A big well done to the dedicated Cambridge groundstaff for getting the pitch fit for the match and an excellent gesture by the sponsors to give the MOM to the ground staff. I have said a few times in the past that the Abbey has one of the best and fastest draining surfaces in L2 but even so, it was a winter pitch that suited some players more than others.
Nathan obviously thought that Olly was in a better position to cope than Shinnie and also decided to give D’Ath a game in midfield. Unfortunately for D’Ath he picked up another injury after about 20 minutes and had to be replaced by Gambin. I must admit my first thought would have been to bolster the centre-backs/midfield and move Rea forward but as Lloyd Jones had not even been picked as a sub, it was probably too early in the game to risk bringing Cuthbert on. Really we looked a touch overrun in that first 10 minutes and against a more effective set of strikers we may well have gone behind. However, we managed to get past that awkward opening and put some moves together including one in which Collins did really well (as you can see on the video) to stretch and divert a cleared shot into the net. We looked in control for the first 15 minutes of the second half: Potts also had a decent chance from a header that he put wide of the post. Collins should have notched a second as he tried to connect with a splendid cross from Hylton; this guy Hylton is just so important to us, streets more flair and ball control than any other striker we have on the books. For the last half hour of the game, it was almost one-way traffic with Cambridge lumping ball after ball high into the Luton area: whoever would have expected that! I have to say of left side of the defence looked terribly exposed. Collins already on a yellow decides to give the referee an opportunity to give him a second yellow and the one-way traffic simply became heavier with Cambridge so surprisingly scoring with a virtually unopposed header. A point won or two points dropped? Well in my view, most definitely a vital point won against a Cambridge side of typical L2 battling muscle. After the Collins dismissal, if there was going to be a winner than that would have been Cambridge; thankfully, we held on for a point. Had the Cambridge crosses been more accurate and a couple of the Cambridge strikers been a touch better, we could easily have come away empty handed. Could we have done better? Well in respect of Lloyd Jones; he is such a giant of a lad but maybe he is just not good enough for consideration against another team of big guys; who knows? I do think that we could have set midfield out to be more competitive against a battling Cambridge side. I reckon our Olly is a terrific midfield passer of the ball from August to October and then into April and May but on a winters pitch against a team of battlers, we are virtually a man short. Seriously I am an Olly fan given the right seasonal conditions and when gifted acres of space offered by the opposition; simply pick your games to get the best out of him. On the other hand, Gambin battled all afternoon and is surely worth more game time at the moment. As I say, definitely a good point especially after going down to 10 men.
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A Tale of Einstein & Chips By The Seaside.
Cleethorpes, another railway station where redundant buildings have been converted into an ale house with both the No1 & No2 bars on the platform buildings. A group of us met up in the No1 bar a fairly tasteful conversion of station offices serving something like six real ales of tap with two offerings from the fairly local Batemans brewery serving what I would call very traditional English style ales. Then an easy stroll to the ground armed with a generous bag of chips whilst buffeted by the bracing breeze; at least it was not desperately cold. In fact sticking with the chips, wherever possible I try to get some food, yes usually those healthy chips, before I get to a ground as the food within football grounds invariably comprises salty emulsified pig (called hotdogs), cartilage burgers and meatless meat pies. Surely it’s time football supporters rebelled against such culinary crap; bring back the Bedfordshire Clanger to the Kenny! The away terrace at the ground had a decent following, about 500 or so, supporting Luton yet probably one of our lightest away attendances of the season but Cleethorpes on a bracing January day and a relatively difficult journey hardly makes it an attractive day out. Our Nathan having the luxury of the returning from suspension Sheehan, made three changes to the starting line up with Rea moving up to holding midfield to accommodate Sheehan and at the same time placing reluctant tackler Olly on the bench, a good move as gifted as Olly is as a creator, he struggles with some of the uglier stuff in L2: also finding a seat on the bench was brother Elliot. The third player missing out was the injured Hylton with Cornick and the perennial “game changer” Cook making a rare start; our Nathan has such enduring faith in Cook and yet that wise man Albert Einstein said, “insanity is doing the same failing thing again and again and expecting a different result”. We started so much more brightly than we did at either Port Vale or Chesterfield with players actually getting stuck into tackles rather than simply letting the opposition have the freedom of picking up every second ball. Cornick down the right was looking dangerous whilst his accomplice on that right, Stacey, was looking downright shaky in that first twenty minutes. It was the dangerous Cornick who looked as if he may have shot us into the lead with a strong blast at goal but “Einsteins walking evidence” unfortunately got in the way of the shot and diverted it away for a goal kick with the confused referee initially pointing for a corner as the logical side of his brain found it difficult to reason that it was not a great defensive block. Grimsby then came racing back and with our defence possibly allowing too much free space, they struck the top of the crossbar with a good shot from range that bounced away for safety. Then giant lump Jamille Matt, a guy we seem to play against so frequently, sent a shot from range skidding wide of Stech’s post. After about half an hour, Nathan's faith in Cook was finally shot to pieces as he made another totally stupid high tackle/foul to earn his second yellow card of the afternoon and leave the field. To be honest, I felt Cook was very fortunate not to have been sent off at the time of his first yellow for a horrible tackle. Yet not to be outdone in the horrible tackle stakes, Grimsby’s right back Davis, was lucky to stay on the pitch and only collect one yellow following a series of crunching fouls. In fact the delusional Russel Slade, I don’t know what planet he comes from, in something like his 12th attempt at football failure (see yet another Einstein link), hooked Davis off at halftime to preserve the one-man advantage. Reaching halftime I would have so gladly settled for a point yet by jovial cyclist friend from London insisted that we would nick a goal and the points would be ours; it’s the salt in the air you know, plays havoc with ones reasoning! Yet hold on, we did nick a goal when a really superb dipping free kick by Berry was diverted onto the crossbar by former Luton trialist goalkeeper Killip only for the ball to be bundled over the line from a range of about 6 inches out by Collins and to be fair, if Collins had not finished the job, Potts was right next to him waiting to complete the task. How Collins celebrated that goal in front of the travelling Hatters fans; a moment for the 10 men to savour. In fact, during that early second half period, we could easily have had a second goal when the Grimsby defence who were finding Cornick too hot to handle, were pulled apart down the right by “our Arry” and his low cross slammed across the goal with the sliding Collins almost making the connection. As expected Grimsby really began to pile on the pressure and try to make that one man advantage count and although they were getting balls into the box, they were not really that effective and our solid defensive line in the main held with Stech comfortably picking us anything that breached the wall. Our defenders were playing really well with the centre-back pairing and Potts mopping up so much dangerous stuff in the area and as every, the fearless Sheehan throwing his body into everything to fairly block the ball. Nathan, who to his credit has been very clever in the use of substitutes this season, then brought on Lawson D’Ath to replace the tiring Shinnie; a good move as D’Ath will run and run and chase any space down. Then a second substitution was made with James Justin replacing Collins. Again to my mind Nathan doing the right thing is really trying to close down space and hold on to that slim lead. That left Cornick with his trickery and pace as the lone striker which at least kept our fishy friends stretched. Indeed it was the Hatters who came closest to grabbing another goal when Cornick chased down dithering goalkeeper Killip whose attempt to clear the ball hit “Arry” who was unlucky with the spin on the ball not being able to bring it fully under control, if he had, that would surely have been game over. Grimsby kept coming forward but were being held off well by our reshaped defence and slowly added time ebbed away and the referee blew the final whistle to deliver an incredibly important three points to league leaders. Overall Impression: A terrifically hard-fought away win against a