Scunthorpe United (U18s) 7-2 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)

Scunthorpe United (U18s) 7-2 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)

EFL Youth Alliance

Saturday 26th November 2022

I’ve said before that Scunthorpe United are decent at Under 18s level and it was a pleasure to witness this performance as they ripped apart Doncaster Rovers in the North-East Youth Alliance.

In one of the most ruthless attacking displays which I can ever recall at youth level and on a par with Bradford’s team from last year in terms of finishing, the Iron just took all their chances and racked up a scoreline so big that checking through the records, not even I can find out the last time that a Scunthorpe youth team scored seven times in a game!

Harrison Poulter netted his 14th, 15th and 16th goals of the season to claim a well-deserved hat-trick and impress yet again - and both his work-rate and end product has been phenomenal whenever I’ve seen him this year, Tyrell Sellars-Fleming bagged twice to maintain his own decent form that he’s regularly produced over the past few months, Nat Wallace got a goal thanks to some smooth and silky footwork late on and Charley Strouther (some left-foot that lad has got) was also on the score-sheet too.

Jack Goodman grabbed both goals for Rovers and his desire to try and make something happen in quite an isolated position up top didn’t go unnoticed because for the second week running he was comfortably the best player in a DRFC shirt.

A few Rovers players might want to blame the pitch as they look for an excuse to deflect attention away from the scoreline - and, granted, the pitch was horrendous and the worst I’ve seen anywhere for a long time. And lets not forget the wonky goalposts either. The pitch was poorer than a public park with bobbles on it everywhere but it was still exactly the same for both teams and the result reflected the commitment, endeavour and application shown by those wearing a Scunthorpe shirt.

Scunny weren’t at their best in terms of ‘finesse’ or ‘style’ (and that was down to the pitch) and there were even a few passages of play which could best be described as ‘clumsy’ but they always looked in control of matters.

Josh Robertson and Harvey Cribb were the best midfielders by far because they picked up all the bits and pieces and loads of second balls between them - thus making an excellent contribution. Ben Pike had a solid first half where he read certain situations well and demonstrated a very specific maturity in all of his defensive work. Fin Abraham made a well-timed tackle to thwart Harry Wood inside the box and stop at least a shot, if not a goal, before half-time, whilst Charley Strouther’s mazy run in the second half where he carried the ball some 50-60 yards, weaved inside, beat about eight players and then shanked the ball straight out of play (cue a little scream afterwards in frustration) deserves a mention because the technique and close-ball control during that run, on that crap pitch, is just one little example of why I’ve really enjoyed seeing his performances this season. He looked sharp at certain times.

And, because I’ll pick up on everything, wearing the No.16 shirt with 16 goals to his name for the U16s in all competitions so far this year, I can't not mention Grayson Giles' superstitious hop onto the pitch with his left foot when he was brought on as a substitute either!

Scunthorpe’s record is now just two defeats in their previous 12 games (and in both of those defeats they were actually the better team) and that ought to prove they’re a team who shouldn’t be underestimated. They’ve got a group of lads who’ll roll their sleeves up, graft, show commitment and they taught Rovers a massive lesson in certain parts of the pitch - especially in the last 20-25 minutes when Rovers just capitulated altogether and things were very easy for the home team.

Solely in terms of chances created though, the game was actually closer than the scoreline suggests.

Josh Murtagh saved quite a few shots in the Iron goal and deserves credit where its due but there were one or two key moments during the 90 minutes - none more so than when Goodman had a goal disallowed for a very tight offside call which would have made it 2-2 late in the first half, and then when Poulter made it 3-1 with a goal right on the stroke of half-time.

If either of those incidents had panned out differently then who knows what might have happened, but by the full-time whistle Rovers were well-beaten and people will only really remember the result in the long-term!

Match Report

It was cold and freezing and the pitch was absolutely terrible!

The Iron could have been awarded a penalty inside the opening minute when Charlie Petch made a tackle on the edge of the box which was met with the sound of the referee’s whistle. Gut instinct made me believe the challenge was inside the box, rather than outside, the referee (probably guessing, rather than judging, considering a few of his later decisions) thought otherwise, and Harry Elliott-Bell headed over from the eventual free-kick.

