The first effort on goal arrived in the 7th minute. Ben Burgess crossed from the right and Stuart Elliott headed downwards, but Iron goalkeeper Tom Evans tipped it over on the bounce. The resulting corner went to Jon Walters, but his shot was blocked.
Three minutes later, Damien Delaney handballed on the edge of his own area. It looked to be inside the box, but a free kick was awarded which Kevin Sharp hit the bar with.
Things swung in City's favour in the 12th minute though as Burgess opened the scoring. The visitors couldn't stop a neat passing move which ended with the City striker chipping over Evans into the net to make it 1-0.
Torpey finally went into the referee's book for another off-the-ball incident, elbowing Joseph while waiting for a free kick to be taken.
There was another penalty shout for handball, this time Paul Groves the culprit at the other end of the pitch, but again Mr. Hill said no.
The lively Cleveland Taylor forced a good save out of City 'keeper Boaz Myhill with 23 minutes on the clock. He dribbled into the box and shot, but Myhill was equal to it to turn the ball over.
On the half-hour mark, City's lead was doubled. Elliott beat his man on the left to provide a pinpoint cross for Burgess to nod in.
A controversial decision went Scunthorpe's way 4 minutes before half time. Jason Price was sent through on goal but was impeded by visiting skipper Nathan Stanton. However, the referee waved play on.
Burgess - chasing a hat-trick - put a low 20-yard shot wide 7 minutes after the interval.
Jon Walters had an easier chance in the 64 minute but was guilty of a poor miss. Elliott played a superb through ball from the left touchline to send Walters one-on-one with Evans, but an attempted lob went over the bar.
Darren Holloway was booked for a late challenge on Price, before the visitors pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute. City lost possession and Torpey hit a low shot from the edge of the box. Myhill got his hands to it, but Steve MacLean followed in the rebound. He celebrated by diving in front of Tigers manager Peter Taylor following his comments on the player regarding the last meeting between the two sides.
Scunthorpe piled on the pressure as they went for an equaliser, although City almost got another goal themselves when a Price ricochet landed just wide of Evans' post.
Danny Allsopp was brought off the bench with 10 minutes to go which lifted the spirits of the crowd who had gone noticably quiet. Peter Taylor was almost forced into another change as Myhill hobbled with a knock, but the Tigers custodian was able to shake it off.
Allsopp almost marked his return with a goal 3 minutes from time, but the shot hit the inside of the post and came back out.
It didn't matter though as City clung on to the 2-1 lead and earn a crucial three points in front of a 19,037 KC Stadium crowd.
City line-up (4-4-2): Myhill; Marshall, Joseph, Delaney, Thelwell; Price, Ashbee, Lewis, Elliott; Walters (Allsopp 80), Burgess.
Un-used subs: Musselwhite, Hinds, Green, France.