Burnley 2 Scunthorpe United 0: Size matters for Coyle in Burnley's comfortable win

Owen Coyle, the Burnley manager, was pleased with "a big three points" as first-half goals from strikers Robbie Blake and Ade Akinbiyi set up a win over struggling Scunthorpe on Saturday.

Blake's opener after nine minutes was his third in successive games and came after James O'Connor had pulled the ball back, enabling Blake to score with a crisp shot.

When Joey Gudjonsson found winger Wade Elliott just past the half-hour mark, his cross allowed Akinbiyi to score with a close-range header.

Coyle was delighted by his team's display in windy conditions: "I felt particularly in the first half the level of performance and the quality of the goals was what we are after. There was a lot to be pleased about, especially in the first half."

Blake was a constant thorn in Scunthorpe's side whilst at the other end Grant McCann posed the odd problem for the Clarets. He tested goalkeeper Brian Jensen striking the woodwork shortly before Burnley doubled their advantage.

Irons' manager Nigel Adkins said: "We were very poor, Burnley were excellent, they were top drawer. Today was the worst performance we have put in by a million miles – the first half was not acceptable."

Goals: Blake (9) 1-0, Akinbiyi (32) 2-0.

Burnley (4-4-2): Jensen; Alexander, Varga, Unsworth, Harley; Elliott, J O'Connor, Gudjonsson (Spicer, 77), McCann; Blake (G O'Connor, 89), Akinbiyi (Caldwell, 90). Substitutes not used: Kiraly (gk), Jordan.

Scunthorpe United (4-4-2): Murphy; Hobbs, Butler, Martis, Williams; Sparrow, Cork, McCann, Morris (Goodwin, h-t); Paterson (Forte, 65), May (Hayes, h-t). Substitutes not used: Lillis (gk), Hurst.

Referee: M Oliver (Northumberland).

Booked: Scunthorpe Williams, Sparrow.

Man of the match: Blake.

Attendance: 14,516.