rather poor Grimsby side that had a man advantage over the Hatters for two-thirds of the game thanks to some idiotic attempts at tackling by surely departing Cook. I should qualify that by saying that I don’t honestly feel that Cook is a poor footballer, yet as it sometimes happens, he has simply not settled at Luton and really carries too much baggage for any change to likely happen; time to call it a day on Cookie Mr Jones. Of the attack, we did create a few chances with two involving Cornick at the one that resulted in Collins goal and whilst Cornick was a constant threat, Collins did not really look totally convincing yet could not be faulted for his tremendous effort. Yet Collins has now really notched about 13 goals and may well hit 20 by the end of the season: whatever will happen if one day we start playing to his strengths? In midfield, we battled well but at times had to play a little deeper than we may have wanted due to being a man short. Yet in defence, we really battled so well with Sheehan, Mullins and Potts having really good games. In fact, Johnny Mullins despite some earlier reservations I had, has simply not let us down at all; well done Johnny. I have to say that overall we so dreadfully miss the injured Danny Hylton and that’s not just for his goals but for his overall play continually acting as an outlet to receive the ball, hold up play and bring others into the game; as the faithful sing “there is only one Danny Hylton” and we are nowhere near as effective without Danny in the side. So, there we are, truly battling backs to the wall away win with 10 men for an hour of the game; not spectacular sparkling stuff but surely the stamp of a promotion winning side. A few thoughts on individual performances: Stech: handled well and dealt with everything comfortable; fairly faultless on the day with even his kicking decent. Stacey: a rather dodgy first twenty minutes when he had his shoes on the wrong feet but improved after that spell. Thankfully the speedy Wilks who tore him apart at Accrington for pace did not start for Grimsby. Mullins: Johnny had a really decent game and probably did at least, as well as Cuthbert, would have done with the possible exception of in the air against the absolute giant Matt. Matt like Akinfenwa is a real challenge in the air for any L2 defender Sheehan: it was so good to have Sheehan back not only for his real bravery in the heart of defence but also for his coolness in clearing the ball with that cultured left peg. It was Sheehan who took a bit of a clobber from Matt in the second half but apart from awarding the foul, the referee chose to let that one go. Potts: solid and commanding the air; he looked back to his better form at Grimsby and that can only be good for the side. Rea: had a very decent game and despite being very busy, I can't really recall any bad passes so well done Glen. Berry: another player who at both Port Vale and Chesterfield failed to find his undoubted talent but at Grimsby, he turned in a real team effort and splendidly delivered that free kick leading to that Collins goal. Shinnie: after the dismissal of Cook, it turned into a real scrap and whilst it would most certainly have suited Olly, Shinnie has managed to graft that extra “competitive” skill to his L2 game. Not his ideal stage but he stuck at it. Cook: it’s just not worked out for Cook at Luton and his body language compounded with those two wreckless tackles tells it all. Nathan, time read the archive words of wisdom from Einstein; please read them again and again daily for the next month. Cornick: was a constant threat to Grimsby and far too classy for their defenders to cope with, He has pace, goes past players with his good close control and unlike others not to be mentioned, is unselfish. Collins: well you can't fault his battling but in our set up he is certainly not a Danny Hylton type and our team is more set up for Danny’s style of play as opposed to Collins old-fashioned centre-forward style of play. That’s not written as a criticism of Collins who runs his socks off for the team but more to the directed to the way our side is set out. Surely Collins is a type of player who thrives on good deliveries into the box and he certainly mopped up that one from Berry. The Subs: D’Ath: did exactly what it says on the tin when he came on with about 15 minutes to go and chased everything down as did JJ when he came on. Elliot Lee only had a couple of minutes on the field but again another battler. What a miserable grey January afternoon for watching a football match; cold, rain, sleet, a heavy pitch. Oh, why not have the football season going through the warmer months of the season. Never mind. Come to the end of January we entertain the Archbishop of Wycombe and his beast on what in all probability will be a very cold evening whilst we sit on our luxurious cold plastic seats. At such times I so often think of those warm summer evenings playing a friendly at the likes of Hitchin; if Carlsberg arranged fixtures for the season etc.
Nathan made three changes from the Chesterfield below par performing side in talisman Hylton replacing Elliot Lee, D’Ath coming into midfield facilitating the move of Rea to centre back replacing the unlucky Famewo and Stacey coming in for Justin. Rather strangely after NJ criticised and hooked off Olly last week at Cheltenham mainly for not getting his tackles in, he moved his back to holding midfield. I suppose the logic being that a possibly fit again D’Ath could chip in with the ugly side of the game that Olly just does not like. The game was only a few minutes old when Hylton who had been looking very lively in that short few minutes, pulled up whilst chasing a ball. It seemed really obvious from the stand that he had pulled his hamstring and had to go off to be replaced by Elliot Lee. In that first half despite having plenty of the ball, we just did not really threaten the Morecambe goal enough. There were decent moves but Elliott Lee’s hard shot that struck the Morecambe centre back when on another day it would have been in the back of the net really typified the first period. Without Hylton on the pitch, we really looked a little ragged up front and Collins was far too often drifting wide to look for space and thus leaving no real threat in the penalty area to receive a cross. We did have other attempts in that half but Shinnie, who earlier brought a good save from Roche, Berry and Rea all struggled to get the ball on target. In the second half, the game became very open and the in-form Morecambe side decided to press forward and take the game to us and at times they were coming forward in waves as we all but surrendered the midfield. Surely this is where we would have been so much better with Rea as holding midfield rather than Olly! I have to say that despite their lowly league position, Morecambe gave us a tough time, worrying stuff and would our winter dip in form continue. I that second period we had two really good saves from Stech strangle from lacking in power deflected shots at goal. With the first effort, he did remarkably well to change direction and get a hand on the ball diverting it around the post for a corner; similar to the second deflection, our keeper did well. Thankfully and to the great relief of the Kenny faithful, we did take the lead following a free kick awarded for a foul against Elliot. Elliot’s brother Olly took the free kick and what a beautifully free kick it was, going right into the danger area for Mullins to smash his header into the back of the net. Then just a couple of minutes late, Mullins almost netted again. Could we hold on to the points and win without the majesty of a hat-full of goals? Well, when Rea made an awful pass gifting the ball to the opposition, it seemed that Ellison breaking away into the area would hit the target but before he could pull the trigger, Rea raced back to make a glorious saving tackle. Both sides continued to push forward and Morecambe had another couple of chances to equalise including a left-foot shot by pantomime villain Ellison that went just wide. For the Hatters, Collins should really have at least got his shot on target when he was put clear on the right of the area but blasted the ball over the crossbar. So, the final whistle arrived much to the relief of the Hatters fans and we scraped home with all three points: absolute relief! Overall impression What a relief it was to get to the final whistle and claim the three points to show some respectability on the last four league games points tally. We may well have to scrap a few wins in this style over the remaining games of the season but they all count. Credit yesterday really has to go to Jim Bentley the Morecambe manager who runs his side of an absolute financial shoestring; I really reckon given the resources at a club such as ours, he would do very well. I hope Morecambe pick up enough points in the remaining fixtures and secure their place in L2 for next season. It was worrying at times in midfield yesterday particularly in that second period when Morecambe really came at us and I reckon Nathan will have to have a serious think about his line up next week at Grimsby. Hopefully, Sheehan will return at CB alongside Mullins enabling Rea to revert to holding midfield and maybe D’Ath will continue at the expense of Olly just to add a bit more fight to the midfield. Anyway, totally delighted as well as relieved to collect the three points; the league table makes very pleasant reading. Oh yes, the referee MR Kettle was very decent and Nathan's use of Cornick as a sub totally spot on to pin those