As we were playing another local Tuesday evening away game, I took the opportunity to have a few days up north in Robin Hoods Bay and Whitby before heading to the always friendly Hartlepool. As a gesture to bring us a touch of luck I lobbed a quid into the bowl held by that persecuted monkey that sits on the sea gates at Hartlepool Marina. Maybe I was being a bit tight fisted and should have made in a couple of quid but there you go! Pre-match was the same venue as it has been for our three L2 visits to Hartlepool, the superb and oh so very different Rat Race Ale House; just love it. If you have not been there before and like your real ale, then this is a must for you to visit if you are in the area. I should say that pre-match a few of us were speculating about the makeup of our back four for the game; if Sheehan was not fit due to his head injury then who would play alongside Mullins: would it be Musonda or Famewo? What a surprise when the team sheet came out with no Mullins and a centre-back pairing of Famewo and Mullins. I must admit I was not unduly worried as I have seen Famewo play a few times in youth and friendly games and he is a real talent. Other changes were the inclusion of Gray and Gilliead. Catching up on Nathans post match interview it seems that Mullins has a hamstring issue. Jones also commented that the starting eleven, average age 21, was the youngest ever fielded in Luton’s long league history: brave or what! Hartlepool started well and were playing the ball effectively on the deck but without really troubling our defence in which debut boy Famewo looked totally at home; what a fine prospect he is. His young buddy, Justin, who is vastly more experienced than Famewo having two first-team starts behind him, Villa and Donny, again looked so comfortable at right back. I would say that in the first half, especially as the half progressed, we really took control of the game and were very nicely tapping the ball around but unfortunately despite all that possession, not really creating much for Marriott to latch onto. Also, I have to admit I was getting a touch frustrated with Olly Lee whose normally strong part of his game, passing the ball, seemed to fall apart for a period in the first half. Indeed it was Lee who gave the ball away a touch needlessly lost possession on our left for the move that led to Pools gaol a few seconds before the break. In the second half, we did have one near miss which ended with a Pools shot hitting the post but really that was about it in terms of close call on the Town goal especially after Featherstone got a red for an ill-timed high tackle on Lee. The tackle did two things, firstly giving us a man advantage and then secondly waking up sleepy Olly who played much better from that point onwards. The remainder of the game was really all Luton with masses of possession against a retreating Hartlepool whose tactic was to hold on to the lead and try to hit us on the break; can’t blame them for that. We now started to really create some openings but frustratingly the clock ticked on and on yet despite chances, no goal. Then a foul just outside the area as Gilliead was felled, I do like that guy, up steps captain Sheehan to send a super left-footed free kick into the net. Brilliant stuff; would we be able to crack on for the winner or would we be caught on the break Stevenage style? Well despite a few really close calls on the Hartlepool goal we just could not force that winner; on the night I was happy enough to take the point from the home of our gracious hosts. Overall I feel we played very well in a team that is young and still forming both as a unit and as individuals. I doubt that anybody could claim that they were not entertained last night and it was more of a match to remember than one to forget. Nice Note: As we neared the end of the game the PA announcer gave the attendance followed by informing the listeners that 311 Luton fans had made the long trip up to follow their side. The entire three sides of the ground occupied by Hartlepool supporters gave very generous applause; such a classy touch that shows the nicer side of being a supporter. The Pools supporters have Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle all very close by yet stay true and loyal to their town club: marvellous, true supporters in my view and a town that I love to visit for a game of football. A few thoughts on individual performances: Walton: I am getting to like this commanding keeper the more I see him. Originally described as a young Joe Hart but I reckon I would rather have Christian than Joe as our keeper; I never really rated Hart that highly; let's tell Brighton that Walton is struggling and keep him! Justin: Quality defending and simply looks like he has been playing in the team a lot longer that he actually has. Always looking to make himself available in order to start a move and go forward. If I am being picky, he did over-hit his crosses a touch; can’t really see SOD getting back whilst Justin remains fit. Potts: keeps improving as a defensive full back; no issues there. I still doubts that good player as he is, he is yet to develop into a true wing back: reverse gear is still in use I am afraid. Harsh on the good young defender; sorry! Famewo: an incredibly assured and confident league debut from this 17-year-old. He attacks the ball well and just like his youth team colleague Justin, always makes himself available to take part in play. A lad with a really big future and hopefully