Hereford United 1 Scunthorpe United 2.

TWO goals in a five-minute spell early in the second period condemned the Bulls to their fifth defeat in seven League 1 outings.

Matters had looked much more rosy at half-time when Hereford went in with a 1-0 lead but two goals, one predictably enough from former Bulls loan-signing Gary Hooper, brought another reverse.

And this despite a battling last 20 minutes when the appearance of Simon Johnson as a substitute revived United as an attacking force.

Johnson himself was particularly unfortunate with a shot which hit the inside of a post and came straight back into the arms of goalkeeper Joe Murphy.

The defeat brought a realistic response from skipper Karl Broadhurst, who made a welcome return to central defence after recovering from a dislocated shoulder suffered in pre-season.

“We thought the first-half went extremely well, got the penalty and the new lad Chadders put it away really well,” he said.

“Scunthorpe are a good side, they have come down from the Championship and we knew it would be a tough game.

“To go in at half-time with a 1-0 lead was good for us but we knew that they would start well in the second half and we didn’t.

“We were outplayed in the first 20 minutes and were a bit sloppy on the ball. With the quality they have got going forward, if you keep giving the ball away you put yourselves under pressure and we paid the price with two, from our point of view, sloppy goals.”

United withstood some early pressure before taking the lead in the 23rd minute.

Matt Done, who was United’s biggest threat in attack, raced on to Kris Taylor’s chipped through ball and was felled by Scunthorpe skipper Izzy Iriekpen’s head-high challenge.

It was a clear penalty and new acquisition Nick Chadwick took full advantage, driving home the spot-kick for a debut goal.

United were caught out twice in a short space of time in the second period with both goals coming from quick breakaways following, ironically, Hereford corners.

Sam Togwell produced a sizzling finish after Paul Hayes’ neat flick had released him in the Hereford area.

And then, when Hayes’ pass set him clear, there was little doubt that Hooper was going to display the expertise in front of goal which made him so popular at Edgar Street during his three-month loan spell last season.

“We’ve done OK in games but made costly, naïve mistakes,” said Broadhurst. “When you go up into a higher league, the quality of players is that much better, their brains work a bit quicker and you do not often get away with mistakes which you might have in League 2.

“We’re trying not to get too down, but when results are going the way they are, it’s quite hard.

“With two successive defeats, we just have to take it on the chin but we need to get it right as soon as possible.

“Games are coming thick and fast and, before you know it, you are past Christmas and struggling for the games you need to get out of trouble.

“We had some good opportunities in the second half, particularly in the last 20 minutes when we seemed to come alive. But at 2-1 down you would expect that, we should have been taking the game to them when we were 1-0 ahead.”

Hereford: Randolph; Jackson, Broadhurst, Beckwith, Taylor; Hudson-Odoi, O’Leary (Johnson, 75 min), Smith, Diagouraga, Done; Chadwick. Subs not used: Samson, Easton, Rose, MacLeod.

Scunthorpe: Murphy; Byrne, Iriekpen, Pearce, Williams; Sparrow, McCann (Morris, 81 min), Togwell, Woolford; Hooper, Hayes (Thompson, 65 min). Subs not used: Lillis, Mirfin, Hurst.

Referee: G Ward (Surrey).

Attendance: 3,004 (296 from Scunthorpe).

Goals: Chadwick pen, 23 min, 1-0; Togwell, 53 min, 1-1; Hooper, 58 min, 1-2.

Yellow cards: Scunthorpe – Iriekpen, foul, 24 min; McCann, dissent, 29 min.