tiring Morecambe legs back into their own half. Onwards to our fishy friends at Grimsby next week! A few thoughts on individual players Stech: he made some very good saves in the second half and in particular to a deflected shot when he almost in slow motion changed direction to push the ball around the post. Without Stech’s contribution, it would have been one point at best. Stacey: got down the wing well but to my mind, not at his best particularly at getting the ball over and into the area. Rea: moved back to CB and had in the main part a good game but as ever, distribution is just not his best part of his game. To his credit, he made a superbly timed tackle in the area taking the ball off Ellison. That was a good recovery as Rea’s terrible misplaced pass had created the opportunity for Ellison to break away. Mullins: I have always felt that Mullins was an ok L2 centre-back but probably no more than that. Yesterday, however, he was very, very Ok in fact his positional play and reading of the game were a touch McNultyish at times. Potts: not at his best and whilst doing well enough defensively he seems to have lost a touch of confidence in going forward. That said, the guy is cast from the same mould as Mick Harford and is a real tough one as seen when he took a very heavy knock in the second half and despite being is serious discomfort, stayed on the pitch without the “magic sponge man’s” attention in order to defend the corner. Olly Lee: with Rea moving to CB, Olly was in a deeper role. A beautifully flighted free kick for Mullins goal but sadly Olly is simply not cut out for the dirty stuff in midfield. He looked a little lost at times as Morecambe swept forward in the second half; please let’s have Rea back there at Grimsby. D’Ath: played well in the first half covering lots of ground rather like a more intelligent Jonathan Smith that actually finds his player with a pass. As expected he tired a lot in the second half and was subbed on 65 minutes for Harry Cornick. Shinnie: probably been one of our better players in this dip in overall team form and against Morecambe his first touch in receiving the ball, turning and making space was a fair cut above L2 level. On the downside, his shooting was so wayward. Overall a good game. Berry: Berry has proved to be so important to us in his “engine room” style of play and he was sadly way below form at Port Vale and Chesterfield. Against Morecambe whilst still not being at his impressive best, he was much nearer his old self. I honestly feel that Berry is the player when if he plays well, then the team play well. Hylton: what a terrible miss Hylton is to the team. We just don’t have another forward with anything remotely near his ability to receive the ball, hold up play and bring others into the game in quite the way Danny does. Poor Danny boy was only on the field for under 10 minutes; get back soon Danny boy! Collins: I get really confused about Collins and what he is both trying to do and what Nathan is asking him to do; are they the same? Why when Hylton went off, did Collins drift so wide so frequently? I appreciate he is looking for space to receive the ball but surely his physical presence was needed more in the penalty area? The Subs: Elliot Lee: on the field for over 80 minutes and played well in terms of his tricky play in getting past people; ok, it did not work every time but overall he did well. I just wish he would occasionally stop being so blasted greedy and pass the ball to a teammate in a better position rather than shooting himself. Cornick: replaced the tiring D’Ath after 65 minutes and as so frequently happens, we look a lot more threatening with “our Arry” on the pitch particularly against tiring legs. A really good substitution by Nathan in stretching the game. Finally a note on Morecambe’s Ellison the panto villain, I would honestly not be unhappy if he was sitting on our bench. Interesting ride to Chesterfield by train going through Nottingham and thankfully the lovely old Victorian railway station looked far better than I had expected following the fire at the station on Friday. Arriving at Chesterfield early enough to have a good look around the rather nice town centre and the very interesting Museum giving an appreciation of this rather fascinating once very industrial town. Then a visit to two pubs with an amazing number of handpumps at both the Rutland Arms and the Chesterfield Arms then a hike off to the football ground.
The Chesterfield ground is not the worst one by modern standards and slightly less lego like than that at Shrewsbury but nevertheless lacks a touch of the charm of the old Saltergate but that’s progress I suppose. At least our plans for Power Court look more attractive and nicely situated but we will have to wait a few years I guess to see the final delivery of that scheme. Nathan made two changes to Saturdays starting line up at Newcastle with Danny Hylton absent through injury replaced by Elliot Lee. Glen Rea moved out of the CB role to defensive midfield and Akin Famewo came in for his first start since Hartlepool last season. Possibly not massive changes on paper but if you imagine a line up being announced back in November with the key influential trio of Cuthbert, Sheehan & Hylton being absent at the same time it’s a bit of a blow. In the early stages of the game, we were trying to get some football going with short passes but most of the time we were simply picked off in midfield by the hunting pack of Chesterfield players it seemed that they had almost an extra two or three players on the field than we did. The Spireites were certainly not looking like relegation fodder about to roll over and let the league-leading Hatters stroll to victory; such cheek, where is the respect? To my eye, it seemed from the kick-off that this Chesterfield side were really fired up for the game and sadly a lot more hungry than our players. Maybe as the game progressed we would wake up a touch and start winning the second ball in midfield despite looking to be outnumbered. Chesterfield kept winning the ball and coming forward and a nice cross-field move all along the ground saw the ball reach their unmarked right wing and with our midfield asleep a lovely low cross came into the area and was sweetly tucked away for the opening goal. Total credit to Chesterfield although our marking was poor, it was a quality move and goal we would have been proud to score ourselves. In an attack by the Town, Elliot Lee was fouled by a Chesterfield defender but play waved on by the referee who then judged that Justin had committed a foul in the area and awarded a penalty to the home side. Was it a foul, I was just too far away to make a valid comment but that does not matter, twenty-five minutes gone and we are 2-0 down and not really looking in the game at all. Nathan decided to take off Olly Lee who had been maybe handicapped by an injury picked up a little earlier. Olly who can be an excellent passer when we are in control of midfield was not having one of his better days as the midfield was a real scrap that we were just not winning: Cornick replaced Olly. We did create a couple of chances via Shinnie; one following his own good work but ending with a tame shot and another one clipped over the bar. So we reach halftime down by two goals and the group of us agreeing that on that display there was really not going to be any way back for the Hatters. The wished-for improvement in the second half never materialised and despite a late resurgence of urgency in the last few minutes of the game, we were a well-beaten side and Chesterfield thoroughly deserved their victory. Overall Impression On the day we were well beaten by the better side who showed bags more energy and commitment than our players did. The phrase “bad day at the office” has been used by some but that was also used at Port Vale. To my mind staying with the office analogy, too many parts of the office furniture were missing all at one time! Who can we blame? The pitch as at Port Vale, The Referee, or what about Pelly, he is always a good one to blame, the apparent fielding of about 14 players by Chesterfield? No, we can’t blame any of those. As Nathan said in his post-match interview had at least three leaders missing from the starting line up and maybe that was simply one too many for us to combat a home side really hungry for the victory. To that, I think you can add a good number of our players having a serious off day and the combination of that off day and lack of leaders just killed the fight in our side. We are still in a great position in the league and will no doubt get through this small bad spell and in all probability hit another bad spell before the season ends. To my mind, we just have to put this one behind us and get those leaders as Nathan called them, back onto the pitch. We will be ok, these poor performances happen but let’s move on. A Few Impressions on individual performances Stech: made a couple of decent saves, gambled on the wrong direction with the penalty and his kicking was better than in some recent games. Justine: you can see JJ has real quality but despite some well-timed tackles, he like many others, was not at his best. Mullins: a reasonable game with some well-timed challenges. Famewo: he was up against a more experienced striker but came through well and well worth more L2 exposure. Potts: as much as I rate Dan Potts, if the scouts were watching him today then I will rate him for many more years in a Luton shirt; an off day. Rea: well Rea has been outstanding in the defensive midfield role in recent games but in