Momentum pleases Robins

Scunthorpe manager Mark Robins hailed a 'brilliant' result for his side after they extended their unbeaten run against Rochdale.

Leading scorer Paddy Madden fired the 77th-minute winner for Robins' men, after Liam O'Neil, on loan from West Brom, had put them in front with his first goal for the club. It stretched Scunthorpe's unbeaten run to nine games as they continue to climb clear of the danger zone at the foot of the League One table. "This was a brilliant result for us," said Robins. "We are on a decent run of form, we are progressing nicely. "I have been delighted with the response I have got from these players in terms of their focus, their attitude and their work rate. But we know there are areas where we still need help. "But I cannot complain after a terrific three points for us. "I always like to look for the positives. "The challenge for us now is can we keep this run going, because the games continue to come thick and fast and we have another big test at Sheffield United on Sunday. "We have already started our preparations for that and will be in again for training on Saturday." A 70th-minute equaliser from Matty Done, his 14th goal of the season, was not enough to save Rochdale from only the fourth defeat on their travels this season. But there were no complaints from manager Keith Hill. "It is not a result I will complain about," he said. "For some reason we were not quite at it. But we still had our chances to win it against what is a good Scunthorpe side. "The biggest disappointment for me was the manner in which we conceded the two goals. "You cannot put pressure on your forwards by conceding two goals, which we have done now in each of our last two games. "When we got ourselves back on level terms we should have been looking to close the game down and take a point, which would have been a good one for us. "That is something the players have got to learn to be more aware of."