SCUNTHORPE shrugged off the loss of influentual keeper Joe Murphy to record a welcome 1-0 victory against Coventry.
Hooper celebrates his strike.
The Iron's first win in seven games lifts them three places up the Championship table but it came at a cost with Murphy taken off on a stretcher after colliding with a post.
Gary Hooper hit the winner as reserve keeper Josh Lillis managed to preserve the club's first home clean sheet of the campaign.
After Cliff Byrne headed wide, Leon Best spurned a chance when shooting sgtraight at Murphy.
The Irish keeper brilliantly saved from Best, after unselfish play by Aron Gunnarsson, with Rob Jones blocking the first attempt before Murphy dived superbly to keep out the second effort, smashing his knee against the woodwork when doing so.
Lillis was immediately in action when dropping a corner but he quickly found his feet and did well to block a Clinton Morrison shot from the edge of the box.
Martyn Woolford, who recovered from a painful knock himself, forced a decent stop out of Kieren Westwood but it was Hooper who struck decisively when hammering home after a neat backheel by Paul Hayes.
Grant McCann's free-kick almost made it 2-0 and, after much huffing and puffing, there was a long wait before Hayes could have settled it with 13 minutes left. The striker got his angles wrong after linking up well with goalscorer Hooper.
Coventry rallied in the closing stages but their winless run stretches to nine games after substitute Gary Madine missed a couple of openings and no penalty was forthcoming when David Mirfin appeared to handle inside the box.
