Scunthorpe United vs Southend United. Sky Bet League One.
Glanford ParkAttendance4,040.
Saturday 23 December 2017 18:53, UK
Scunthorpe United came from behind to claim a first victory in three League One matches, beating Southend 3-1.
It was a convincing return to winning ways for the Iron, who dominated for long spells and could have won by a bigger margin.
Tom Hopper was denied by a great save from Mark Oxley and Kevin van Veen headed against the bar as Scunthorpe bossed the early play, but Jason Demetriou's deflected strike from 25 yards wrong-footed Matt Gilks to put the visitors in front in the 25th minute.
Although they did not regain their rhythm, the Iron did restore parity seven minutes later when Van Veen forced the ball home following a goalmouth scramble.
Forced to replace the injured Oxley at the break, stand-in stopper Nathan Bishop reacted well to beat away a shot from Duane Holmes after the Scunthorpe man had cut inside.
But he could do nothing as wing-back Conor Townsend swept the hosts in front just after the hour mark from a quickly-taken corner.
Bishop was beaten for a second time late on, when Shrimpers defender Michael Turner made a hash of a clearance to put past his own keeper.
