Scunthorpe rally to rescue point from six-goal thriller

Posted Sunday, November 04, 2018 by PA

Three goals in eight second-half minutes saw Scunthorpe fight back to claim a point from a thrilling 3-3 draw with Oxford.

The Iron looked dead and buried when defender Curtis Nelson forced the ball home to add to goals from James Henry and Cameron Brannagan and give his side a 3-0 lead with little more than half an hour to go.

But strikes from Jordan Clarke, George Thomas and Charlie Goode in quick succession saw Stuart McCall’s side come roaring back to snatch a point and end a run of five successive defeats.

Henry set the ball rolling for the visitors with a crisp finish after exchanging passes with Jamie Mackie in the eighth minute and the pair combined again early in the second period in a move which culminated in Brannagan racing into the box to meet Henry’s low cross – Oxford’s 3,000th goal in the Football League.

Strike number 3,001 followed quickly after, in the 55th minute, when Nelson knocked the ball over the line after a spell of pinball in the penalty area before Scunthorpe, from nowhere, came roaring back.

Full-back Jordan Clarke’s low drive gave them hope and when Leicester loanee George Thomas curled a free-kick into the top corner in the 64th minute, they had real momentum.

There was barely chance to draw breath either before a corner caused panic in the Oxford box and Goode lashed it home.

Both sides pushed forward for a winner in an equally pulsating finale, but a point apiece seemed just about fair.