Scunthorpe United v Swindon

Monday, April 17, 2006

Football League One

Scunthorpe United :
Evans, Byrne, Crosby, Foster (Richie Ryan 31), Williams (Sparrow 59), Taylor, Baraclough, Hinds, Keogh, Sharp, Torpey (Beagrie 62)
Subs not used:
Musselwhite, Stanton

Swindon :
Evans, Jack Smith, O'Hanlon, Gurney, Nicholas, Shakes, Smith (Jenkins 71), Diagouraga, Benjamin, Jutkiewicz (Peacock 89), McPhee (Comyn-Platt 71)
Subs not used:
Cureton, Pook

SULSESC REPORT

by Bob Dook at Glanford Park

MOST fans, including Swindon’s, went into this match expecting an Iron victory. Glanford Park had a relaxed atmosphere, expectant of a convincing home win. Just one more point needed for safety. Oh yeah, this was going to be easy…

Travelling to the game beforehand, David Pratt had to put up with my opinionated views on why Laws would use his head and revert to 4-4-2 and abandon his 4-3-3 formation played at Yeovil earlier in the holiday weekend.

Quite why any claim could have been made that the latter strategy actually worked in the West Country is difficult to fathom rationally. Yeovil were the worst team I had seen this season and I reckon it would have been 4-0 if we had played the 4-4-2. So it was with some dismay that I saw us line up with 4-3-3.

Sharp scored early on with a smart goal, turning quickly and burying the ball into the corner of the net from close in. It ended a period when any one of four players could have scored, but shows just why Billy is so good in the box.

Midway through the half and Foster exited with a calf injury. Not sure why Laws chose Ryan as a substitute, while continuing with the same formation. Ritchie is hardly capable of holding a midfield together with someone alongside him, never mind on his own.

The result was that the midfield was surrendered and Swindon allowed into the game. Poor management for me, as Laws did nothing about it.

Swindon equalised with a penalty from the experienced Trevor Benjamin. Benjamin himself went tumbling inside the box after cleverly tricking Crosby. No doubt it was a penalty in my mind, but most others seemed to disagree. We have given away too many penalties this term, with Crosby being the main culprit. His inability to handle pace and turn has been shown up.

The Robins completed the misery with a scrambled goal after United failed to deal with a corner. Half-time came not before time.

Quite how Laws could work out that nothing needed changing at the break was beyond me. Midfield had been lost, with the lightweight and ineffectual Ryan in play and the attacking pair of Sharp and Keogh were being isolated from each other by Torpey in the middle. The effectiveness of our young strikers is when they play off each other, in tandem rather than isolation in a three-man attack.

Only when Torpey was eventually substituted, the midfield strengthened with the addition of Sparrow and Baraclough replaced the injured Williams at full-back did we look like a decent side. I suggested to David Pratt alongside that it was about time it was changed. He replied that it was too late and should have happened at half-time. How right he was.

Swindon now rank as the worst side I have seen this season and not to beat them, particularly at home is disappointing. We are still short of mathematical safety and it makes me wonder just where we would be if Torpey and Johnson had not been injured early season. Laws being forced to play Keogh and Sharp up front has probably saved our season.