After twice falling short of a place in Division Two (as it was then) through Play-Off misery, 2003/4 was a disappointing campaign for the Iron. Brian Laws was sacked in March 2004 after seven years in the Glanford Park hot-seat, having led them to one promotion and one relegation during his tenure. Generally, though, he had won more than he had lost, and despite being well off of the pace last year, his worth to the club was proven when his assistant, Russ Wilcox, presided over two draws and two defeats (one to the Shrimpers at Roots Hall on a Friday night) in four matches in charge.
A change of personnel in the boardroom saw Laws re-instated dramatically at the end of the campaign, with the Humberside outfit avoiding relegation by just one place, albeit with four points to spare over previous Houdini act Carlisle United. The same players generally stayed over the summer period, and so it seemed as though unless Laws could recapture that old spark, it would be more of the same in 2004/5.
However, after a 3-1 win at home to Spotland on the opening day of the season, the Iron won four of their opening seven games, all unbeaten, to move to the top of the League Two table. A 2-1 reversal to Chester City at Glanford Park halted the assent, and just two wins in the last six mean that, although still in contention a point off the top, they have slipped to third place behind Leyton Orient and Swansea City.
That defeat to the Seals remains the only home loss of the term though, and four of their six League encounters as hosts in Lincolnshire have ended in triumph. A measure of their consistency can be found in the fact that nine players have appeared in every League Two match this season, whilst goals could come from any number of places, Paul Hayes taking up Steve Torpey’s role as the big man; the former Norwich City team-mate of Danny Gay has half-a-dozen in the current campaign, whilst Andy Butler is the Adam Barrett with three from the centre of defence. Peter Beagrie, when fit, remains the likely provider.
Coca-Cola League Two |
07/08/04: Rochdale (h) W3-1 (Taylor, Hayes, Sparrow) 10/08/04: Cheltenham Town (a) W2-0 (Kell, Keogh) 14/08/04: Oxford United (a) D1-1 (Hayes) 21/08/04: Lincoln City (h) W3-2 (Kell, Butler 2) 28/08/04: Macclesfield Town (a) D2-2 (Sparrow, Hayes) 30/08/04: Northampton Town (h) W2-0 (Keogh, Crosby [pen]) 04/09/04: Darlington (a) D0-0 11/09/04: Chester City (h) L1-2 (Butler) 18/09/04: Bury (a) W1-0 (Rankine) 25/09/04: Mansfield Town (h) D1-1 (Baraclough) 02/10/04: Boston United (a) L1-2 (Hayes) 08/10/04: Wycombe Wanderers (h) W2-0 (Hayes, Crosby [pen]) 16/10/04: Kidderminster Harriers (a) L2-3 (Torpey, Hayes)
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FA Cup |
First Round draw yet to take place |
Carling Cup |
25/09/04: R1 – Nottingham Forest (a) L0-2 |
LDV Vans Trophy |
28/10/03: R1 – Hereford United (a) D1-1 [L3-4 on pens] (Torpey) |
2004/5 Records |
Matches Played: 15 (6 home, 9 away) Matches Won: 6 (4 home, 2 away) Matches Drawn: 5 (1 home, 4 away) Matches Lost: 4 (1 home, 3 away) Goals Scored: 22 (12 home, 10 away) Goals Conceded: 17 (6 home, 11 away) Nathan Stanton – 15 Paul Hayes – 14+1 Cleveland Taylor – 12+3 Ian Baraclough, Andy Butler, Andy Crosby, Richard Kell, Paul Musselwhite, Lee Ridley – 14
Paul Hayes – 6 Andy Butler – 3 Andy Crosby (2 pens), Richard Kell, Andy Keogh, Matthew Sparrow, Steve Torpey – 2 |
Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com