Bristol C v Scunthorpe United

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Football League One

Bristol C :
Basso, Orr, Heywood, Carey, Woodman, Cotterill (Wilkshire 74), Noble, Russell (Skuse 45), Murray, Brooker, Savage (Stewart 81)
Subs not used:
Phillips, Jamie Smith

Scunthorpe United :
Evans, Hinds, Crosby, Butler (Byrne 54), Rose, Taylor, MacKenzie, Goodwin (Sparrow 74), Beagrie (Torpey 80), Sharp, Keogh
Subs not used:
Musselwhite, Williams

SULSESC REPORT

by Dave Pratt at Ashton Gate

WELL, if it's Bristol away, then it's going to pour down and we're going to get soaked, and the journey on the M25, M3, M4 and M5 gave little prospect of anything else.

But, by the law of Sod, come kick-off time, there are blue skies, it's sunny, and we're under cover at Ashton Gate, rather than in the open at the Memorial Stadium.

A healthy away following, although nothing like the six thousand plus who had set the away attendance record at the City of Manchester Stadium the week before, settled down for a game involving a City team unbeaten for six games, and an Iron who had drawn their last four league games (thanks to a postponement at Colchester!)

From the kick-off, City started the stronger, and Orr could have opened the scoring after only two minutes when he was allowed to waltz through unchallenged from midfield, before curling his shot from the edge of the box just wide of the post.

It was the Iron, however, who went 1-0 up in the fifth minute, following their first meaningful attack. The Brazilian 'keeper Basso made a complete dog's dinner of a straight-forward back-pass, mis-kicking straight into the perpetual motion machine that is Andy Keogh, who duly obliged by simply slotting home into an empty net.

The rest of a largely uneventful first-half saw Scunny dominating midfield, without really penetrating. We should have gone two up just before half-time, when Keogh put in a good cross which found Sharp in the area, but his effort was weak and easily saved by Basso.

The second session started much the same as the first, with Sharp squandering another chance five minutes into the half, again Keogh being the provider. Around the hour mark, City equalised from a set piece, with Savage, completely unmarked and unchallenged, allowed to head home a quick free kick taken by Noble. I can only assume that our defence was finding the whole thing as tediously boring as we were, and had dropped off. A couple of further chances, one apiece, followed, but in truth this was a drab, tedious match between two very ordinary teams.