VICTORY HAS THE IRON BUBBLING
TWO GOALS in seven second-half minutes gave Scunthorpe victory over Coventry City and saw them climb out of the League One relegation zone.
James Perch netted the opener from the edge of the box in the 67th minute, with midfielder Levi Sutton curling in a second not long after.
Though Conor Chaplin made the most of a defensive lapse to get Coventry back in the game with 12 minutes to play, United held on to claim a third successive win.
Scunthorpe boss Stuart McCall hopes his side are on the up after the victory.
“There’s been a bit of belief from the new signings and a couple of good results, so it was important we built on that with a victory,” said McCall.
“Getting the win keeps things bubbling and there’s a better atmosphere around the whole club, which is natural when you’re winning.
“We’re building momentum, confidence and belief – but credit to the squad because they’ve always stuck at it.
“There’s still a long way to go, but we’re looking up and hopefully it’ll continue with more performances like that.”
Coventry boss Mark Robins cited the Iron’s experience and nous as the biggest factor in why his “naive” side saw a three-match winning run come crashing to a halt.
He said: “That performance was exactly what you’d expect from a side that contains so many young players.
“Scunthorpe have a lot of experience and they made us work hard away from the ball and towards our own goal.
“There were good things to come out of the game, but we’ve got to make sure we learn from it. I don’t want us to show any fear for the rest of the season.
“It’s always frustrating to lose, but I think it’s understandable when you look at the make up of the group.
“There was a naivety about us, but we have to expect that. It’s still possible for us to get into the play-offs and that’s what I want us to aim for.”
Both sides cancelled each other out in an at times frantic first half, with Luke Thomas firing over at one end before Scunthorpe’s former Sky Blues forward George Thomas was denied by a smart stop from Lee Burge at the other.
Coventry looked the likelier scorers having begun the second period on top, though fell behind when Thomas teed up Perch and the midfielder’s shot was deflected before nestling into the back of the net.
If there was an element of fortune about the home side’s opener, the same could not be said about their second, with Sutton producing a curling finish after good play on the right by Kyle Wootton. Chaplin, days after making his loan to Coventry permanent, nodded home from inside the six-yard box to give them hope after Rory McArdle’s header wrong-footed keeper Jak Alnwick, but it proved no more than a consolation.