| Venue: Glanford Park Date: 30-08-24 Scunthorpe Utd 2 Harriers 0 Att: 4967 (away fans: 239) |
A game of high quality
Report: Phil Lench
The Harriers came away from Scunthorpe Utd this evening with a second defeat of the season when they went down 2-0 at Glanford Park. In a game of end to end action it was truly a game of high quality for both sets of fans and those of a neutral stance. In fact it was a game well above non-league standard and many in League Two as well.
After a fairly even first half, the Iron broke clear of the injury-hit visitors in the second period and sealed their win thanks to two goals by the hour mark.
The team news pre game confirmed the news that the Harriers main man Phil Brown was without both recognised centre forwards with both Amari Morgan-Smith (concussion) and Ben Beresford (hamstring) out, meaning a first start for Seb Thompson. In hindsight he may have wished he’d gone with the stronger option of Tope Obadeyi upfront instead.
Both goalkeepers were called into action within the opening twenty minutes of the game with Christian Dibble probably the busier of the two keeping a Danny Whitehall header out early doors.
Dibble the first to do so after just a few minutes as a long Iron throw caused problems in the area and Whitehall’s header was kept out by a good save. Ross Fitzsimons, in the Irons goal, had to be on his toes when a ball back to him was played short and Thompson pounced and took it towards goal, the shot-stopper narrowing the angle and forcing him to fire into the side netting.
Ashley Hemmings fired an effort at their keeper just before the half hour mark, that he held well, before Max Kouogun nodded over the bar for Scunthorpe. Maliq Cadogan then had probably the best chance of the first half for us, and for his first goal, when he collected the ball in an onside position, from Zak Brown, and clear on goal. Naively he took aim from outside the area when he would have done better to advance on the keeper, an open goal, and tried to round him and score. His day will come.
Alex Penny then found himself in what could have been in hot water, of the shower variety, when he stupidly went in on Alfie Beestin on the touchline, with the ball heading out of play. Luckily he only picked up a yellow card possibly due to it not being a goal scoring opportunity.
Dibble then produced a worldie in keeping out the ball in a super double save. Callum Roberts had been played through and shot firmly but Dibble pushed his shot away then he recovered superbly to also parry away an Beestin header on the follow-up. Worthy of Jordan Pickford without giving his team mates the angry man treatment.
Roberts then showed power and strength to charge forward two minutes before the break, angling across goal with a shot that fizzed wide of the far post.
HT: 0 – 0
After a gripping first half for both sets of fans the second period was a more frustrating one for the 239 Harriers fans in attendance. We never quite matched the first half exertions and allowed Scunthorpe onto us far too much with mis-placed passing and midfield errors. Up front and out wide Maz Kouhyar was getting marked out of the game with three players on him most of the time. The answer to that should have been to use Joe Foulkes, on the other side of the park, more so that he could bomb on but we rarely did and in the end Maz was subbed.
Maz did get a shot in on goal early on though when he managed to escape the attention and fire a shot over the bar but it would never trouble any goalkeeper anyway.
Our efforts weren’t helped by an early opening goal for the hosts. Alfie Beestin put them ahead just seven minutes in after the restart, Paul Downing not watching his movement as he got in behind him to slot the ball home.
Just after the hour it was game over for us and it was of our own making. Foulkes, under pressure and on the edge of our area, made a short pass to Luke Summerfield who attempted to play the ball back further to a waiting defender forgetting that waiting defender had just given him the ball. The ball was intercepted by Roberts who sent it across the area where the waiting Kian Scales slotted it under Dibble to double their lead.
We had just begun to make changes before the goal with Tope Obadeyi coming on for Seb Thompson and, after the goal, David Davis and Reiss McNally for Summerfield and Kouhyar. Reiss went close to opening his account with a header from an Ashley Hemmings corner that went wide just wide of the post before Obadeyi got forward to send a great header off the underside of the bar and cleared away to safety by a defender.
We began to look more attacking following the killer second goal but the Iron were still in full control and defensively they were superb in keeping out any real threat from us. They began to make substitutions also but they were mainly of the seeing out the game type of sub and finally, after seven minutes added on, it was game over for both teams with Scunthorpe coming out on top.
We hadn’t embarrassed ourselves at all and matched the hosts all the way with one exception. That was in front of goal where we were found lacking due to Thompsons rookieness and the too late entering of Obadeyi to the fray. As said earlier it should have been Tope that started the game and then we may have seen a different outcome.
We now have to face an improving Chester FC on Tuesday evening at Aggborough. It’s a game we have to win.
FT: 2 – 0
Goals for Scunthorpe: Beestin 53, Scales 64
The Harriers Online MotM is: Christian Dibble
Talk about the game here
Latest table and stats here
| Scunthorpe Utd | Goals | Subs | Time | Cards |
| Fitzsimons | ||||
| Nicholson |  |
|||
| Kelly |  |
35 | ||
| Kouogun | |
|||
| Evans | ||||
| Scales |  |
 |
76 | |
| Clunan | ||||
| Beestin | |
 |
66 | |
| Whitehall |  |
90 | ||
| Roberts |  |
93 | ||
| Barrows | ||||
| Subs: | ||||
| Fishburn |  |
90 | ||
| Brogan |  |
76 | ||
| Ubaezuonu |  |
66 | ||
| Denton |  |
35 | ||
| Boyce |  |
93 | ||
| Harriers | Goals | Subs | Time | Cards |
| Dibble | ||||
| Foulkes | ||||
| Richards | ||||
| Penny | |
83 | |
|
| Downing | ||||
| Cadogan | ||||
| Brown | ||||
| Summerfield | |
68 | ||
| Thompson | |
62 | ||
| Hemmings | ||||
| Kouhyar | |
69 | ||
| Subs: | ||||
| Bishop | ||||
| Devine | |
83 | ||
| McNally | |
69 | ||
| Obadeyi | |
62 | ||
| Davis | |
68 | ||
| Referee: | ||||
| Mr Niall Smith | ||||
| Rugeley | ||||