Notts Co v Scunthorpe UnitedSaturday, January 22, 2005Football League Two
Football League Two
| Notts Co | 2 (1) | Scunthorpe United | 0 (0) |
Hurst 30, Gavin Gordon 57 |
Notts Co :
Deeney, Pipe (Palmer 77), Wilson, Baudet, Ullathorne, Scully, Gill, Oakes (Bolland 68), McFaul, Hurst (Williams 89), Gavin Gordon
Subs not used:
Henderson, Harrad
Scunthorpe United :
Musselwhite, Butler, Crosby, Byrne, Ridley (Sharp 60), Sparrow, Kell (Taylor 9), Baraclough, Beagrie, Torpey, Hayes (Rankine 60)
Subs not used:
Evans, Jackson
SULSESC REPORT
by Vic Duke at Meadow Lane
AN ‘A’ class performance by the Iron. It was abysmal, awful, atrocious, abominable, agonizing, acephalous, apocalyptic (that’s enough, Ed).
Perhaps the only thing to be said in the team’s defence is that Kell’s injury after nine minutes may be deemed to have altered the side’s delicate balance in midfield. However, this ignores the fact that United were already on the rack at this point. (Incidentally, whatever happened to all the minutes taken up by the lengthy delay before Kell was stretchered off?).
In truth, the Iron were lucky not to concede in the first minute. Musselwhite blocked a shot (slack marking) from Scully and the resultant cross was headed over (slack marking) when it was easier to score.
The United goal continued to live a charmed life for the first half hour. In the 17th minute, Byrne did well to block a goalbound header on the line. Notts’ opening goal on 30 minutes was simplicity itself. A straightforward through ball beat the pathetic offside trap and Hurst was away, he rounded Musselwhite and rolled the ball into an empty net.
After the first goal the Iron collectively adopted a position of abject surrender. The only highlight in a dismal half came just before half-time as Hayes shot wide when well placed.
The second-half continued along the same lines as the first. Just after the break, Gordon was clean through on Musselwhite but contrived to shoot wide.
On 51 minutes, Hurst was again in the clear, having avoided ‘the offside trap’, but also missed. It was only a matter of time before the second goal.
Guess what? A through ball, Gordon is on his own advancing towards our goal, goes past Musselwhite and that’s 2-0. Somehow the score stayed at 2-0. Byrne made yet another stop on the line from a Hurst shot.
Our only noteworthy reply in the second-half was a Butler header from a corner. On this form – forget the championship, forget automatic promotion, even forget the play-offs.