this game his distribution even for a simple 10-yard pass was abysmal. Olly Lee: I think the midfield was just too competitive for our Olly at Chesterfield. Berry: everybody has an off day and let's hope this otherwise fine player can put his Chesterfield off-day behind him quickly; never able to dictate play, unfortunately. Shinnie: most of our better play revolved around Shinnie but he needed more support. Elliot Lee: some fine close control dribbling earlier but seemed to run out of steam later in the match. Collins: the old-fashioned centre-forward yet sadly starved of the service he thrives on, crosses into the box. The Subs: Cornick: a few tricks as per usual but well marked by the home side. Pelly & Cook: both came on with about 10 minutes to go and neither should shoulder any criticism as they probably looked a lot livelier than others on the pitch. Wow, what a train ride to the North East on a train packed with travelling Hatters. This was as expected a massive turn out to see Luton play on Tyneside some 250 miles from Kenilworth Road. Arriving at Newcastle station you felt proud to see the sea of orange sweeping of each arriving train; what a wonderful site. Then onto the Bridge Hotel to meet up with an absolutely charming Luton exile together with a Gateshead season ticket holder over a couple of fine ales; as I say so often, what could possibly go wrong. Here we are top of our league and playing away to a premier league club in an absolutely wonderful stadium within touching distance of the clouds. If Carlsberg made football stadiums then surely God would have given me the telescopic vision of an eagle. Its been quite a week for our Nathan and I think that most of us are happy with his just-announced contract extension having really proved his worth with our style of play this season. In the days leading up to the game there was much speculation over who would partner Mullins at centre back; would it be Rea, Potts or the young talent Famewo. Well certainly against possibly the hopes of many Luton fans, Nathan went for Rea with Pelly selected to play in front of the back four. There was a time not that long ago, that I would have welcomed Pell's inclusion but sadly these days I just say to myself please don’t mess it up Pelly. Would this selection affect the shape we have played with over recent months where Ray, Port Vale apart, had been so influential protecting the space in front of the back four? As for our hosts Newcastle, the home manager Raffa sadly not the most engaging man in football, decided to name just about a full strength side; doubt many Hatters fans were expecting that.
The game started with Newcastle pressing forward but after an initial onslaught, we were comfortable holding our own whilst at the same time not creating anything as much as we would have liked. We were getting wide into some really good positions to deliver the ball into the area but we just seemed to be lacking sufficient presence in the box to get on the end of the crosses. For the first half hour things looked pretty comfortable for the Hatters then in a Geordie attack our accident-prone goalkeeper, Stech, somehow spills the ball despite having his whole body positioned nicely to collect it. Bing bang Perez accepts the gift and we are a goal down with Stech looking a touch embarrassed and his team-mates looking a touch less than happy; you simply just don’t get away with such goalkeeping errors against sides of the quality of Newcastle. Before we can think of turning things around our relative weakness at centre back is exposed when a gentle lobbed header flicks over towards our goal and Mr Perez somehow manages to bag his second goal despite being surrounded by a number of Luton players. Maybe if captain Cuthbert had been there he would have taken charge and cleared the ball and in that instance, I think we missed the big man. Overall that second goal was poor defending. Within four minutes, it’s 3-0 as Shelby with a v, on loan from the Peaky Blinders, caps the game for the Geordies culminating a sweet passing defence-splitting move with a shot bending one way and Stech who to be fair could not do a lot about it, slightly travelling the other way. A class Newcastle passing move and a fine goal, yes maybe we could have been a touch smarter defensively but the move was quality: oh dear, where will it all end? At half-time Pelly is sold to Hitchin Town and replaced by the tricky Cornick. Wow, what a transformation: we are now taking the game to Newcastle, winning lots of second balls in midfield and getting the ball down the wings. Then a neat move sees Danny Hylton escape his marker and beautifully put the ball away; the travelling orange army erupt and celebrate the goal. We then continued to press forward and Danny boy appears to have bagged a second only for the lino to rule out the goal for offside. For the rest of the second half, we really pushed forward and whilst our adventurous play did let Newcastle in for a few attempts on goal, we really did terrifically well hitting the bar with a shot from Lee then Gambin only just squeezing the ball to the wrong side of the post in injury time. The final whistle brings the game to an end and whilst we are out of a competition we had no realistic hope of winning, we have really done ourselves proud with that second half performance. Overall impression Well despite a dodgy ten-minute spell, we did reasonably enough in the first half and I have to say played very well in that second half. Absolutely no shame at all in this defeat in fact quite the reverse on a day when we showed our passing football credentials and looked something a cut above that expected from a league two side. In that second half, we played some very sweet expansive football worth of a team from a higher league than league 2: well done Nathan and team. Sadly, I think the bell may well have tolled for Pelly and he may never wake up from his winter hibernation. Accident-prone Stech also stumbles along; he can and does, pull off some fine saves but a Christian Walton he is certainly not. A few difficult decisions for Nathan to make and rather him than me. The stadium of St James Park is indeed a fine one and having visited many times during my time in the North East it has been massively changed yet it’s such a nice touch to have oxygen masks provided under each seat to combat altitude sickness in the away end; that charismatic chap Mike Ashley is indeed very caring.Truthfully, the height and distance from the pitch whilst offering a fine pitch view does make individual player ID a challenge. Yet that did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the travelling faithful who were simply magnificent in their support. A great day out, a day to be proud to be a Hatter having watched your team really play some fine passing football especially in that second half; yes, a memorable day out in the fine footballing city of Newcastle. So, as that old cliche goes yet so true in our case we can now concentrate on the league. Onwards and upwards to Chesterfield. A few thoughts on individual performances: Stech: difficult one as he was clearly at fault for the first goal yet also made some smart saves. Is it time for a rest I wonder? One for Nathan to ponder but let’s not forget that for the first 20 or so games of the season he was very sound. Justin: a really fine game and a combination of beautifully timed tackles and great surges forward. Mullins: played well enough at the centre of defence despite looking a touch stretched at times. Rea: no repeat of his Port Vale mare and made some telling interceptions; I felt he had a really decent game. Potts: probably had his greatest challenge of the season and despite being put under some real pressure he did well. Pelly: sorry Pelly, I fear I have all but given up on you; such a massive latent talent that stretches back to JS’s days but has the maturity and development evaporated? Pelly these days is akin to having a fine bottle of Chateau Margaux yet finding out you don’t have a simple corkscrew! The bottle then simply becomes an ornament for discussion! Berry: as expected, always in the game and had a fine second half. Shinnie: some good moments when he really looked at home and overall decent against his premiership markers. Olly Lee: I thought Olly had a very decent game and also made some good interceptions. Hylton: a mix of football genius as the Harry Kane of the lower leagues and the petulance of a twelve-year-old. What a handful he was to his markers all afternoon; he scored a goal, had one disallowed and his younger side got the better of him adding another yellow to his collection. That’s the package you get with our Danny but what Luton fan would want to be without him. Collins: lots a physical running but no massive impression on the game. The Subs: Cornick: he had some good runs that the Magpies struggled with but at other times tried to beat a player too many; no shame on him, he gave it his all. Elliot Lee: gave it everything when he came onto the pitch replacing James Collins. I honestly think that Elliot Lee could be a big success with our club after his stuttering starts elsewhere. Gambin: only on for 10 minutes and could have made a name for himself had he steered his shot inside of the post in injury time. The travelling 7500 Luton supporters: magnificent support all game, great effort. Only a very abbreviated version today due to work on the other whittler site; stockwhittler which has been very busy with end of year reporting, corresponding; just a few notes today with more discussion on the Ltfcfool.