at our club Sheehan: played like a leader and to me there seems to be more to Sheehan than just a defender. Created lots down the left in the second half and scored with a cracking free kick. Others have mentioned this ahead of me but considering Sheehan’s tackling ability and his ability to make a pass, would he be a better bet then Olly Lee in front of the back four? Lee: I felt Lee simply gave the ball away too cheaply in the first half and much of that was self-inflected as he made so many over hit passes in the first half. He also gave the ball away in the play that led to Hartlepool’s goal. Thankfully, Lee did improve in the second half. McGeehan: I thought he had a decent game and was involved in lots of what was going on; still feel he could move up a gear or two. Gray: played well and got all over the midfield supporting colleagues; I like having this guy in the team. Gilliead: lovely ball control and for much of the game looked to be our most creative player; I was a touch surprised when he was subbed but he may have been tiring. Pelly: played most of the game in a much more forward role than usual and with his pace and power he did well. With a touch more luck, he could have given us the lead in the first half with a shot on goal and also had a shot deflected onto the post in the second half. Marriott: Not much service to Jack in the first half despite our territorial domination. He got much more of the ball in the second half and another night our Jack could have had a couple of goals. Subs: Vassell: lots of energy and I reckon that after a goal or two to give him confidence that he can make the grade, he will do well. Cook: lots of space for him to operate in and almost scored the winner with a great shot and decent save by the keeper. Teams: Luton: Walton, Justin, Potts, Famewo, Sheehan , Lee, Gray (Vassell 65), McGeehan, Gilliead (Cook 80), Pelly, Marriott. Subs not used: O’Donnell, King, Smith, King, Musonda Hartlepool: Carson, Richards, Nsiala, Donnelly, Carroll, Featherstone, Laurent, Hawkins, Alessandra (Deverdics 73), Amond (Heardman 84), Thomas (Fewster 87). Cards: Yellows for Gilliead and Famewo: no card for Hylton as he behaved himself sitting in the stand. Red: Pools Featherstone for flattening Lee with a high kick. To be fair, a competitive but never dirty game. Courtesy of youtube share and LTFC, the Nathan Jones post match interview and goals from the match.
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Oh, what a lovely September day for a game of football with the temperate hovering at about 20C, a lovely couple of pints of Otter bitter in the company of friends including a splendid pair of longstanding buddies from Doncaster. This is what post summer Saturdays are surely made for! Well after the enjoyment of lunchtime it was off for a walk up Hazelbury Crescent to our beloved Kenny and once again bump into more friends to enjoy a chat and bit of banter with. Our Nathan decided to make a total of five changes from the line-up that started at Crawley: The young only 17-year-old Justin replaced O’Donnell at right back: that pleased a lot of people (EDIT: reliably informed by the Outsider from Outlaws that Justin has now turned 18). The more aerially commanding Cuthbert replaced Sheehan: sensible as we need to win more in the air. Pelly who can only use his power and skill if he is on the pitch replaced the more conservative Smith. And up front Jones reverted to our best striking partnership of “phantom of the opera” Hylton and aliceband Marriott. Does Marriott’s hair really warrant an aliceband? Never mind, when I see Cuthbert wearing one then that will confirm to me that the world has truly gone mad. Doncaster fielded an old friend of Luton Town previous Wembley exploits, “offside Matty Blair”. Oh what mixed emotions within an afternoon you can experience following the Hatters: the game kicked off at some pace with both side playing incredibly open football and with our visitors from Doncaster definitely looking the sharper side so much so that we could have been two goals behind within the first five minutes; one headed chance at the far post should have really been put away and a cruel ricochet from a Cuthbert clearance was headed onto the bar by the dangerous Williams; Williams is a good player, I like him. Although we were under a fair amount of pressure for a side playing at home, young Justin making his full league debut was really catching the eye with his all round play and absolute willingness to get involved in everything; surely a real star in the making. Donny’s pressure finally paid off on 21 minutes with Coppinger scoring with a splendid strike from a tight angle; we could have defended that better but you have to appreciate such a good strike. However, the unfortunate Cuthbert picked up what looked like a nasty injury from that gaol move. He laid on the ground for an age having the attention of a platoon of medical staff before being carried off to the resounding applause including that of the sporting Donny fans in front of him. With Cuthbert off, the aerial strength of Doncaster, the pressure we were under and Sheehan on in Cuthbert’s place, I certainly had the feeling that the game would not end well for us. However, that long stoppage was a bit of a watershed in terms of who was running the game. Lee who had, in all honesty, a fairly torrid early start to the game decided that he was really going to show his critics what he could do. He produced some timely tackles and then