Nevertheless, Rovers’ day quickly started to unravel because Scunny got the first of their seven goals just three minutes later as Charley Strouther burst into the box down the inside-right having managed to get a run on Chris Pooley and fired a low drive across Jake Oram and into the far corner. 1-0 to Scunthorpe!

In fairness, Donny responded okay to going behind and after Strouther went close with a curling effort on the quarter-hour mark, the visitors played some okay football to create a few openings. Justin Bennett was judged to be offside when he flashed a ball across the goal and midway through the first half Jack Goodman hit the side-netting with a low shot following a free-kick from out wide. 

After a slow start, Rovers were coming into the game a bit and stringing a few bits and pieces together but being ruthless is what matters and just past the half-hour, Tyrell Sellars-Fleming made it 2-0 to Scunthorpe in exquisite style as he latched onto a cross and showed a brilliant first touch to spin away from his man and open up the space to ruthlessly slam a half-volley into the net from about eight yards. 2-0.

Rovers didn’t chuck the towel in at this point (that happened in the second half) and they soon halved Scunny’s advantage from the penalty spot through Goodman who was judged to have been fouled by Strouther, just moments after Fin Abraham produced a great last-ditch tackle to prevent Harry Wood from probably scoring his first of the season.

Then came the moment which could have changed the game as Goodman was sent racing through on goal following a low ball. He looked onside, it was tight, and he demonstrated excellent technique to round the ‘keeper and finish only for the flag to go up at the very last moment and deny him an equaliser. Where’s VAR when it’s needed?

It proved crucial because after a near-post effort by Wood (who was one of Rovers’ better players) drew a save from Iron ‘keeper Josh Murtagh, Scunny went up the other end right on the stroke of half-time and Poulter produced an excellent finish as he breached the offside trap to race onto Josh Robertson’s piercing ball and lifted his shot over an advancing Oram. It found the target, it was an awkward one for Poulter to score (more difficult than many people probably realise) and the Iron now held a 3-1 lead.

In the same fixture last year, Donny trailed by two goals at the break and still went on to win so Scunthorpe knew they couldn’t get complacent and for a 20-minute spell after half-time, things were quite tight and the Iron defended their box quite well to limit chances. Eliott-Bell and Robertson were good in this period.

Rovers probably had more in the way of opportunities; Freddie Allen went close with a stinging near-post effort that was kept out immediately after the re-start and when Max Adamson (who looked good following his introduction) was subbed on just past the hour mark, he tried his luck with a strike from 30 yards which took a slight deflection and Murtagh did well to get something on it.

Nevertheless, the result was put to bed on 69 minutes when Poulter converted from the spot after Robertson was fouled. It was a penalty, no question, and at 4-1, quite a few heads in the Rovers team dropped altogether, cracks very quickly appeared, and the floodgates began to open!

Goal number five soon arrived after some tenacious work by Harvey Cribb in winning back possession and then slipping a low ball through the middle for Poulter made no mistake in burying his shot with machine gun like execution to complete his hat-trick.

Donny quickly pulled a goal back as Adamson unselfishly laid the ball into Goodman’s path for a straightforward finish from close-range but chances of a comeback at this point were slim to none for Rovers as they lacked shape and any real structure.

It was so quiet on the pitch it was almost scary, and with Scunny well on top, they added a sixth goal through Wallace who burst into the box and didn’t need a second invite to bury his effort and make it 6-2, before Sellars-Fleming then made it seven deep into stoppage-time with a predatory finish after Poulter recycled the ball across goal from Elliott-Bell’s free-kick.

Scunthorpe’s ruthlessness upfront was really good - their spirit, endeavour and small bits of quality was there to see in abundance and I’ve got no doubts that the two post-match debriefs will have contrasted quite greatly. There were certainly some happy faces as the Iron team made their way off after a little team huddle on the pitch.

Rovers will need to learn from this pretty quickly. The pitch can be blamed, the formation can be questioned, but there has to be more accountability and leadership across the pitch - and a 7-2 hammering (because the result is what people will see) is definitely a case of learning the hard way! It has to get better and it has to get better very quickly!

I half-sensed that something like this was coming and I wasn’t wrong!