Totally exhilarating entertainment from kickoff right through to the final whistle; an advert for live L2 football at it’s best. We even had the pantomime villain in the horrible giant Rhead and that super boxer Sheehan who managed to slay the giant with a slight affectionate touch on the cheek, Heavens, if Sheehan can fell a beast like that, out for the count, Ireland would surely have had a world champion had Sheehan taken to the gloves rather than the football boots. As for Lincoln, they are good at what they do which is really a hard working physical conference style of play; can’t say I liked them but it paved the way for a hugely entertaining game for the Kenny faithful. Ok, the usually reliable Stech was having a new years hangover but the remaining 9 Hatters on the pitch more than made up for him. Great performance from all 9 outfield players and super-sub “our Arry” Cornick. At left back, JJ was excellent, as was Hylton in attack but the star man for me was “Mr engine room” Berry: what an inspirational signing he is proving to be. All in all, although Port Vale was a nightmare in the Burslem bog where only pottered about in the clay, yesterday was a comeback of L2 champions elect; what an effort from all concerned; a great afternoon to be at the Kenny. Well done Nathan & the boys, we are back on track! I have to begin by saying RIP the great cult figure John Faulkner a splendid and totally brave centre-back who sadly passed away on the 28th December 2017. Condolences to the family of this courageous inspirational Hatter. --------------------------------------------- After a pleasant train hopping journey to Stoke and a very nice pre-match get together at the exceptionally good Bulls Head which hosted a very welcome BBQ and those lovely Titanic brewery beers. BBQ food at bargain prices, lovely ale a good mixture of fans from both teams enjoying themselves; on such a day without an iceberg in site, what could possibly go wrong? I should say that a Port Vale fan I was chatting to on the way to the Bulls Head explained to be the background to the naming of the Titanic Brewery in that the captain of the Titanic, Edward J Smith, was born just down the road from where the small brewery is located.
Well, I have to be honest when our group were standing in the pub enjoying the BBQ and a beer, we were trying to figure out the team selection. Pelly, D'Ath and Cornick starting with Elliot Lee in place of Collins. Had bubonic plague struck the crew of the good ship Nathan, maybe that engine room midfield collectively been hospitalised? However, equally alarming was the sight of the subs bench which contained that very engine room sitting on their bums. Either Nathan was being the expert tinker-man or he was about to lose the golden gamble; which was it to be? Boosted by their recent good form, Vale managed by ex-Halifax magician Neil Aspin, made a confident start to the game but for the first ten minutes were held back by a hard worker Hatters defence with only really Rea offering any steel in deep midfield. Then after about 20 minutes a cruel piece of luck as a hacked clearance from Potts cannoned off the unfortunate Mullins and past Stech. Oh dear, the midfield struggling to get into the game and now a goal down and forced to chase the game. Despite a few attacking moves no real threat was made on the Vale goal: the passes and crosses were generally overhit and easy work for the home side to deal with. Add in some pretty wretched kicking from Stech and we reached half-time fairly happy to be just one down especially when you consider Vale through the dangerous Pope should have had a second with a header from a poorly defended cross a couple of minutes before halftime. Surely Nathan would see the error of his midfield golden gamble and change things after the break. Well no immediate change was made at halftime and at least for a few minutes we played with a touch of urgency but Vale continually threatened on the break. Nathan finally waved the “I have been a plonker” flag and sent on inform men Berry and Collins in place of the ineffective D'Ath and Elliot Lee: later Shinnie replaced the getting nowhere Cornick. It did seem to me that our shape started to look a lot better with Berry very much involved in play but sadly we were really in chasing the game mode. Then the cause became a lot harder when Rea seemed to lose his footing near the halfway line and Vale were away with a beautiful counterattack at pace: 2-0 to Port Vale. Would there be any coming back from this one? Well, that question was shortly answered with a terribly under-hit back pass by Rea that let in the home side for a third goal: we were dead in the water; the iceberg had firmly sunk the good ship Nathan and the fourth goal was merely adding to the embarrassing pain. A great run came to an end in the Burslem bog against a deserving Port Vale side: good luck to them they outplayed us. It happens, simple as that, we move on. Overall impression It’s easy to say in retrospect that the game was lost before the kick-off due to the three midfield creators and their replacement with two midfielders who have not played for a long while and essentially a striker in Cornick. However, had it worked out then Nathan would have been a hero but from the first five minutes onwards, it was clear that the changes had ripped out the engine room of the good ship Luton. Neither Pelly nor D'Ath looked possible of creating anything against a resurgent Port Vale side who were so hungry for the ball. Sadly the line up selected simply left the three central defending players; Mullins, Rea and Sheehan totally exposed and having to work desperately hard all afternoon with little protection in front of them. Would it have been any different had Berry, Shinnie and O Lee started? Well, of course, it’s impossible to say but at least the engine room would have had a chance and yesterday with the performance of the terribly blunt midfield we were always going to struggle. To their credit Vale played with a passion and belief that simply we failed to match. A bad day at the office for Nathan? Yes, I think so but let’s not lose sight of some terrific days at the office in the last few months. It happens and I doubt that Nathan will make the same overly unforced changes again this season: we move on and put this one behind us and simply say that the better team on the day won and well done to them. So, onwards to our home game against Lincoln where we have the opportunity to complete what would be an excellent four-game festive series if we pick up the three points. A few thoughts on individual performances Stech: reasonable game making a couple of decent saves but he really does need to improve his kicking which at times was really poor. Note: the back3/5 were simply left with too much work to do all afternoon and I really don’t attribute blame to this group but rather to the “brave” team selection. Justin: like the rest of the defence he simply had too much to do with an ineffective midfield in front of him. Incidentally, young JJ was lucky to get away with one poor back pass on that sticky surface. Mullins: some decent clearances but under pressure all game against Pope who was really quite a handful and far too mobile for our under pressure defence. Sheehan: not his usual assured self in the game with some dodgy slightly miss-hit clearances but nevertheless made some really decent tackles. Potts: very unlucky with that first goal that rebounded into the net but it happens! Rea: more of a fifth defender having to play very deep especially in the second half. You could accuse Rea of being at fault for two of the goals but in fairness to a guy who is having an excellent season, he was terribly exposed all afternoon especially once we were really chasing the game. Pelly: sorry but after being such a big fan of Pelly for some seasons, I honestly think the boat has sailed without him being on board. Sad to say it but he just does not bring enough consistency of the right kind to his team: a latent talent maybe never to be fully realised in a Town shirt. D'Ath: asking too much of him after such a long lay off; on his day he is a bundle of energy but not effective at all in this game. Cornick: a few clever runs down the right wing in the first half but largely ineffective on the day. Elliot Lee: tried all his trickery but fairly well marked by the Vale defence. Hylton: battled but really got nowhere in the game and like Lee, never really got the better of his markers. The subs: Berry: probably our best performing player on the afternoon and now such a vital member of our side but Nathan why the feck was he on the bench: is he truly knackered at 25 years of age? I found that selection/ lack of selection just very difficult to understand. Collins: you can’t fault his effort but surely after the Swindon game where he looked to be in such good determined form, he should have started. Shinnie: maybe not the right time or indeed conditions to bring on the superbly skilful Scot. A fairly easy run down to Swindon and despite a predictably crowded M25, the coach arrived in plenty of time to give the thirsty traveller a chance of a little refreshment in the away supporters bar. To be fair to Swindon they have provided a fairly decent away supporters bar with good facilities but on the downside very limited beers on offer. The chap queuing in front of me was devastated that the bar did not have Fosters on; after a little laugh, the joke was on me as with no decent "proper beers" on offer, it was Cold fizzy Peroni for me!