a peach of a cross that the brave McGeehan buried into the Donny net for 1-1. Yes, we were finally waking up and better was to follow with the second Luton goal. This came about from a truly lovely flick-on pass from Hylton to Marriott that put him through to run at the goalkeeper and then beautifully slide the ball between the keeper's legs and into the net. This was a really lovely move; great finish by Marriott and great thinking from the hard working Hylton. However, just as we lost a player, Cuthbert, in the first goal, we lost another player in this goal with Cook limping off with what I assumed was a hamstring injury to be replaced by Jake Gray. So we reached half time leading by 2-1 when we could so easily have been behind following that speedy dominant start by Donny. Thankfully we continued our domination in the second half; would we be able to keep going for a win especially considering the two forced substitutions had robbed Nathan of his option to deploy his game changers? Add to that the clash of heads injury suffered by Sheehan that surely must be good business for providers of LTFC shirts as Sheehan certainly changed his blood splattered shirt quite a few times. Strangely some real nasty njuries in what I would never classify as a dirty game. Our on the field “game changer” Pelly then produced some powerful magic charging past a Donny defender who upended him just inside the area; penalty. After a mini-debate between Hylton and McGeehan in which I suspect that Cam politely told Danny boy “I am taking it mate”, McGeehan hit a rocket of a penalty down the centre, no placing with that one; I think the old expression is “put his laces through the ball”. Excellent stuff and 3-1 to the town! Then another silly moment from Hylton saw him collect his second yellow of the afternoon on 90 minutes for chucking a piece of advertising board edge to the ground to show his displeasure at not getting a foul awarded in his favour. I would like our Danny to calm it a touch but maybe that’s all part of the fully committed handful of a player we have. Incidentally, I have no time for any idiots who claim he is a liability especially those experts who never even get along to a game but sit glued to 3CR; enough said! Obviously, the officials were really enjoying their afternoon out as they clearly did not want the game to end and added a further 8 minutes of value for the paying punter. Thankfully we stayed strong and even after being under the cosh for the first third of the game we overcame that and ran out deserved winners. At the end of the game, there was the usual passion from our diminutive Welsh Wizard as he self-administered CPR and found time to give young Justin a well-earned cuddle. Overall a splendid victory against a very good Donny side that contained few players I would rather like to see on our books at the Kenny. Yesterday I really suspect we beat the team that may finish the top of L2. Anyway, off early on Monday morning for an overnight stop in beautiful Whitby before moving on to Hartlepool on Tuesday for the game: note view from the patch will not be available until Wednesday evening at the earliest due to travel: I love these local Tuesday evening games! A few thoughts on individual performances: Walton: caught the ball well; generally a solid game Justin: Cool and calm from the off. For a lad of his age, he had a splendid game; I don’t want to set him up to be knocked down so will just say quality. Potts: had a lot to put up with in that first 30 minutes but came out of it well and like the rest of the team improved as the game went on. Mullins: good on the ground, good in the air when not under the direct challenge of the big Donny forwards; not sure that’s a criticism as some of those Donny lads are big un’s Cuthbert: did well enough in his short spell on the pitch and hopefully will be available for selection soon once recovered from his injury. Lee: uncertain early part of the game but then decided to show us fans, especially me, that we were wrong. From the 30th to the 111th minute he was very good. Cook: there is a good player in there that we see come through well at times. I felt that yesterday he like others in that first 30 minutes just could not impose himself on the game and went off injured at the time of our equaliser. Pelly: it was Pelly who in my view was our game changer taking the game to Donny after that torrid half hour start. Pace, power running, tackling; yes; Pelly had a very very good game. McGeehan: again once we got started, be was fully committed as you can see from his equaliser and a fine run early in the second half that almost brought another goal. Also that perfect penalty in a “no messing about” way. Marriott: very good game not just in the way that he scored but also in the non-stop way that he played: undoubtedly one of my favourite players to have in the side. Hylton: well we always know what we are going to get from Danny boy and he worked his socks off yesterday although his Zoro sword impersonation late in the game did let him down. The Subs or game changers: Sheehan: total bravery and commitment; had a great second half. Gray: a very impressive game that had a bit of everything; I certainly feel that his work gave us the edge in midfield. Gilliead: really only had the extra time to have a run out and looked good; I am sure we will see more of him. Teams: Luton: Walton, Justin, Potts, Cuthbert (Sheehan 28), Mullins, Lee, Cook (Gray 38), Pelly, McGeehan (Gilliead 