Morris is the man for last gasp Iron
JOSH MORRIS was Scunthorpe’s hero as he curled home a beauty with just four minutes to go to win the game at sun-drenched Gigg Lane.
After being fouled by Rohan Ince 20 yards from goal, Morris was clinical as he curled home left-footed, right in front of the Iron’s travelling army.
Scunthorpe assistant boss Chris Lucketti was delighted as his side extended their unbeaten start to the season.
“Every credit to the players; the dressing room was bouncing after the game,” he said. “This was a great three points for us. We performed well though, and we deserved it.
“We knew it would be difficult here. This isn’t an easy place to come to. We knew we’d have to work extremely hard to get any kind of result but at the end of the day, we’ve been rewarded for that hard work with a great victory.
“We spoke to the players at half-time and told them we needed to up the tempo.
“We did that but to win the game like that was fantastic. It was a great finish from Josh.”
The Shakers came closest to breaking the deadlock in a rather cagey first period.
After 21 minutes, the hosts were denied by the woodwork when Jermaine Beckford struck a post after meeting Ryan Lowe’s low cross.
The Iron’s best opportunity fell to Hakeeb Adelakun, whose effort from a tight angle was well saved by Joe Murphy.
Beckford came close again seconds into the second period while debutant Josh Laurent saw an effort well saved by Matt Gilks.
However, the Iron pushed on towards the end, and after Morris’ exquisite winner, substitute Kevin Van Veen came mighty close to making it 2-0.
Bury boss Lee Clark has indicated that his expensively assembled squad need to do better.
“We knew full well Josh Morris has got a wonderful left foot but as a team, we have to do better in the lead-up to it,” he said.
“We gave the ball away far too cheaply, and that’s been the case too often so far this season.
“We are learning the hard way at the moment.
“We didn’t deserve to lose this game – not by any stretch – but some of the players have got to start taking a bit more responsibility.
“The defence is strong but there’s got to be more in terms of effort going forward.
“Too many back there are not talking the talk just yet, but we’ll get there.”