Craig Hignett disappointed Hartlepool United could not find Iron net

Scunthorpe United won for the second summer in a row at Victoria Park, 1-0, as they continued their own good summer form.

Pools had promise in the first half against the Iron, but no goal threat, though the second half was a different story, with Billy Paynter, Jake Carroll, Nathan Thomas and Lewis Alessandra all going close.

Paynter was denied by keeper Luke Daniels, Carroll rattled the bar, Thomas headed wide and struck the outside of the post and Alessandra could not convert from an acute angle.

“In the second half, we’ve had enough chances to have won the game,” said Hignett.

“We’ve hit the woodwork, their keeper has had to make saves and Nathan should have scored with a header.

“We’ve created enough, the disappointing thing is that we’ve not been able to get on the scoresheet.”

As it was, Kevin van Veen’s close-range 10th-minute goal was all that separated two well-matched teams.

“It was disappointing to concede, a lapse of concentration, and you can’t afford to do that, especially against a side from a league above.

“On the whole, I’m pleased with what I’ve seen, the possession we’ve had and the fact we’ve limited them to so few chances.

“I thought we were excellent with the ball, there was plenty of movement.

“We had control in the first half without testing their keeper much, which was a bit disappointing.

“But we created chances in the second half, may be five, six, seven opportunities, and the disappointing thing was we have not managed to hit the net.

“Despite the result there were a lot of positives.”