90), Hylton, Alice-Marriott. Subs not used: King, Vassell, Smith, O’Donnell. Donny: Marosi, Butler, Marquis, Rowe (Middleton 77), Williams, Wright, Houghton, Blair, Richardson (Baudry 64), Coppinger (C), Evina (Calder 65). Subs not used: Etheridge, Garrett, Mandeville, Beestin. Bookings: Hylton x 2 = red, Evina, Wright, Potts: note a tough fought but never a dirty game. Courtesy of youtube share and LTFC, the Nathan Jones post match interview and goals from the match. No match report from me for the Crawley game as I was having a week’s break in Kyrenia. I tend to average over 40 games a season following the Hatters, 43 games in 2014/15 & again 43 games in 2015/16. Why never a full set of 46 games? Well it’s never been a target of mine to do them all as I know I never will simply due to my insistence in having a few days away in September or October in Cyprus where I can completely unwind: I should also say that occasionally trains which make up about 40% of my away travel, occasionally let me down completely. Last season when the fixtures came out, I was delighted to see Crawley away in mid-October; no brainer, holiday booked. This season imagine my delight when we are due to play at the awful Crawley away in Mid-September; again an easy decision; holiday booked. That fairly decent number of games can also easily be dragged down into the mid-30’s if I decided to take a chunk out of the winter and head off to Southeast Asia or Australia: I actually listened to our FA Cup victory in the early hour of the morning in Adelaide. Why this preamble? Well simply that I find the various internet offerings, supporters sites & blogs just so very useful for keeping in touch if I am not around and can fully understand just how vital these various services are for those unable to get to games for whatever reason and especially those devoted Hatters living or working overseas. With that in mind, should I not be at a game due to travel or whatever, I will try to enlist a guest reporter to keep the site up-to-date. Our first guest report was produced by a friend of mine who I often travel to football games with; a very sensible and balanced supporter unlikely to overact to either the good or bad performances: Guest Report: The day started well, I got there early and made it to the Brewery Shades for lunch then next door to the White Hart meeting up with some fellow Hatters friends. Then disaster - we sampled all the beers on offer and decided that none were to the required standard. Even the red wine was not brilliant so back to the Brewery Shades where we were well satisfied before making our way to the stadium. The stadium is what it is, non-league but spruced up for L2. Plus points at Crawley: free parking near to the ground, probably the best toilet facilities in L2, friendly and helpful stewards. Minus points: Slow service at refreshment units, and traffic congestion exiting the area. The Crawley support has never been brilliant and they must be really struggling on their attendances - 2904 yesterday with 1052 from Luton. Looking at their home attendance figures shows that they have a home contingent of about 1800 regulars; hardly football league stuff. Hatters fans have been through many highs and lows, I would like to think that the low currently being experienced is only temporary; after all, it is only Mid September. If NJ can inspire his players to the highs of Plymouth, Cambridge and Aston Villa we will soon be back on track for a successful season. The Grimsby game was poor and the game at Crawley even worse. Individually we were better than Crawley but were well beaten, if that makes sense!! No joined up teamwork, no midfield general, poor passing, strange team selections and a lacklustre performance in the first half. We were a little better in the second half when we did force the Crawley keeper to make a few saves. A few thoughts on individual performances: Walton - excellent performance and certainly did his best to keep us in the game. O'Donnell - quite a few mistakes, one led to the second goal, lacked pace going forward and back. Mullins - good decision making but poor in the air Sheehan - fairly consistent but did not show any desire to motivate colleagues - perhaps the time has come to move him to left back with Cuthbert returning. Potts - an ok game but adds nothing to our forward play. Smith - somewhat off the pace now. Lee - poor game both in offence and defence. Cook - invisible - until in the second half he tried to beat the keeper with a chip when the latter was still on his line, not quite the highlight of the second half but close. McGeehan - I'm not a great supporter of Cam but must admit he had a decent game and was easily the pick of the outfield players. Vassell - looks promising when he gets in the game but probably needs more time. McQuoid - nothing complimentary to report and hope that this was his last appearance for us. Hylton and Marriott were second half game changers replacing Vassell and McQuiod and they did improve matters with their energy but were isolated without any support from midfield. NJ has indicated that it was a mistake to leave out one or both of the main strikers from the starting line-up. Full marks to NJ for his honesty but he has also said in the past that it is a squad game and anyone can come in and do a job. Well, something definitely learned this game then! Smith was sacrificed for Gilliead and for a short while we had the upper hand until a break-away goal finished the match. Gilliead on