Survival confirmed as Iron dig deep
SCUNTHORPE assistant manager Ned Kelly revealed his delight at securing League One status for another season, as the Iron saw off both Gillingham and torrential conditions in a match that almost didn’t finish.
Scunthorpe were 2-1 up when play was suspended midway through the first half due to a torrential downpour that saw referee Andy Haines bring the players from the field.
The game was held up for almost half an hour before the decision was made to continue, with the home side holding onto the lead after the restart to secure their spot in the division next season.
“Survival was the plan at the very start of the season, and it’s really pleasing to get things sewn up before the final game of the season,” said Kelly.
“We’d have liked to have been a few more goals ahead late on, but it was really pleasing to get the win and seal a spot in this league next season.”
All the goals came before the deluge that saw the game stopped, and it was Gillingham who took the lead in the second minute when Luke Norris finished superbly.
However, that fired the home side into life, and after Hakeeb Adelakun finished with a fizzing effort, Gary McSheffrey grabbed his second goal in a week to fire Scunthorpe into a lead they would not lose. After the game had started again following the rain delay, Gillingham pressed for an equaliser, but the closest they came was when Norris forced a great save from Luke Daniels.
“It was a bizarre first half,” said their boss, Justin Edinburgh. “We started well but we were the instigators of our own downfall from there on.
“The game fizzled out after the rain delay in truth; we never like losing but there were some strange circumstances in play.”