Our Nathan wisely named an unchanged side, well, in fact, the side essentially picked itself after Saturday's assured display against Grimsby. As we reached kick off time the sections of the ground allocated to the Hatters were filled quite nicely as even the seats behind the goal were decently populated despite the persistent light rainfall that was gradually soaking the more hardy types. The Town started the game really well showing absolute intent from the kick off that they were going to really try and impose themselves on this Swindon side. Some of the early short passing approach play was really good yet it was just the execution of that final pass that was lacking and preventing us from really pressing on. Olly with his great eye for a pass could readily see the possibilities yet his passes that were so well-intentioned unfortunately were continually underweighted. We looked like we were going to take the lead after about 10 minutes when a beautifully flighted freekick from dead ball specialist Sheehan found Potts in the area but the normally reliable Dan Potts missed the chance sending the ball over the crossbar: should have been the opening goal. Not long after that, Collins spotted that the Swindon keeper was off his line and from a distance of about 40 yards lobbed the keeper. The keeper raced back towards his goal and just managed to get a hand to the goal-bound ball and tip it away for a corner; lovely stuff! The positive approach from Luton continued through the whole of the first half with Potts being a real danger from every corner and our other fullback, JJ, attacking well down the right flank. Every Luton player looked totally up for it and the only real surprise was that we reached half-time goalless: we were doing well without that final killer ball to create many clear-cut chances. In the second half after a few token attacks by Swindon, we really asserted our authority on the game firstly with a superb shot from Collins as he cut in from our right and struck a wonderful shot into the back of the net. Swindon tried to counter but their efforts were simply snuffed out by our team working so well together and anything that got close down the middle was intercepted by Mullins, Sheehan and Rea. Next, we had a lovely four/five man move down our left flank culminating with a Potts cross that was bravely headed in by Danny Hylton getting ahead of his marker: beautiful move, great stuff! Of course, Swindon tried to counter but they were really getting nowhere. The Hatters were now becoming rampant and a superb determined tackle by Rea to prevent Swindon building a move, saw the ball on the right of the area with Collins. Collins crossed the ball with Olly Lee being the target recipient but before it could get to Olly, former Hatter Taylor turned the ball into his own net. Do have a look on video at that superb tackle from Rea that started the move leading to that third goal; an absolutely brilliant tackle. The fourth was from another cracking shot; this time from substitute Harry Cornick creating space on the edge of the box and then hitting a powerful shot wide of the despairing Swindon goalkeeper and firmly into the back of the net. A fifth then followed with a move down our left involving the very determined Elliot Lee, another substitution success. Elliot took the ball down the left, exchanged passes and then splendidly created space to send a low shot into the far corner of the net. Finally, deep into added time, we had another wave of Hatters attack that saw a bobbling ball come to Luke Berry just a few yards out and he spooned the ball over the bar to spare our hosts a 6-0 defeat. Overall impression I felt we were good in the first half without really pushing that advantage, we were almost there and indeed better than Swindon but just needed that extra thrust that would have given us a half-time lead. However, in the second half, we were really rampant and completely dominated Swindon; they could just not live with the dominance of the Hatters. People talk of the man of the match for every game but just as with Saturday's super dominant display against Grimsby, this was once again another total team performance. Every Luton player played their part and just as on Saturday, the movement was excellent with all of our players giving the man in possession options for the pass. There is an incredible feeling of togetherness about our team; everybody works for everybody; when a goal is scored there is a mass total team celebration including the substitutes, such a massive will to get the job of projection promotion delivered. Our midfield is just looking so strong with the superb Rea utterly dominant in front of the back four; maybe his excellent form is aided by simply concentrating on playing in one position; it certainly looks that way. Then playing in front of Rea we have that superb "engine room" Luke Berry; what great form the little man is showing, you just can't really fault his game. Then up front, the Swindon defence found it really hard to cope with Collins and Hylton, the former full of physical energy and power whilst the latter was his usual total pain in the arse for the opposition. Once again Nathan used his substitutes really well and two of them, "our Arry" Cornick and Elliot scored great goals hit with real precision having carved room for themselves. Which of the goals was the pick of the bunch? Well, I have to say that Collins shot to give us the lead just after halftime was really excellent; well worth watching on video. Overall a great day out and a great time to be a Hatter. Oh, and yes we could have scored more with Berry hooking one over the bar in injury time and also to Swindon's credit a couple of last-ditch superb tackles in the penalty area. How does this one rank against other recent 5-0 away wins going back to the Conference days? Well at Alfreton it was all about an early first-half destruction of the home side whilst at Nuneaton, it was one of being on top in the first half and then moving into destruction mode after half-time. The Swindon game was more in that Nuneaton mould. I did listen to NJ’s post game interview and most of the time I agree with his fair assessment of play but yesterday I felt he undervalued our first-half performance which was far better than he gave the team credit for whilst not been anywhere near as electric as that second half destruction of Swindon. Onwards and upwards to Port Vale on Saturday but unfortunately that means a ride on my most disliked train route via New Street Station. Some thoughts on individual performances Stech: dealt well with the relatively small amount of risk that came his way including a couple of decent saves in the first half. Justin: looked exactly what he is, a very valuable asset with a great career in front of him. He had a very strong powerful game: we are so spoilt for choice at right back with JJ and Stacey. Mullins: I don't think he put a foot wrong and his anticipation was totally on the ball. Sheehan: total class all game. Great tackling and distribution complemented by those superb dead-ball kicks. This guy, like a few others, is playing right at the top of his game. Rea: apologies if this is getting a touch boring but Glen Rea is playing in the form of his life. If the ball was there, he was going to win it, no question about that. Some of his interceptions and tackles were just totally first class. Shinnie: another totally sound game and using his newly learned physical strength to exert his authority on proceedings. Olly Lee: some good play but his passing, usually the strong part of his game, was a touch off in the first half but back to good in the second period. Berry: little “Mr engine room” was just about everywhere, supporting the attack, initiating breakaway moves and then clearing up in defence: I think the guy on this form is just what we needed. Hylton: a complete mixture of all the well-known components that make up the one and only Danny Hylton. What a total pain in the arse he must be for opposing defenders in league 2. However, the daft Dany was also evident and he and Swindon's No6 got booked for an off the ball handbags incident. Collins: strong powerful and physical making it very difficult for the home defence to keep him quiet. He had that superb lobbed effort in the first half and scored that gloriously hit opening goal. The Subs Cornick: bags of pace and trickery and unlike at Cheltenham when he created space and blasted the ball into the crowd, at Swindon having created space he blasted the ball into the back of the net; wonderful. Elliot Lee: no surprises, we know what we will get, excellent footwork and close control skill topped off with a great goal from the edge of the area. Pelly: only really had a few minutes; maybe more time on another day yet I do get a feeling that the boat has sailed leaving Pelly on the dockside. re to edit. With great expectation in the air for the last game before Christmas day, what better way to spend a prematch than in the company of fellow Hatters enjoying a swift refreshment before heading off to the Kenny.
