ALAN Knill insists the search for 'more bodies' is still on as he looks to swell his Scunthorpe United ranks.

Yet when it comes to unearthing a goalscorer, the Iron manager may have found the answer right under his nose.

Currently short of options up front, Knill gave Bobby Grant his first start of the campaign as the Iron went in search of a first League One victory of the season at Charlton Athletic.

It was only the eighth time he has begun a match from the first whistle in Iron colours, with 26 of his 34 first-team appearances coming from the bench.

Yet the 21-year-old responded with a highly promising predatory performance as his first Scunthorpe goals enabled the visitors to come back from 2-0 down to claim a deserved draw against the Addicks.

Grant is not unaccustomed to scoring goals.

At Accrington Stanley he netted 18 times in one season to earn himself a move to Glanford Park in the summer of 2010.

Yet since joining up with United, Iron fans have become familiar with first-time, often wayward, efforts from outside the penalty area as opposed to the poaching master class he produced at The Valley.

"We're trying to calm him down, because he's so enthusiastic," said Knill, when asked about Grant's tendency to shoot so soon after picking up possession.

"He's got good technique, so we've told him if he gets himself into good positions, he'll score goals."

How right it proved.

The Iron looked dead and buried against the top-of-the-table Addicks when Grant finally broke his Scunthorpe duck.

There was more than an element of fortune about the 74th minute strike, which came after an initial attempt to beat the last man bobbled back into his path.

But being a good striker is about being awash with good luck as well as good judgement.

Similarly, a minute into stoppage time, when it looked like the Iron had slipped to a second successive loss, he was in the right place at the right time to stab home an Eddie Nolan cross that had been headed into his path by Andrew Wright.

It was a finish which sent several hundred Iron fans, who sparsely decorated the Jimmy Sirrel stand, into ecstasy.

They may have been fewer in number than when their side last visited this part of South London – when Izzy Iriekpen's bullet header from a corner earned them a point on their return to the Championship for the first time in more than 40 years – but for a moment at least, this result was just as joyous.

As impressive as Grant was in his new-found stature, it would be foolish to suggest, after one display, he will be the answer to the Iron's goalscoring problems.

But he at least offers a potential solution and given the seeming lack of progress at bringing in new faces, that is reason alone to be at least a little upbeat.

Knill described Grant as being 'bang on it' in training during the build-up to the game – one of the reasons why he was handed a rare start.

He continued that form in the capital, forcing Charlton keeper Rob Elliott into an early fingertip save from a curling effort on the corner of the 18-yard box.

Scunthorpe have rightly been criticised for their tendency to be slow out of the blocks this season.

It was the reason why they had to come from behind against Preston North End and Oldham Athletic during the seven days prior to the clash at The Valley.

And though they began much brighter against the Addicks, they still found themselves trailing courtesy of one of their other Achilles' heels this season – a failure to deal with set pieces.

Rhoys Wiggins' free-kick from out of the left in the 20th minute would have been routine to a dominant defence.

Yet after Bradley Wright-Phillips out-jumped his man at the back post, Addicks skipper Johnnie Jackson ghosted in to loop a free header in off the underside of the bar.

It was a setback from which it took the Iron a while to recover.

Grant had their best chance of levelling, again from range, but a snapshot from 20 yards was pushed away well by Elliott.

Scunthorpe should have been 2-0 down within six minutes of the second half when sloppy play from Michael O'Connor gifted ex-Iron striker Paul Hayes a free run on goal.

United know how crisp the 27-year-old's finishing can be, yet on this occasion he dwelled too long on the ball as he entered the box – not that that should take anything away from Scunthorpe substitute Niall Canavan, on at half-time for the injured Paul Reid, who came out of nowhere to slide the ball away from Hayes' feet with expert precision.

It was a moment which summed up Hayes' afternoon.

Although good on the ball, his finishing left a lot to be desired, with one first-half effort skewed woefully wide from the edge of the six-yard box and a first-time shot kept out by the legs of Josh Lillis after the break his only other chances of a goal.

The same could not be said though for his strike partner Wright-Phillips.

And when midfielder Danny Hollands whipped in an inch-perfect cross to the back post with 57 minutes gone, he was on hand to nod the ball into the back of the net from virtually on the goal-line.

As far as most inside The Valley were concerned, that was that.

Yet Scunthorpe have made a habit of getting themselves back into games when behind this term and they produced a rousing display inside the closing 30 minutes to do the same against the odds.

Iron fans were given an insight of what was to come on the hour mark, when Chris Dagnall spun a ball into the middle after chasing down possession on the right and Grant produced a fine bicycle kick that Elliott beat away from point-blank range.

Disappointed he may have been not to see it find the back of the net, but it showed just what was possible if the visitors used their quick build-up play to get inside the Charlton penalty area, rather than having a go from outside it.

In the 74th minute, they got their reward.

An O'Connor pass cut open the Addicks' back line like the proverbial hot knife through butter and although Grant's first touch wasn't great, when the ball bobbled back into his path when goal side of the last red-shirted defender, he made no mistake.

It was then that the Iron really upped the ante.

Having sent on a fit-again Jimmy Ryan minutes prior to the goal, Knill then did the same with Garry Thompson, to give his side flair on one flank and power on the other.

Thompson came desperately close to making the perfect impact, but was another player to be denied by Elliott having cut inside Chris Solly and then easily held off the challenge of the Charlton right-back.

At the other end of the pitch, there was a brief scare when Lillis reacted well to push a shot from Jackson behind for a corner, having been a virtual spectator for the previous half hour.

It proved to be a key stop too, as in the first of what proved to be five added minutes, Grant was in the right place at the right time to sweep a shot home following Wright's brilliant header.

Play for the remainder of the half was frantic – and predominantly spent in the Charlton third.

Yet the final whistle brought an end to a contest in which Scunthorpe had arguably done enough to claim three points, yet really would have been happy to have settled for one.

Looking for their first victory of the campaign United still may be.

But at least on this evidence, it should arrive much quicker than those who witnessed the defeat against Oldham five days previously would have predicted.