Wright mentioned post match that the players “haven’t had a better experience in football so far” which is great for the development of these young players. The game began and the goals came pretty much straight away. Danny Elliott grabbed the first of the night after reacting first - and tapping the ball in from a few years out after Ethan Cowan made a good save to deny Cameron Wilson.

Ethan Cowan then had a rally of brilliant saves, they came from a powerful Elliott shot where he parried the ball away, the second was at his near post where he acrobatically forced the ball out for a corner and then the next was the save of the night. Danny Elliott, again, was one on one with Cowan and he attempted to hit it past him, but the young goalkeeper got down well to deny the Scunthorpe man.

The away side dominated the opening 25 minutes of the game, but then the young Trinity side started to find a rhythm. Nat Wallace made a determined run with the ball down the right hand side, applying pressure, the young Blues won the ball back & Jack Moore-Billam found Fraser Preston on the corner of the box, he opened up his body and let fly with a beautiful curling shot which was graced by the sound of the back of the net. Trinity were level. And that was no less than they deserved, having stuck at it & worked tirelessly against their full time opponents.

<p>Scunthorpe then dominated the ball in the Trinity half for the next 12 minutes, forcing Ethan Cowan into some more brilliant saves to keep his side level in the tie. Making arguably the save of the game, Cowan firmly put his left hand up into the top right to stop a curling shot that was finding the goal. Scunthorpe, however, got ahead in the 41st minute as Danny Elliot made a great run behind the Trinity defence, made one touch then the finish into the bottom corner, Cowan couldn’t do anything about it. Protests for an offside falling on deaf ears.

A harshly awarded free-kick, only 3 three minutes later, further hurt Brad Wright's youngsters, as Andy Butler ended the first half with a goal for the away side. The forty-year-old centre back glancing a trademark header beyond the stricken Cowan.

Half time: Gainsborough Trinity 1 Scunthorpe United 3

The second half began and the experienced Scunthorpe side reacted almost immediately, a cross into the area found Elliott but he was denied his hat trick by the crossbar and Archie Oliver-Townrow was able to clear the ball away from danger. Again, Scunthorpe dominated in the second half. Holding the ball up well and creating chances, the away side looked the better side. Only 15 minutes into the second half, they won a penalty after Cameron Wilson was adjudged to have been brought down in the penalty area after Ethan Cowan, arguably Gainsborough's Man of the Match, attempted to collect the ball. Wilson winning the penalty, then converted it past Cowan to make it 4-1.

Not long after, Danny Elliot found his hat trick after an easy tap in to make it 5-1. Cowan then made another amazing save, even after conceding five, he was still one of the star players on the pitch, earning plaudits from staff, players and supporters alike. The Blues then had a spell of chances, Kyle Simpson was denied by Maison Campbell first, then he was denied a goal after a block from Max Kouogun. Simpson was finally rewarded with a goal as he timed his run down the Carlisle Street stand side to perfection. Holding off the Scunthorpe defence, and with Preston square - Simpson showed great composure to slot it past Campbell and bring the margin back to three.

Nevertheless, the courageous efforts of Trinity was unfortunately underwhelmed after Scunthorpe got their sixth of the night. Danny Elliott was blessed with his fourth of the night, you can’t say he didn’t deserve it as his class up front paid off in goals. The Young Blues did not give up, they had performed so well all game against such an experienced side and the scoreline does not show the true performance on the pitch for the home side. Multiple blocks later on reduced the potential scoreline and some great defending by the young captain, Reuben Brewin-Hawkins restricted the scoring.

Scunthorpe did get their 7th and final goal of the night through ex-Trinity man, Harrison Poulter, who hit it past Cowan in the closing minutes of the game. Then, of course, one final beautiful save from Cowan with his feet came before the final whistle was blown by the referee. And despite the scoreline, a feeling of pride regarding the efforts of the young Gainsborough Trinity side, could be felt. The orange clad, Blues... showing there's a bright future in Gainsborough.

The Blues exit the cup at the Quarter Final stage, and they got nothing but praise as they went up against such an experienced side in the league above them. A scoreline that did not tell the full story of the game and a young team that should only be proud of their performances on the pitch. Brad Wright led a team that definitely have a bright future ahead of them. A performance from Ethan Cowan that will definitely move him closer to that first team start, it’s almost never heard that the keeper is the stand out performer in a 7-2 loss but he played so well and showed so much resilience all game.

The Teams

Gainsborough Trinity: Ethan Cowan, Hamish Douglas, Archie Oliver-Townrow, Dan Carrick, Reuben Brewin-Hawkins, Jack Moore-Billam, Nathaniel Wallace, Joel Holvey, Kyle Simpson, Fraser Preston, Tristan Drummond. Substitutes: Finlay Gillett, Harvey Rodgers, Aidan Tomes, Jake Drury, Billy Housham, Harley Richardson, Ollie Sykes.

Scunthorpe United: Maison Cameron, Michael Kelly, Max Kouogun, Alfie Beestin, Danny Elliott, Cameron Wilson, Josh Robertson, Fin Shrimpton, Jack Jenkins, Jason Law, Andy Butler. Substitutes: Will Evans, Harrison Poulter, Kian Scales.

Referee: David Jones, Assistants Shemakay Own and James Day

Report by Cian Stringer (@cianstringer_2)
Photos by Rob Hughes (@AATM_Media)