Crawley held in goalless stalemate by relegation-threatened Scunthorpe

Posted Sunday, March 06, 2022 by PA

Relegation-threatened Scunthorpe ended a run of five successive away defeats with a goalless League Two draw at Crawley as the hosts claimed their first home clean sheet for over six months.

Crawley’s poor home form has now seen them win only two of their last dozen games before their own fans, while Scunthorpe’s point does little to aid their increasingly-desperate battle against the drop as they remain bottom of the table with 11 matches left.

Scunthorpe boss Keith Hill made six changes and went into the game demanding a reaction from his side after admitting they “let everyone down” in last Saturday’s 4-1 thrashing at Sutton.

The Iron almost went behind in only the 11th minute when skipper George Francomb shot over after Jack Powell and Ashley Nadesan had combined.

Crawley had a penalty appeal waved away after a header by Nadesan appeared to strike a defender on the arm after Will Ferry’s cross.

Scunthorpe goalkeeper Rory Watson came out of his area to thwart Nadesan on the stroke of half-time having earlier denied the on-loan Isaac Hutchinson after Nadesan’s cross.

Crawley’s veteran goalkeeper Glenn Morris kept his side on level terms 12 minutes after the break by turning over a goal- bound drive from Hayden Hackney.

The Reds were denied at the other end when Hutchinson’s shot was deflected wide by Watson.

Crawley substitute Archie Davies had a low shot saved in the 82nd minute as the Reds struggled for openings.

Nadesan forced Watson to parry his shot with two minutes remaining and wastefully put the rebound over the crossbar as the spoils were shared.