroft showing no hesitation to award a penalty. Roberts would step up to take the resultant spot kick and power the ball beyond James who stood no chance.
Another chance would follow for Scunthorpe who were really piling on the pressure in the second half. Mark Beck’s dominant flick-on would allow his strike partner Declan Howe to latch onto the loose ball and bear down on the Spennymoor goal. As he approached the area Howe would look to power the ball beyond James who would deny the effort with a powerful palm away from the target.
The Moors were due a chance of their own and would create a promising one on 58 minutes. A slotted pass into the feet of Alfie Doherty on the edge of the Scunthorpe area would provide the hosts with the perfect chance to pull one back, only for the midfielder to snatch at the finessed effort and steer it wide of the far post.
Spennymoor were once again building into the encounter and should’ve really reduced the deficit through Corey McKeown. A sublime cross into the box from Mondal would find the untraced run of his teammate who slid in a matter of yards from goal, despite getting contact on the ball the Moors winger somehow managed to turn the ball around the post and behind for a goal-kick.
After surviving these warning shots from Spenny, the Iron would look to regain their foothold in proceedings with an array of entertaining attacks that came close to resulting in a third. Eventually Scunthorpe would be rewarded for their endeavours and who else would it be but Roberts, as Howe’s break and pass across the face of goal found the hat-trick hero he was never in doubt to smash the ball into an open goal for 3-0.
Following all of Scunthorpe’s huffing and puffing to find the third they would go on to expand upon their advantage with a further goal as Howe turned form provider to clinical finisher. Beck’s flicks were again causing problems for the hosts and on this occasion, it landed perfectly to Howe who stroked the ball beyond James with what was a confident finish from the forward.
With the score now at 4-0 United would relax on their comfortable scoreline, this slight lapse of concentration would allow the Moors to gain a consolation through new signing Gary Madine. It was Mondal’s cross to Madine that allowed the experienced front man to latch onto the ball just a matter of yards out, however Maison Campbell would produce a series of stunning reaction stops to deny both the original effort and the rebound that followed, unfortunately a ricochet would come off Madine and trickle into the net reducing the Iron’s advantage to three.
The game was now coming to its close with the final whistle just a matter of moments away. York City loanee Billy Chadwick had looked promising since his introduction into the game and when he was threaded into the area by fellow substitute Joey Dawson, he would force another test out of James who had to dive to his right, producing a brilliant save to tip the ball over the crossbar.
This would bring an end to the encounter at the Brewery Field and an entertaining one at that, despite a worthy test from the hosts, United proved just too clinical for their north east opponents and came out comfortably on top.
Image by David Nelson
IRON: Campbell, Belehouan, Evans, Boyce (Howe, 45), Beestin (Eze, 75), Whitehall (Beck, 45), Roberts (Dawson, 75), Ewing (Ubaezuonu, 69), Scales (Chadwick, 61), Starbuck (Brogan, 75), Denton.
IRON UNUSED SUBS: Watson, Shipstone, Simmonds.
ATTENDANCE: 551
REFEREE: James Bancroft
