Scunthorpe United v Bristol City

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Football League Championship

Scunthorpe United :
Murphy, Jones (Canavan 23), Byrne (Grant 78), Mirfin, Nolan, Togwell (Woolford 61), O'Connor, J.Wright, Collins, Dagnall, Forte.
Subs not used:
Slocombe, Raynes, McClenahan, A.Wright.

Bristol City :
James, Hunt, McAllister, Fontaine, Stewart (Carey 64), Elliott, Skuse, Cisse, Adomah (Sproule 54), Stead, Pitman (Clarkson 74).
Subs not used:
Gerken, Ribeiro, Johnson, Campbell-Ryce.

SULSESC REPORT

by Bristol Evening Post at Glanford Park

TWO heavily-strapped ankles, a swollen shin and an afternoon of being kicked from pillar to post, were not enough to wipe the smile of Albert Adomah's face.

"I can barely walk," said the flying winger, without a hint of anger, after scoring the goal that set City on their way to a much-needed first victory of the campaign.

"I think that might have been part of Scunthorpe's game-plan. They must have thought I was a threat in the first half, so they made an effort to take me out. To be fair, they did quite a good job!" he added.

Rough-house tactics are nothing new to a man who served his apprenticeship in the rudimentary surroundings of the Ryman League with Harrow Borough.

"I used to be the 'dangerman' at my old club, so I used to get kicked about a lot," he said. "It used to distract me from my game but now I just get up and get on with it. I take it like a compliment."

The swollen shin was the battle scar which finally forced Adomah's withdrawal just short of the hour-mark. Not that you could blame the Iron for singling out the speedy wide-man for special treatment.

Give this boy the ball and let him run free at your peril.

It was something Scunthorpe found out to their cost when Adomah picked up the ball so far away from their goalmouth it was hard to believe that, less than 10 seconds later, he was wheeling away in delight.

"About 80 yards away," was Adomah's estimation of the distance from Scunny's goal. It was probably more like 50, but still hugely impressive.

He set off on a mazy run which took him to the edge of the penalty area, before slipping the ball out to Brett Pitman on the right-hand side of the box.

The striker fired the ball across the face of goal in the hope that Jon Stead would apply the finishing touch but the cross didn't find the intended target.

It was fortunate then that Adomah had kept going. The ball arrived at the toe of his right boot and a deft touch clipped the ball over advancing goalkeeper Joe Murphy to give City an early confidence boost.

The strike saw Adomah go out in front in City's scoring charts, but substitute David Clarkson joined him on two goals following a neat one-on-one finish in stoppage-time to finally put the game out of the Iron's reach.

"Well, me and Clarky have both got two goals. But my name begins with an A, so I consider myself to be the top goalscorer at the moment," smiled Adomah.

More importantly for City, it was a first win of the campaign following a turbulent few months which culminated in the shock resignation of former manager Steve Coppell just two games into his tenure.

"It was a big win for us," added Adomah. "Wins breed confidence and now we can, hopefully, go on and get our first victory at home."

There's every chance that could happen against Watford at Ashton Gate tomorrow night, should City perform like they did on Saturday.

While Adomah and Clarkson take the plaudits for the goals, it was the resolute nature of City's resistance in the face of a second-half Scunthorpe onslaught that was the most impressive aspect of the display.

"We battered them," bemoaned Iron boss Nigel Adkins afterwards. True enough, for there had been no sign of the brittle backbone that had contributed to City's nasty recent habit of throwing points away by conceding late goals.

"You can never dictate a Championship game for a full 90 minutes," said City boss Keith Millen.

"When you are under pressure you need people to defend for their lives, and the lads did that for us.

"I'd have liked us to have had a bit more of the game in the second half. It was a bit hair-raising towards the end, but overall I'm absolutely delighted."