Scunthorpe United have been crowned the 2024 County Senior Cup champions, winning the title for the 22nd time, after an entertaining 3-2 comeback against Spalding United at Lincoln City's LNER Stadium.

Jimmy Dean's side brought it back after being 2-0 down inside 25 minutes against the Tulips, who narrowly miss out on their second consecutive Senior Cup success, in front of a 604 strong crowd. It's the Iron's second Senior Cup title in 3 years, after last claiming the cup in 2022. 

Scunthorpe nearly opened the scoring within the first minute of the game, as a goal mouth scramble at the Stacey West end was eventually seen away by Spalding and thus begun an impressive first-half display from the Tulips. Riley O'Sullivan delivered a sublime cross into the Iron box which was met by the unmarked head of Danny Draper, who bulleted a header over the hands of the helpless Dan Langley and into the roof of the net to open the scoring inside 5 minutes.

Scunthorpe worked hard to try and find a quick equaliser, but Spalding keeper Tony Breeden was there to calmly prevent the Iron from levelling. Jimmy Dean's side played some good passing movements in their bid to find their opener, which was followed by Kian Scales whipping a meaningful ball into the box but the blue wall of Spalding couldn't be broken and the Tulips held strong to see away any threat. 

It wasn't long before Spalding's superb play led to them doubling their lead, as Sam Bennett picked the ball up on the edge of the Scunthorpe area before laying it off to James Clifton who hammered a sublime effort into the back of the Iron's net and running off to the corner flag in celebration. Scunthorpe continued to push and test the resolve of the Spalding back line but the Tulips remained strong and despite Danny Elliott's best efforts to hand the Iron a way back into the game, Tony Breeden was there to deny the number 9.

Even Tom Pugh's stellar attempt from a 25-yard free kick wasn't enough to find a way past Breeden, was tipped the rocketed shot over the bar before the subsequent corner came to little. Dion Sembie-Ferris rattled the post on the 38 minute mark after a saved header from Breeden was parried out to the Iron's number 27, but the Tulips' keeper covered his near corner incredibly well - leaving little room for Sembie-Ferris who could only find the woodwork. The game headed into the break with Spalding holding on to a 2-0 lead.

The second half saw a Scunthorpe resurgence, with Dion Sembie-Ferris volleying an effort towards the target - but Tony Breeden was there to deny the 27, though not for long. A Scunthorpe corner led to a goal mouth scramble which eventually saw the ball poked into the back of the net, with the goal eventually awarded to Danny Elliott, though this could be up for debate!

Spalding attempted to respond quickly to Scunthorpe's opener, as Danny Draper's header was greeted by Lamine Sherif but the Tulips' number 11 could only nod his effort over the bar of the Stacey West end. The Iron's persistence soon saw them awarded a penalty, following a rash challenge that saw Tom Pugh brought down inside the Spalding box. Danny Elliott wasted no time in stepping up and converting the spot kick to make the game level once more and undoing all of Spalding's hard work.

An entertaining half saw both sides try to find a way through but resulting in very few clear cut chances for either side, and no major indication as to which way the game would go, though penalties becoming a real possibility as time wore on. However, with just minutes left, Ross Barrows surged through the Spalding midfield before playing a sublime through-ball to Danny Elliott who slotted into the bottom left corner to give the Iron the lead and complete a spectacular turnaround and crown Scunthorpe United as the 2024 County Senior Cup champions.

Jimmy Dean, Manager of Scunthorpe United, said: "It was certainly a game of two halves! I think Spalding deserve an awful amount of credit, I thought they were superb. First half they caught us cold, it wasn't because of the message from me but I think some of the lads underestimated them a little bit. Two great finishes left us with a lot of work to do at half time. I felt let down at half time, I felt the fans were let down, and it wasn't that they didn't have the information - they were playing against a good side. I thought Lewis Hilliard ran the game, we couldn't get near him. That's good from him but it's unacceptable from our perspective, so we tweaked a couple of things. We spoke at half time about attitude towards the game and I think you could see from the very first second of the second half that it changed, and eventually we got there.

Traditionally it's not a cup that's been targeted, but you can see from our celebration with the fans how fantastic it was, and I thought it was a fantastic game. The fans that came enjoyed it, and I hope we can bring that winning mentality to the board."

Danny Elliott was presented the Player of the Match award by the Chair of Lincolnshire FA, Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, and the Match Officials were Alistair Wilson, Chris Reeson, Lee Hartley, and Ian Ruddock. 

The full image gallery, taken by Lincolnshire FA's Official Photographer - Ed Mayes Photography - can be viewed here.

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