The Kenny itself was nicely filled and to the credit of our fishy friends, that had brought down a really decent following with the away section at the Oak Road end well populated. Two changes in the starting line up compared to that at Forest Green, one enforced change with the talented James Justin taking the place of the suspended Jack Stacey and one elective change with James Collins taking the place of the tricky Elliot Lee. The Collins move been designed to offer a bit more physical presence up front; understandable but tough on Elliot who has been in the best form of his career since joining us from Barnsley. It was a very fluid flowing start to the game by Luton with some great passing moves that had the Mariners battling to stay off the rocks as the town came close with efforts form Olly, Collins and a powerful header from Dan Potts. Grimsby were having the odd moment but really anything they had to offer was being either snaffled out or blocked as they attempted to get close to the Luton goal. We were putting solid pressure on the visitors who were only just managing to hold on and apart from some miscalibrated corner kicks from the usually precise Sheehan, all looked well for our table-topping team. Then five minutes from half-time we had a superb piece of flowing football starting with a ball from Stech passing the ball out and beautiful sweet passing move that saw Collins sent the ball out towards the left to Luke Berry about 30 yards from goal. Berry cut in towards the middle of the pitch and then hit a “Beckham special” curving a wonderful shot head height to McKeown’s left and bulging the back of the net. I rather liked the brave yet often invisible McGeehan particularly for his goals but this lad Berry just offers so much more to the team with his Preece like play. We then pushed for another before half-time and came close with Hylton looking to be back to his best and causing lots of trouble to the Grimsby defence with his clever footwork. After the break, we kept the pressure and the tempo going with a total team performance. The great underachiever Jamille Matt, a towering “nearly man” did have a chance at goal but apart from that just about everything was comfortably intercepted by the back four or blocked by totally committed Hatters. In truth, not that much was able to come through that far from Grimsby as Glen Rea, who matures by the game, was having a great game in deep midfield winning just so many challenges. Just past the hour-mark, we were given a free kick about 30 yards from goal on our right-hand side. With quite a view of the goal, I rather expected a Sheehan special targeting the top corner but instead, he sent in a nice delivery for Collins to evade the defenders and put a very powerful header into the back of McKewon’s net. A lovely goal that was maybe aided by a what seemed rather feeble defending for that free kick. Nathan who it has to be said seems to be getting the hang of this substitution lark, firstly replaced Shinnie with Cornick and then Collins with Elliot Lee: how many other sides in this league or maybe even the one above can boast such strength in depth? The close control and trickery of both Cornick and Elliot was giving real problems to the Mariners and both players aided by their great footwork cam so close to adding more goals So there we are a fine and convincing victory achieved with a whole team performance without any real weakness in the side. If anything the 2-0 scoreline was somewhat flattering to Grimsby who were well beaten and could easily have returned back to Humberside beaten by more goals. Overall View A total team performance with defence, midfield and attack combining as a totally seamlessly unit with great flowing football, inter-passing and continual movement into space to give the player in possession options. What a change to the last couple of seasons when players rather seemed frightened to offer themselves to receive a pass. What a valuable team player Luke Berry is and NJ has to be congratulated for his dealing in the market moving the sometimes good sometimes invisible McGeehan on and bringing in Berry; the bloke is always looking unselfishly to be in the game and works like hell. Having said that, if I were to pick a player as MOM it would have been a close call and I would have named quite a few including the ever-improving Glen Rea the boss of midfield: if McCormack does regain fitness, will he ever get a place in the side ahead of Rea? It was interesting to have a peek at comments on the Grimsby fans forum. They were full of praise for our style of player and acknowledging that the better side won. That’s quite generous for a group of fans not known for their love of Luton Town. A great time to be a Hatter’s fan; roll on Boxing day when we probably take well over 1000 travelling Hatters. A few thoughts on individual performances: Stech: he was well protected by his defence and when called upon, looked very sound and commanding. The only downside was that “O’Donnell” quality kicking with balls that were probably meant for Collins had he been sitting in the crowd. Good keeper but he does need to work on his kicking. Justin: effortlessly cool and simply looked like he had been playing at this level of performance all season. The young man has great energy, reads the game well and loves getting forward with his running at the opposition's defence. It speaks volumes about the strength in depth we have that such a talent has had to wait for his opportunity to get a game. Potts: a very good game both in defence and in the attack; came close to adding to his impressive goalscoring record with his power in the air: a very good player and so massively improved from last season. Mullins: I have to give Mullins who sometimes seems to have been patched up with duct tape, credit for improving game after game in Cuthbert’s absence: he had a very good game and read play very well. Sheehan: our captain on the day was a total class in defence and really giving the impression of being a leader willing to get in the referees face just as good old Ronnie Henry used to do. His corners were not at their best in the game but that was a superb delivery leading to Collins goal. Sheehan is such a hugely influential player to our side. Rea: will he be able to improve on that performance; in all honesty, difficult to see how he could improve. A terrific game as a midfield enforcer making some terrific interceptions, impressively protecting the back four and wow, his passing was really decent. Berry: oh what a signing Luke Berry is proving to be and what a goalscoring threat from midfield. Berry never disappears; always looking, willing, grafting and as a bonus, scoring some great goals. This guy really makes the team tick. Olly Lee: another good game from Olly; he is just so much better these days than in that experimental role protecting the back four. Shinnie: he proved to be much too difficult for the Grimsby team to suppress and was instrumental in some great passing moves plus very pretty wide play interchanging passes so skilfully. Hylton: is he selfish, greedy or is he simply a hungry striker? You take your choice but whatever, it’s just great to see his game was almost back to it’s best with great turns, close control and a total pain to the Grimsby defence all game. Collins: created space for himself and others all game by being so powerful and mobile. The goal he took was a typically determined powerful header “old fashioned number 9 style” from Sheehan’s excellent freekick. The subs: Elliott Lee: Just to think that earlier in the season some of us including myself were finding it difficult to figure out where Elliot would fit in the team. He has had some false starts at other clubs but being such a clever player will continue to prosper at Luton as seen with his excellent close control on Saturday. Cornick: an excellent guy to either start with or as in the last couple of games, a speedy tricky player to bring on late in the game and run at tired defenders. D’Ath: only had a few minutes but good to see him back after such a long time out with an injury. A fairly civilised start to the day leaving home shortly before 7:30 and heading to Flitwick for the ride down to Nailsworth the nearest settlement to the “out in the wilds” Forest Green football club. In truth, it's in a lovely part of the country. Pre-match, well what a disappointment as the new policy at FGR does not permit away fans into the Green Man pub. I did actually manage to drift inside the Green Man and there was bags of room in the place but a transvestite bouncer on steroids requested that I leave. So, it was the austere, freezing beer tent for me with its hideous plastic portaloos. Hardly a place that would rate a favourable mention from away fans. Anyway, steroidal transvestite aside, it was nice to catch up pre-match with fellow travelling Hatters over a few beers. The beer? Well, not the fabled real ales afforded to the home supporters in the Green Man but instead bottles of ales from the local Stroud brewery.