loan from Newcastle appears to have lots of skill but lacks pace but if we ever go from a diamond to 4.3.3 formation he is certainly worth a pick. Game changer Pele surprisingly not used. Cuthbert - sub again this time although not a game changer must surely be selected for defensive duties next time. The referee and his assistants did ok - even chalking off our "goal" for a foul was, in my opinion, correct. My thanks to out guest reporter for producing the notes from Saturday. Courtesy of youtube share and LTFC, the Nathan Jones post match interview and goals from the match. In many way, it was good to welcome Grimsby Town to the Kenny again. They are sort of soul mates in a way having spent a good few years attempting to escape (2010 to 2016) the Conference/national League dungeon. Grimsby patiently waited a year to follow us into the conference and again politely waited another couple of years before joining us in L2; anyway, good to see them back. Another bit of trivia, Grimsby had some of notable ex-managers: Bill Shankly, Alan Buckley (brother of our great Alan Buckley) and Mike Newell once LTFC striker and manager. Another link is that Kingsley Black the tormentor of Nigel Winterburn in the 1988 Littlewoods Cup win. Pre-match was an interesting one today with trophy presentation in the Lansdown for the various league winners. Just how much of the success is based on the “brown envelope syndrome” we will never know. A couple of shots of the winners present: Firstly some trophy presentations to league winers Of course sometimes the competitive nature of these events almost spills over into violence; but size is not everything Mick and safe to say that this year’s winner of the “mine is bigger than yours” Bobbermans Cup, Tony, ducked the blow from last year’s small cup holder. Onto the match: Before the game, there was a minute applause for the late Dave Pacey, our 1959 FA Cup final goal scorer, who sadly passed away recently; nice to see all supporters from both sides taking part just as it should be. The game today I am afraid was such an incredible and frustrating contrast from the beautiful flowing passing game we played last Saturday against Wycombe. Right from the start we were finding it difficult to maintain possession and just simply gave the ball away all too easily not just in midfield but also from our defenders: even Mr dependable Sheehan from last season was all too often hitting the ball short to colleagues: not the best of afternoons all round. Olly Lee is a touch of an enigma: when we are in command and the wind is in our sails as it were, his passing and vision are a real asset but faced with a side that want to do a bit more than “lay down and die” he really does struggle and is a bit of a toothless sheep in the holding midfield role when the opposition unsportingly fight back. He had a pretty ineffective first half putting it mildly and it was no surprise that Nathan hooked Lee of at half time. Really looking at that first half I struggle to think of any real chance created: ok, there were a few thrusts from the right of our attack and Hylton gave his usual totally committed showing but collectively we produced nothing like a true threat on the Grimsby goal. To be fair to Grimsby they were just hungrier for the ball in that first half and frustratingly for all of us Hatters supporters, simply first to the loose ball time and again: oh, that is just so annoying and frustrating to see. This Grimsby urgency was seen in the opening goal where we just did not get anything like a decent challenge in as the ball ran loose in our area and eventually Bogle slotted the ball into the net. Nathan changed things at half time taking the ineffective Lee of for Rea and replacing the injured Hylton with Vassell. At least we started to look like we had some degree of urgency about us but as in the first half, dreadfully misplaced passes let us down; sort of the story of our day to forget. After some pressure, the ball ran loose to outside the area for Rea to set himself up with a very decent strike that found the corner of the net. Great an equaliser, what can we build from here? Well, sadly the “off day” continued. There were the odd glimpses of class but nothing in a joined up sense that enable us to exert some sustained threat on Grimsby. We continued to try to build and used some fairly ineffective wing play; it was just not happening! Potts was contributing very little on the left; he just looked nowhere near a wing back and in the formation that Nathan likes, effective wing backs are just so essential. Looking at the right side of our play and the contribution of O’Donnell, although I have stood up for him so much in the past, his will to improve etc, he, like a few others, had a really poor game. All too frequently SOD gave the ball away and when he did manage to get wide right, his crosses were sadly over-hit. Sorry SOD, although I still reckon you may possibly make it, that over hit cross business just drives me mad. Maybe I am being over critical in terms of Potts and O’Donnell’s contributions; you have to remember we are in L2 and if they were more effective in this wing play role then maybe they would not be with us; but there we are, us fans always have great expectations. The Grimsby winner will surely embarrass our centre backs and would be helpers. We had three men around Bogle when the cross came in yet not anywhere near an effective challenge was made on him: game over. Sadly that goal was like turning