Scunthorpe won the League One big game against Bury
Winning strike a ‘worldie’
ENGLISH football’s leading scorer Josh Morris drew praise from Scunthorpe assistant manager Chris Lucketti after his stunning strike sealed this win.
Scott Wiseman gave the Iron the lead on the stroke of half-time but Tom Soares equalised just short of the hour.
The stage was then set perfectly for Morris, who netted his 12th goal of the season with a world-class strike when he curled home from 25 yards to sink Shakers hearts and increase Scunthorpe’s lead at the top of League One to three points.
Lucketti hailed hero Morris after his game-winning performance – a victory which knocked Bury down to third in the table.
“Josh is playing out of this world,” he said. “He’s a great character, he’s a great pro – on and off the pitch – and he’s getting his rewards because he works ever so hard.
“It was a fantastic goal by Josh and it was worthy of winning any game of football. I don’t think any keeper in the world would have saved that.
“It was a fantastic performance from start to finish and we got our rewards. We deserved the three points, I can’t fault any of them.
“It’s only three points, that’s all we’ve gained, but to do it against teams that are around you makes it extra special.
“Bury are there for a reason, they’ve been on a good run, but it’s nice to put an end to that and get another three points.”
Bury started the game the brightest and could have taken the lead inside five minutes but Zeli Ismail’s shot was tipped around the post by Luke Daniels.
A minute later Neil Danns beat his full-back on the left wing and stood a cross up for Tom Pope, who crashed a header against the crossbar.
With the Iron’s first real attack Stephen Dawson’s cross deflected off Greg Leigh and rattled the upright.
Two minutes before half-time Scunthorpe took the lead. Tom Hopper drilled a low cross into the penalty area and the arriving Wiseman blasted in from close range.
The Shakers drew level on the hour mark when Soares tapped
home Ismail’s cross from close range. However, the visitors regained their lead on the 66th minute when Morris curled his stunning shot into the top corner.
And the in-form striker came close to his second of the game when he crashed a 25-yard piledriver straight against the crossbar on the 72nd minute.
Bury rallied late on but Luke Daniels was at his best to deny Jacob Mellis and Soares to ensure the Iron remain at the top.
But despite suffering his first defeat in seven games, Bury boss David Flitcroft remained upbeat with his side’s performance and also praised wonder-boy Morris for his decisive contribution.
“The player in form – Morris – it was an absolute worldie of a goal, which at times deserves to win a football match of such importance,” Flitcroft said.
“It wasn’t a scrappy goal that we conceded, it was an absolute wonder goal. I’ve just watched it back and it’s absolutely unstoppable.
“If they’re the best team in the league, we went toe-to-toe and we’ve still got Danny Mayor, James Vaughan and Leon Barnett to come back in.
“We’ve got beat and it’s on our home turf and it hurts but we go again Monday morning and walk out of here with your heads held high.
“The whole team has given each other everything that they have got and I can’t ask for any more than that.
“We are not happy that we’ve been beat but you want to see your team leave everything out there and they certainly did that.
“The stats will say that we’ve edged it but the stats are no good. We created chances and had a right go and I think the fans appreciated that.”