Preview: Southport (H)

Words: James Whitbread

The Iron bounced back from their midweek defeat against Kidderminster, in some fashion. United battled against Chester on Community Day in front of a National League North record breaking crowd of 8,274 supporters at the Attis Arena.

Cal Roberts got the opening goal in the first half, before Michael Kelly scored a stunner to double Scunthorpe’s lead in the second half in front of a sold out Britcon Stand. Mo Fadera then wrapped up the game scoring his goal in the 87th minute, before Chester bagged a consolation from a long range free-kick effort.

In midweek Scunthorpe also retained the Lincolnshire Senior Cup at the LNER Stadium, after a thrilling 90 minutes where six goals were equally shared out with the match ending 3-3, Mark Beck, Fadera and Carlton Ubaezuonu all getting into the scoresheet. United won 3-0 in the penalty shootout to build on the momentum gained after the massive three points over Chester.

In the reverse fixture, Southport got a home triumph over the Iron. Cal Roberts scored in the 37th minute before Danny Lloyd-McGoldrick equalised six minutes later just before the half time interval. Danny Whitehall put Scunthorpe back in front, just 10 minutes after the second half started. Just four minutes after Whitehall’s goal, Sonny Hilton made it 2-2 and the winner followed two minutes later for Southport, Lloyd-McGoldrick getting his second of the day making it 3-2. United will be desperate to get revenge in front of a positive home crowd.

Next up for Scunthorpe, travelling to the Attis Arena is a struggling Southport side with just one win in their last six (one win, one draw and four defeats). In this poor run of form, the Sandgrounders have played up to 540 hours of football and have netted just three goals, two in their victory over Rushall and one in their point against Peterborough Sports. Goals have been hard to come by all season for the visitors having netted just 39 goals from 40 matches; only the bottom three teams have scored less.

The match winner in the reverse fixture has to be a man for Scunthorpe to look out for. Danny Lloyd-McGoldrick is top scorer for the visitors, with 11 goals scored and six assists. The 33-year-old has proved himself to be very important for his side this season, having been involved in 41% of their goals in the league. However Lloyd-McGoldrick is going through a tough goal drought, the centre forward hasn’t scored in since the 18th of January against Hereford, Port have played 15 matches since.

Another dangerous player for Southport is arrival from October, Dior Angus. Angus has scored five goals this season since joining in the middle of the season and has won Southport some crucial points, steering them clear of the drop zone. Away from home the visitors have also struggled to pick up many points, the Sandgrounders have just 19 points from their 20 away matches this season, five wins, four draws, 11 losses.

Southport will be aiming to get a shock away win against the Iron, who have just one home defeat in the league this season. Based on form in their last five (four losses, one win), only Farsley Celtic have picked up less points (five losses). Desperate to get points on the board, Southport will be hoping to emulate a similar result to their previous display against Scunthorpe earlier in the season.

As we approach the final six games of the season, every match is a cup final for the Iron as we are now top of the league, leading Kidderminster Harriers by just two points. Southport sit just nine points above the relegation zone, they will be looking to have a sudden change in form to push up the table and finish the season strong