Young guns full of fight

Photo: Pictures by ALAN HOWARTH.

ACTION MAN: Chris Taylor makes a probing run for Athletic after coming on as a substitute.

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Scunthorpe 2, Athletic 1
Latics rich in promise — despite early exit

SCARCELY, if ever, can Athletic have fielded a younger side.

Of the starting 11 on show for this Carling Cup first-round tie, only Jason Jarrett could rightly be described as an experienced footballer.

Yet even he, at the age of 30, is rediscovering the game in a new role at centre-back.

Next in the old man stakes was 24-year-old goalkeeper Dean Brill and similarly-aged striker Dean Kelly, playing in his first game in the professional ranks.

After that, you are into the realm of those who weren’t even born when Bob Geldof was strutting his stuff at Live Aid – young men not even a glimmer in their father’s eyes at the time Boris Becker won his first Wimbledon title.

If you are good enough, you are old enough, as the adage backed by manager Paul Dickov goes.

Against Championship opposition, Athletic thoroughly endorsed that belief.

But for a couple of defensive mistakes brought about mainly by the sharp pace of Jonathan Forte, the visitors could easily have pulled off a shock.

No doubt Dickov will reflect on the errors which helped Scunthorpe plunder two second-half goals to cancel out a top-quality opener from teenager Djeny Bembo-Leta, playing from the start for the first time.

The width of a post was all that separated Athletic from regaining that first-half lead, though, in a spell after the break in which the home team resorted to blind panic in order to hack the ball clear.

Dale Stephens – captain for the night in the absence through injury of Reuben Hazell – whipped in a vicious free-kick from the left flank and Scunthorpe midfielder Michael O’Connor was mightily relieved to see his wild attempted clearance rebound off the far post before being cleared.

Soon after, tricky winger Martyn Woolford won the game for United by powering home a left-footed shot following a poor clearance.

Even after that, Athletic had their higher-ranked opponents at sixes and sevens, thanks in no small part to the influence of lively substitute Chris Taylor.

A defeat means no money-spinning ties in rounds to come.

But once again, the 273 travelling fans left the ground on the final whistle in optimistic mood for the future.

Dickov was forced into making three changes to the side which won its opening npower League One fixture against Tranmere.

Reuben Hazell was rested to relieve the pressure on his long-standing Achilles niggle, giving Jean-Yves Mvoto a debut, while up front Warren Feeney’s international duty with Northern Ireland and a tight hamstring for Oumare Tounkara saw a new-look strike partnership of diminutive pair Kelly and Bembo-Leta.

A huge and imposing creature, Mvoto put in some important and robust challenges but was also shaky at times.

His poor control saw Forte rob the ball and jet away in the seventh minute and the French centre-back was glad to see the former Sheffield United striker shoot straight at the legs of Brill.

The same man presented danger again when Jarrett lost possession, shooting into the side-netting, but the visitors began to get into their stride in terms of a passing game.

When the opening goal came, it was a beauty. First, Stephens slipped a pass through an opponent’s legs when he apparently had nowhere to go.

It set Ritchie Jones marching downfield and when he spread the ball to the overlapping Lee, a perfect cross to the edge of the six-yard box allowed Bembo-Leta to nip in front of his marker and bounce a header into the top corner of the goal.

Mvoto then inexplicably allowed the ball to bounce over his shoulder and was fortunate not to be penalised for a robust challenge on Forte as the last line of defence.

The first half ended with a flurry of activity. A bizarre free-kick was awarded against Kelly for backing into a defender while all the time having the ball at his feet before, at the other end, Woolford forced Brill into a smart low save after a neat backheel had set him through.

The second period began in scrappy fashion, the first half-chance falling to Kelly who couldn’t quite get round goalkeeper Sam Slocombe following a quickly free-kick from Jarrett.

Kelly’s razor-sharp turn resulted in him being hacked to the ground by the outmanoeuvred Sam Togwell, who picked up his first yellow card.

Scunthorpe were trying to get wide men Woolford and Garry Thompson involved as much as possible, but most attacks were fizzling out and, on the hour mark, Athletic looked comfortable.

Then came the equaliser. Mvoto jumped with Dagnall but the ball eluded him and wrong-footed Jarrett, who slipped and allowed Forte a clear run on goal.

Coolly, he lofted the ball left-footed past Brill to level at 1-1.

Chris Taylor entered the fray and injected plenty of life into the visitors, who hit back strongly.

Lewis Alessandra had a chance to create something on the break, but Athletic didn’t take full advantage and, after Forte had a shot saved well by Brill at his near post, next came Stephens’ free-kick which struck an upright.

At this stage of the contest, the home side simply couldn’t get out of their own territory as a succession of corners were swung in, ultimately to no avail.

Woolford made it 2-1 out of the blue, firing home after a spot of penalty area pinball ended with Jarrett not getting the ball out far enough.

Andrew Crompton became Athletic’s third debutant on the night and after Togwell had been sent off for kicking the ball away, the youngster went close to equalising in the fifth minute of added time when he headed Stephens’ corner over and wide.