Scunthorpe United v Crewe

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Football League One

Scunthorpe United :
Murphy, Mulligan, Crosby, Foster, Ridley, Taylor, Hinds, Baraclough, Sparrow (Ferretti 73), Sharp, Keogh
Subs not used:
Byrne, MacKenzie, Williams, Lillis

Crewe :
Williams, Otsemobor, Baudet, Kempson (O'Donnell 59), Jones, Lowe, Gary Roberts, O'Connor, Vaughan, Rodgers (Maynard 73), Higdon
Subs not used:
Varney, Tomlinson, Rix

SULSESC REPORT

by Andy Skeels at Glanford Park

FOR the second time in five days, it was the long slog north, this time in the hope of seeing United record their first win of the season at the third attempt.

A healthy pre-match turn-out of SULSESC members in the Honest Lawyer was headed by chairman Tremayne and even Lord Robertshaw of Chorlton unusually managed to put in an appearance before 2.30 pm.

Despite new signing Neil Cox being sidelined by injury, and therefore missing his return to Glanford Park, Crewe were expected to provide some formidable opposition as United’s tricky early season programme continued – and so it proved.

In an entertaining game, there were some positive signs from the Iron even though we again failed to open our account in the W column. Twice behind, it was encouraging to see that we were more than a match for a team which was playing Championship football last season.

Two dubious penalty awards, one for each side, and a couple of well worked goals provided an identical scoreline to that of the previous Tuesday against Swansea. Indeed, the Iron’s goalscorers were identical too, as Crosby maintained his 100 per cent career record from the penalty spot and Sharp finished calmly when one-on-one with Crewe ‘keeper Ben Williams.

But while United played well in patches, creating plenty of chances and looking like a team capable of scoring goals, the worry, like last season, has to be at the other end.

Despite the additions of Murphy and Mulligan, the defence has been breached five times already in just three games. And that sort of statistic doesn’t inspire confidence that we can enjoy a season free from relegation worries…