The thinking behind the away supporters standing area was indeed a mystery. There we were on an open terrace running the length of the pitch yet in one of the terraces behind the goal and undercover there were about 50 home supporters. Forest Green Directors may I ask what happened to that welcoming charm we used to experience in those long ago Conference days? Yet as a gesture of festive cheer, the standing was unallocated; you could stand wherever you wanted on the exposed concrete steps. Nathan decided to keep with the line up that started against Notts County with a bench including such valuable talent as Justin, Cornick, Collins and Pelly. I felt that was the right decision by Nathan as why tinker with an inform side even though we had not really fired on all cylinders in the previous game against Notts County. The game started with both sides trying to play football on a fairly decent pitch and with the referee determined to get himself noticed. Forest Green were really trying to match us with the passing game and trying to play decent looking football which is a credit to them given their precarious league position. The first real chance of the game came FGR’s way when an uncharacteristically sleepy Berry allowed young Stevens in for a run on goal but his shot was blocked by the legs of Stech. Doidge then had a chance for FGR as he anticipated a high ball better than Mullins who was having a shaky first 25 minutes which also saw him collect a yellow in his struggles. We had our moments and really came well into the game with shots from Hylton and Elliot Lee going narrowly wide and Potts being a continual threat in the air at corners. Overall, I thought we shaded the first half with some decent approach work however, FGR had done their homework on the threat of Dan Potts and really covered well in that far post area. On the downside, all too frequently when we went forward the moves seemed to fizzle out often due simply to poor lay-off's from Danny Hylton; sadly just not at the top of his game. As the first half progressed, we were having lots of good approach play but seldom getting really close to threatening the Forest Green goal. Just as it looked as if we would enter the break on level terms, Sheehan took yet another corner.This time it went short to Hylton who backheeled the ball to Sheehan who then running in from a narrow-angle shot the ball low across the goal smacking it onto the far post for it to ricochet into the back of the net. Joy, a reason to jump, clap hands and get warm. Great stuff; not an impressive first 45 minutes from the Hatters but of course one has to be grateful for the lead. In the second half, Stech made a great save from a header from the FGR striker Doidge although how the cross came in and the quality of the Luton marking for that one is a question for the coaches to ponder next week: where was our centre back? Incidentally, striker Doidge scored his first ever football league goal against us when playing for JS’s D&R (sorry, a useless fact). Then poor Stacey was shown a straight red by the referee for going in fairly high to a loose ball: should it have been a red? Well although I was viewing from the other side of the pitch, maybe a red was a little harsh and a yellow would have sufficed or as Archbishop Ainsworth once said, maybe an orange card but not a red. So I guess that’s a case of Christmas a week early for young star JJ as I assume Stacey will be banned for three games. Our second goal was a complete and utter mess up by the FGR goalkeeper receiving a back pass/throw-in with Hylton bearing down on him; the keeper stupidly taking a swing at the ball totally missing it as he simply kicked the cold air leaving Danny with an easy tap-in goal. With the substitutions, I reckon that NJ made a good decision in putting Cornick on simply to seriously give FGR something to think about by stretching their defence with his pace when we were reduced to 10 men. In fact, our Harry almost added a third late in the game; maybe he should have scored, maybe it was just good goalkeeping? After we had taken that two-goal lead, FGR never really looked likely to come back into the game and offer anything of a threat to Stech’s goal. Yet there is just that something about being a Hatter that despite being a couple of goals ahead sees you glance at your watch when deep into added time and wishing for the final whistle. Yet, well-done hatters in seeing the game out after being reduced to 10 men. Unspectacular maybe but three very very welcome points that keep the promotion roll going. Overall Impression A very decent away performance with lots of good approach work without the carving out of the number of chances we have become accustomed to this season. We were to my mind some way from being at our best but nevertheless, all credit to our players who really dug in when we were reduced to 10 men and I thought kept FGR well under control to see the game out. Overall, everyone put in a good shift as they say in football terminology with really outstanding performances from Shinnie and Sheehan. I could understand Nathan's use of his substitutes probably more in this game than in some others as he used his bench well to react to the changing circumstances in the match. What will I remember from this game? Well, really only one thing in a hard-working if unspectacular performance by a group of very good players at this level and that howler from the FGR goalkeeper that gifted Danny his goal. A Message For Dale Vince Owner Of FGR Mr Vince thank you for the total lack of civilised thought your once respected little club bestowed upon us travelling Hatters who probably added something like £20,000 to the FGR bank balance on the day. You really do need to think how you cater for supporters who survive it up that bloody hill to the summit where the ground is based. In previous visits, I have been welcomed into the Green Man Pub, enjoyed good friendly conversation with home supporters over an ale or two within a great welcoming and friendly atmosphere. Where had that welcome gone Mr Vince. Don’t hide behind “the demands of safety in the league” as places such as Plymouth, Doncaster and Exeter welcome supporters into their unsegregated supporters bars. Then we have the allocation of an uncovered terrace for the away fans whilst behind one of the goals undercover, we see about 50 home supporters within acres of covered terrace. Not good, not considerate and not the way to treat travelling supporters: maybe next season on your return to the National League you will rediscover your true friendly selves as a welcoming football club. A few thoughts on individual performances Stech: he had a very decent game with his safe handling coupled with at least two fine saves that preserved our lead including one great save In the second half. I doubt if Walton from last season could have bettered that performance. Stacey: bags of energy as he sprinted up and down that right-hand side. Sadly the afternoon culminated in an early bath for that high foot that was adjudged a straight red by the referee. Mullins: rather uncertain early on in the game but he certainly put that behind himself and stepped up a gear although he did struggle to keep tabs on Doidge. Sheehan: a real class game being brave and powerful in defence and using that cultured left clog at every opportunity to try and get a move started. Potts: tough and solid plus got everything in the air that came his way. Rea: played in front of the back four as “destroyer Rea” and won most battles that came his way: would I rather have McCormack or Rea? Honestly, not a lot in it as Rea improves all the time: if only he could improve his distribution! Berry: a tremendous work rate and willing to do his side of the ugly stuff whilst at the same time looking for every opportunity to create something. It's difficult to fault the guy. Olly Lee: although Olly got in the game enough he just could not find a way of imposing his undoubted creative talent to our advantage. Not a bad game but not at the recent heights we have seen so far this season. Shinnie: in earlier games, this season our Shinnie looked very much a "home only" player but wow, just stand back and watch him now. He has learnt to battle L2 style and graft that onto the superbly skilful side of his game. For me, our outstanding player on the afternoon and it was simply circumstances of seeing the game out that resulted in his replacement by Collins late in the game. Elliot Lee: displayed all of his tricky close self-control and to my mind was a touch unfortunate to be hooked off with brother Olly following Stacey's red card. Hylton: not at the top of his form for the second game running but his "in your face" persistence got him our second goal when the keeper made an absolute mess of things. The Subs: Cornick: a decent move by Nathan to bring on Harry when we went down to 10 men. His extra pace helped push Forest Green back as they strived to get back into the game. Justin: looked strong and fast when he took over that right back role. Collins: only on for about 10 minutes in total and looked to be having a touch of a sulk as he rapidly trudged off the pitch at the end of the game. |
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December 2017
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