Gary Johnson’s side hit the road for the second time this week, as they head north to face Scunthorpe United.
Having taken all three points at Boreham Wood on Tuesday evening, United will be looking to build on that, as they head to Glanford Park to take on the The Iron, with another three vital points up for grabs.
Who’s the Boss?
Jimmy Dean arrived at Glanford Park late in January following a successful period at the helm of National League North side Peterborough Sports. Dean enjoyed four promotions in five full seasons, during which time he guided Sports to three titles and 11 trophies following his appointment back in 2015.
How have they been doing?
Scunthorpe have had a mixed bag of results in recent weeks, the side has enjoyed convincing victories over Wealdstone (4-1) and Altrincham (2-0), picked up draws against York City (0-0) and Maidstone (1-1), but succumbed to defeats against Eastleigh (1-0), Solihull Moors (3-1) and Notts County (4-0).
There have been a number of incomings and outgoings at Glanford Park throughout the season, including the departure of The Iron’s two top goalscorers. Joe Nuttall scored 9 goals in 20 appearances and made the switch to fellow National League side Oldham Athletic, meanwhile Caolan Lavery departed for Doncaster Rovers in January, having tallied 9 goals in 19 games. However following the club’s takeover in February, Dean was able to bolster his Iron side with six additions: Billy Fewster, Dion Sembie-Ferris, Sean Shields, Gerry McDonagh, Harvey Bunker and Jake Leake.
The North-Lincolnshire side currently reside 23rd place in the National League with 34 points accumulated by 8 wins, 10 draws and 22 defeats. The Iron have only won once on the road this season, with their other 7 victories coming from their home at Glanford Park.
Player to Watch
Jacob Butterfield signed on at Scunthorpe in the summer of 2022 following a successful trial period with The Iron. An experienced midfielder, Butterfield boasts over 400 career appearances and has played for the likes of Norwich City, Middlesborough, Huddersfield Town, Derby County, and Luton Town, and as a result has a wealth of experience at Championship level.
The 32-year-old progressed through the youth ranks at Manchester United before moving on to Barnsley where Butterfield went on to tally over 100 appearances. Also throughout his career the midfielder has also enjoyed a number of loan stints at Bolton Wanderers, Crystal Palace, Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford City.
Spells in Australia at Melbourne Victory and in Scotland with St Johnstone preceded his move to Scunthorpe last July, where Butterfield has gone on to establish himself as an ever-present, scoring 4 goals in 39 matches for the Iron so far this season – with his last goal coming in the 1-1 draw against Maidstone in February, the midfielder will no doubt be looking to continue to add to this tally.
Played for Both
Aaron Jarvis arrived at Plainmoor following a two-year spell at Scunthorpe last summer, where he notched 4 goals in 32 outings for the then-EFL side.
Since arriving at Plainmoor, Aaron has firmly established himself as a fan-favourite amongst the Yellow Army, and the striker has responded in style, scoring 14 goals so far this campaign.
During his time with Scunthorpe in League Two, the striker went on to score 4 goals in just shy of 40 appearances for The Iron.
With his goalscoring exploits for non-league side Basingstoke Town prompting Luton Town to pay an undisclosed fee for the 6ft 2in striker back in 2017, Jarvis went on to represent The Hatters in both their League Two and League One promotion successes, as well as going on to lead the line during loan spells at Boreham Wood and Scottish Championship side Falkirk. Prior to his move to The Iron, Jarvis enjoyed a stint at Sutton during the 2019/20 season.
Previous Encounter
Scunthorpe 1 – 3 Torquay United, 5th February 1994, League Division 3
A visit to Saturday’s opponents hasn’t been the happiest of trips for The Gulls, despite the two sides being regular adversaries during their Football League days together. United’s last victory at Glanford Park came nearly 30 years ago.
In front of a crowd of 2,755 in Division 3 back in 1994, it was goals from Paul Trollope, Duane Darby and Adrian Foster that saw the Gulls claim the points in a 3-1 victory over the North Lincolnshire side.
Vanarama National League | Scunthorpe v Torquay United | 01/04/23 3pm KO | Official TUFC Radio