Parkin strike enough for Iron

Friday 6 April 2012 17:41, UK

Substitute Jon Parkin finally ended the resistence of relegation-threatened Exeter to earn in-form Scunthorpe a 1-0 victory.

Parkin came off the bench to squeeze a left-foot shot under goalkeeper Artur Krysiak, who had earlier denied the home side with a string of fine saves. It stretched Scunthorpe's unbeaten run to nine games but left Exeter deep in relegation trouble after seven defeats in their last nine games. The visitors, who made five changes to try and halt that slide, might have snatched an early lead but striker Lauri Dalla Valle headed straight at goalkeeper Sam Slocombe from close range. A goal then might have made a real difference, but after a blank first half, it was Scunthorpe who picked up the tempo in the second. Midfielder Josh Walker and young Everton loanee Conor McAleny were both denied by the woodwork as Exeter were stretched at the back. Krysiak also rescued the Grecians with good saves to deny McAleny and Jimmy Ryan. Exeter battled hard and long-range efforts from David Noble and Liam Sercombe tested Slocombe before Parkin settled it with the sixth goal of his loan spell from Cardiff.