Keith Hill satisfied with reaction as struggling Scunthorpe hold Crawley to draw

Scunthorpe boss Keith Hill was satisfied with the reaction of his bottom-of-the-table side after they ended a run of five successive away defeats with a goalless League Two draw at Crawley.

Hill was desperate for a improved showing after admitting that the 4-1 defeat at Sutton the previous week had left him “seething inside physically and emotionally”.

The former Rochdale, Barnsley and Bolton manager felt his men stood off too much in the first half but were much improved after the break.

He said: “In the second half it was a far better performance and I’m happy with a point.

“Last week it was like a relegation performance but we fought a lot better today and could have scored with better passing.

“I want to give our supporters some positives irrespective of the division we are in.”

Hill gave a full debut to striker Harvey Cribb, who became the Iron’s youngest ever starter at 16 years 42 days, and the manager described his display as “outstanding”.

He added: “I didn’t think for a minute I’d have to take him off. I played him through choice and I have developed players throughout my career.

“There will be a levelling out with him now, with me pulling him in and out of the side, but I thought he was excellent and there is a very, very good player there.”

Crawley head coach John Yems criticised his side for “woeful finishing” as the Reds’ poor home form continued.

This was their first home clean sheet for six months but they have only won two of their last dozen games at the People’s Pension Stadium.

Scunthorpe goalkeeper Rory Watson made several important second-half saves and Yems said the visitors made it difficult by digging in.

He said: “Their keeper played well but our finishing was woeful.

“You have to grab your opportunities and a few people let themselves down.

“Normally I am full of praise for the players – but today it was frustrating.

“It is the standards we are setting. We should be doing better in games.”

Yems’ new assistant Lewis Young ran the team from the bench with the Crawley boss starting a three-match touchline ban, and Yems admitted: “Lewis is gutted.

“We did open them up and we created chances but our finishing wasn’t good enough.”