Peterborough Sports suffered in Scunthorpe on Easter Monday

The city side travelled to Glanford Park keen to play the role of party poopers, even though their hosts had inflicted damage on themselves by losing at King’s Lynn on Good Friday. That dropped the pre-season title favourites from first to third and that’s where they remain with one game to play despite a 5-0 Easter Monday mauling of Sports in front of 5,364 fans.

Sports remain 12th and are guaranteed their highest step two finish. They will stay in the top half – which would be a wonderful achievement for a club of their size – if they avoid defeat to Scarborough Athletic on the final day of the season at PIMS Park on Saturday (3pm kick off).

They will start that game with a burning desire to make up for this result as Scunthorpe overcame a bright start by the visitors to open the scoring on 10 minutes before surging into a 3-0 half-time lead. They added two goals in a minute late in the second half to seal an emphatic scoreline.

Michael Gyasi saw a fourth minute shot saved before Scunthorpe took the lead following a corner with former Peterborough United loanee Tyler Denton poking home from close range after Sports’ keeper Peter Crook had made a decent save from the initial shot.

Hugh Alban-Jones then tested the home ‘keeper with a long-range effort before Maxim Kouogun made 2-0 from a suspiciously offside-looking position on 34 minutes and in added time Callum Roberts effectively killed the contest with a stylish finish.

Scunthorpe controlled the second half with substitutes Carlton Ubaezuonu and Max Brogan combining for the latter to sweep home the fourth goal on 79 minutes and a minute later Ubaezuonu made it five.

Scunthorpe need go win their final match at Hereford United and hope top two Kidderminster Harriers (at lowly Southport) and Brackley Athletic (home to bottom club Farsley Celtic) slip up to win the title and claim the one automatic promotion place.

Scunthorpe: Fitzsimons, Kelly, Kouogun (sub Boyce, 75 mins), Evans, Clunan, Beestin (sub Scales, 69 mins), Whitehall (sub Ubaezuonu, 63 mins), Roberts, Rowley (sub Brogan, 69 mins), Starbuck, Denton (sub Fadera, 56 mins).

Sports: Crook, Putman, Gash, Kamson-Kamara, Bondswell (sub Booth, 62 mins), Van Lier, Alban-Jones (sub Challinor, 85 mins), Straughan-Brown, Felix (sub Mukina, 88 mins), Gyasi, Jones (sub Atherton, 73 mins). Unused sub: Steele.