Neil Cox admits ‘we got absolutely battered’ as Scunthorpe win at Cambridge



Posted Wednesday, March 03, 2021 by PA

Neil Cox admits ‘we got absolutely battered’ as Scunthorpe win at Cambridge

Neil Cox was “overjoyed with the result” after Scunthorpe claimed a 1-0 win at high-flying Cambridge.

Alfie Beestin snatched the winner for the Iron 12 minutes from time with their only shot on target.

Cambridge, who lost top spot to Cheltenham as a result of the defeat, were left to rue missed opportunities, with Shilow Tracey denied from point-blank range by goalkeeper Mark Howard, who also saved well from Jack Iredale.

“We got absolutely battered, to be honest with you,” said Cox. “They kept the possession, they worked us hard, they created chances. Especially in the first half, they had good chances to go 1-0 up but we stuck in it and put in a performance away from home.

“We counter-attacked a goal and won the game 1-0 by luck, but you deserve a little bit of luck every now and again. Sometimes it’s not about performance, it’s about sticking in. I must say they’re an excellent footballing side, by far the best in the league.

“We’re just down to the bare bones at the minute but have to show a bit of fighting spirit for the football club, and that’s what they’ve done.

“Sometimes when we don’t play well it’s about sticking together. You can tell at the minute there’s a little bit of team spirit there, even though we’ve had two defeats. We’ve come here, top of the league, and tried to get something, which we did.”

Cambridge boss Mark Bonner was left bemused by the defeat, given the number of chances his side created.

“We’re disappointed with the result, not the performance,” said Bonner afterwards. “We absolutely dominated the game for large periods of it.

“In terms of possession, creation of chances, entries into the final third, Callum (Burton, goalkeeper) has had nothing to do second half.

“We’ve given them a chance, we think it’s a foul in the build-up, but they’ve taken that moment that they’ve had.

“We didn’t have enough quality to create real quality chances in the second half, but we’ve had so many moments where a little bit of a better decision or ruthless edge would have rewarded us with something. They smash and grab and take the three points.

“There’s a real frustration because not in a million years should we lose that football match. Everybody knows it, it’s obvious. The stats say it, the performance says it.

“Any frustration that we’ve got we need to use to put in another performance on Saturday.

“There won’t be many days we create that many chances and don’t score. It’s a frustrating night because we should win the game.”

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