Following a successful attempt at retaining their status as Lincolnshire Senior Cup holders in midweek, the Iron were back to league action this afternoon as they welcomed National League North strugglers Southport to the Attis Arena for their latest encounter.
The last time the sides met the Sandgrounders turned over United at the home venue of Haig Avenue and would’ve been hoping for a repeat result, however Scunthorpe were in sublime form at home and came into proceedings in desperate need of a victory to keep them at the top of the table.
Scunthorpe manager Andy Butler would name an unchanged XI for the fixture against the Port. The only alteration would come on the bench as midfielder Luke Williams dropped out of the squad in order to be replaced by backup goalkeeper Maison Campbell. At the crucial stage of the season Scunthorpe find themselves in United couldn’t afford to rely on luck to ensure starting goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimons would remain fit or free of suspension, hence Campbell was the logical choice to be named amongst the alternates.
To start proceedings United received the ball back from kick-off and began trying to break down the low block, constructed by newly appointed Southport gaffer David Morgan.
After a promising chance for Joe Rowley to give the Iron the lead went a miss thanks to some superb defending by the Port defence, the Scunthorpe faithful weren’t made to wait long for the first goal of the afternoon as it came just after the 10-minute mark.
It was a clinical counter-attack from United that resulted in the game’s opening goal when a failed Southport corner allowed Cal Roberts to dispossess the defender and storm into the oppositions half. After raising his head Roberts would pick out the beautifully timed run of Kian Scales to send the midfielder through on goal. With just a defender and goalkeeper Chris Renshaw to beat, Scales remained calm by scooping the ball beyond the remaining defender and made no mistake when stroking the ball past Renshaw to make it 1-0.
Following that goal the visitors would attempt to bounce back almost instantly with a flurry of attacks that put United on the back foot for the first time in the game. The Port’s first chance of the game would come for midfielder Tom Moore who parted the Scunthorpe defence to receive a remarkable through ball in the penalty area. However, before Moore could pull the trigger and surely put his team back on level terms his shot was crucially blocked by Will Evans who did superbly to turn the ball past Ross Fitzsimons’ far post.
The next chance of the fixture would be gifted to the Sandgrounders when Iron defender Maxim Kouogun’s misplaced pass was well snapped up by Southport skipper Danny Philliskirk who burst into the open space in the Scunthorpe half before seizing up an effort from 20 yards. Despite the distance it was still a promising chance for the experienced midfielder who attempted to drill his shot at Fitzsimons but much to the delight of the Scunny shot stopper the attempt failed to trouble him as it dropped wide of the post.
Next up the Iron were to enjoy a period sustained attack that would eventually result in a valuable and thoroughly deserved second goal. After a sensational half-volley pass from Alfie Beestin to release Joe Rowley down the right-flank, United would flood forward in numbers. With space to cross the ball Rowley would drive his low ball into the area to create what appeared to be a routine clearance for the Southport defence, however the cross somehow avoided the Southport defenders allowing possession to land at the feet of Carlton Ubaezuonu in the penalty area who slotted the ball past Renshaw with relative ease, and in doing so bringing the first half to a close on a positive note.
Following the half-time break Scunthorpe would mount an offensive onslaught on the Southport goal in order to try and find a third goal that would’ve kill off the game. The first opportunity United got to accomplish these feet was when Scales attempted to repeat the opener from the edge of the area, the energetic middleman chopped inside of his marker and attempted to wrap a finessed shot into the top corner that whistled narrowly wide of the far post.
When the 70th minute arrived, the ball would end up in the back of the Southport net with the United supporters celebrating emphatically. It was Ubaezuonu who was celebrating when he finished off a fast-paced attack with a fabulous curling effort past Renshaw that nestled in the roof of the net. However, his celebrations were short lived as he looked over to the far side to see linesman Joshua Bramall’s offside flag raised deeming that Ubaezuonu had received the ball in an offside position.
In the final 15 minutes the Iron would apply pressure on the Southport defence and in doing so tried to put their opponents to the sword. The attack-minded substitution of Mo Fadera was breathing new life into the Iron attack and the Gambian would go painfully close to extending his tally for the season when he cut inside of Matt Thomson and fired a snapshot effort at Renshaw that he clawed away from goal at the first attempt and produced a sensational reflex stop to deny Ubaezuonu of a legit second goal mere seconds later.
With just minutes remaining and the Iron comfortably in the lead another chance would arise for Fadera who again managed to disposes Knight-Percival in a promising position before sprinting into the penalty area and trying to provide a clinical finish instead of pulling the ball back for Mark Beck on the edge of the box, the winger’s effort was caught sweetly but crashed off the outside of the post before being swept away from the target.
This would be the final chance of the game as referee Harry Jones called an end to proceedings and wrapped up the three points for United who extended their unbeaten run on home soil and in doing so took another step closer to the National League North title.
IRON: Fitzsimons, Kelly, Kouogun, Evans (Boyce, 88), Clunan, Beestin (Beck, 54), Roberts (Fadera, 66), Rowley, Ubaezuonu (Starbuck, 86), Scales, Denton,
IRON SUBS: Campbell.
