Scunthorpe United 2-1 Coventry City: Match Report and Player Ratings

Scunthorpe came into this game off the back of a humiliating 4-1 defeat in the hands of Chesterfield while Coventry were coming into this full of confidence after 2-1 win against Yeovil. It was the home side who had the early pressure winning a corner straight from kick off, however it was the away side who the early advantage when Frank Nouble got behind the Iron defence and slotted past a helpless Bobby Olejnik.

Coventry now had the upper hand and were looking likely too double there lead however a moment of madness from Reda Johnson soon turned things in Scunthorpe’s favour. After tangling with Scunthorpe striker Lyle Taylor from a long ball, Johnson not once, but twice tried to headbutt the Iron frontman leaving the referee no choice but to send him off. Scunthorpe were now favourites and constantly applying pressure on the Coventry back line. They got their reward in the 38th minute when former Coventry favourite Gary McShefffery whipped a low cross to the edge of the box and Paddy Madden slotted home brilliantly. It remained 1-1 at the break.

After the break, Scunthorpe were the ones continuing to apply the pressure, and after some positive changes including winger Hakeeb Adelakun, Scunthorpe finally took the lead after Paddy Madden picked out Lyle Taylor on the edge of the area and he headed powerfully past helpless Allsop in the Coventry net. Taylor’s goal turned out to be the deciding one despite lots of late pressure from Coventry including back to back corners and lots of shots from range.

Scunthorpe United

Bobby Olejnik – Had a solid game for the Iron. His handling from corners was vital for the home side during the last 10 minutes, relieving pressure on his defence. 7.5
Luke O’Neil – Had a fantastic game at right back, both defensively and going forward. Crossing was fantastic. 7.5
Niall Canavan – Shaky game at the back, got wrong side for the goal and never seemed comfortable on the ball. 6.0
Miguel Llera – He was comfortable in procession and won a lot of headers at vital times against the powerful Nouble. 7.5
Marcus Williams – Was very good on the recovery. Pace was vital at the back, however was found wanting numerous times on the ball. 7.0
Terry Hawkridge – Gave 100% for the team, but did little in terms of creativity, replaced early in the second half. 6.5
Sean McAllister – Worked tirelessly in midfield, won the ball back in key positions and very rarely gave the ball away. 8.5
Matt Sparrow- Got forward to support attacks well, box to box all game. Showed signs of his old energetic self. 8.0
Gary McSheffery – Captaining the side for the first time against his hometown club, but the big occasion didn’t get to him, his assist for the equaliser was crucial. 8.0
Paddy Madden – After his second goal in 2 games, Paddy is showing signs of the player that won the golden boot in 2012. He also got an assist to had to his fantastic night. 9.5
Lyle Taylor – Came in to allow the Iron to go back to a 4-4-2 formation and he and Madden seemed to have a fantastic understanding. His work rate was rewarded with his fantastic headed winner. 8.5

Substitutions

 Hakeeb Adelakun- looked sharp and lively after coming on, had a couple of good attempts on target. 7.5
 Jennison Myrie-Williams- Came on ease the pressure on the defence, looked a threat for the 15 minutes he was on. 6.0
 Billy Kee- came on to run down clock and give Lyle Taylor a rest. N/A

Coventry City

Ryan Allsop – Had a solid game in net. Seemed unsettled at corners and Scunthorpe nearly made him pay on a couple of occasions. 7.0
Reda Johnson – Club captain certainly didn’t lead from the front, his headbut was probably the key reason behind Coventry losing their lead. 3.0
Andy Webster – Had an average day at the back, struggled with the movement of the Iron front especially after leader Reda had been sent off. 7.0
Jordan Willis – The young defender looked frightened by the physical presence of big Lyle Taylor, lost his man for the decisive goal. However he looked very comfortable in possession. 7.5
Ryan Haynes – the young wing back looked more comfortable going forward than he did defending, however he did manage to keep Hawkridge quiet for most of the game. 8.0
Jordan Clarke – Had a difficult game at right wing back and struggled to keep Gary McSheffery quiet. 6.5
John Fleck – Kept the ball well and looked at ease on the ball but got slightly overran when went down to ten. 7.0
Jim O’Brien – Controlled the midfield and range of passing, never in trouble when in possession. 7.5
 Conor Thomas- battled superbly hard in the middle for Coventry, like his midfield colleagues he looked at ease on the ball. 8.0
Simeon Jackson – didn’t have a lot of time to make an impact, got taken off in order to cover the Reda Johnson red. 6.0
Frank Nouble – Took his goal fantastically well and worked hard up front. Didn’t have a lot of service. 8.5

Substitutions

Seb Hines – Had big boots to fill but seemed to deal with a lot pressure relatively well. 6.5
Danny Swanson – Looked sharp when coming on, looked most likely to create something in the last minutes. 7.0
Shaun Miller – Didn’t touch the ball much when coming on, strikers did not have enough service. 7.0

Man of the Match

Paddy Madden – A goal and an assist which inevitably gave Scunthorpe the 3 points.

Previous Article

League One Team of Mid-week

Next Article

Championship Preview: Fulham vs Blackburn Rovers

Related Posts