the clock back a few years to the defending of Dean Beckwith and Simon Ainge! I also spared a thought for the match sponsors; just how could they sift through those individual performances and nominate a MOM. Incidentally, I hate the concept of MOM; just the way I look at things but I suppose it’s a commercial necessity. Hopefully, this was just a collective bad day that the players and Nathan can learn form and in truth, it’s hard to imagine a sharper contrast than the performances against Wycombe and Grimsby. We will get over it, these things happen. Also, in reality, we probably have to accept that overall we are a young side and we are just going to get off days every now and again. It’s just early September and yes, it’s a set-back but a few more points to play for yet, so onto the next game. Anyway, frustrating as it was, a few thoughts on individual performances: Walton: reasonable enough game and I would not criticise him for either goal plus he made a couple of decent saves. O’Donnell: you can’t fault his endeavour but we needed more than that. His covering was not very good and when he did get forward his crosses usually over-hit. More SODding time on the training ground needed I feel: so come on SOD as James Justin will surely be looking over your shoulder before too long. Mullins: some parts of his play looked composed but maybe this game was just a “not so good day”, although to be fair he was in a wide-ranging collective company in that category. Sheehan: was he back a game too early? Did we miss Cuthbert who after all has had some cracking good games so far this season? Sheehan had some reasonable touches, some poor passes. He may need some time to get up to speed and to me, he looked a touch rusty compared to the class act we know he is. Potts: a bit like that WW2 joke about the gears on an Italian tank mainly being of the reverse nature. He has a lot to learn about wing back play and I would say turned in his poorest performance in an LTFC shirt. Young guy and hopefully he can work on that wing play. Lee: when we are on a roll with momentum on our side he is the man but when we are not on that roll and momentum is not with us, he is simply not an effective holding midfield player: under pressure, he is a bit like your granny with a handbag! I accept some grannies may be lethal with a flying handbag but not our Mr Lee. Maybe we simply select our games for him in future and just wheel him out for cannon fodder days. McGeehan: for me, he just did not get into the game anywhere enough to impose himself. Pelly: was he playing in flip-flops? The occasional good bit of work but those flip-flops ruined his passing game; not at his best by a long way. Cook: probably had more directional energy than the other Luton players but even then, the bad day syndrome kicked in every so often but I still reckon we have a really decent player in there. Marriott: tried really hard to get things going but not a lot of luck for him in the game. Another youngster will have better days. Hylton: usual totally committed performance but in the later stages of the first half. He picked up an injury in a collision with a Grimsby defender that effectively ended his day. Vassell: I thought he did well and with a touch more self-belief could have grabbed a goal. Rea: toughened us up a fair extent when he came on after half-time and took his goal well yet still managed to make a few of silly mistakes in the second half with a couple of misplaced passes that needlessly put us under pressure. Having said that, a class player who for my mind should be one of the first names on the team sheet. Gilliead: only had a few minutes but once he settled he looked interesting: possibly the wide player we need in home games to unlock the oppositions defence. Teams and cards: Luton Line Up: Walton, O’Donnell, Potts, Sheehan (C), Lee (replaced by Rea at HT), Cook, Pelly (replaced by Gilliead very late in the game), McGeehan, Hylton (replaced by Vassell at HT), Marriott. Subs not used: King, Gray, Smith, Cuthbert: would he have prevented that winner with his presence in the air? Grimsby Line Up: McKeown, Davies (C), Andrew, Pearson, Gowling, Chambers, Bogle, Vose, Summerfield, Comley, Tuton Bookings: Luton: Sheehan, Potts, Cook, Grimsby: four bookings but I would not say anything dreadful in that to be fair. Next week I am off for my usual break in Kyrenia and hopefully, I will have a brief guest report from a friend attending the Crawley game. Nathan's post match interview and the goals from the game attached both courtesy of Youtube sharing; After our 3-0 win at Cambridge and the 11 changes for the EFL Trophy win at Gillingham, Nathan Jones decided to revert to the more expected team selection. With Rea away on international duty, Cuthbert came into the starting 11. No issues with that team selection for me and to be honest, the line-up that I was expecting to see. In comparison Wycombe who have not had the best of starts to the season, were suffering some well-documented injury problems that Ainsworth so shyly tells the football world about. In addition, their most valuable player, Pierre, was sitting on the bench; good player presumably carrying an injury. Luton started off at pace pushing Wycombe back with a lovely passing game and using a fair bit of width to stretch the Wycombe defence. The general muttering with the supporters including me was that this game could be a tough one playing against a bus parking side that collected 6 yellow cards last week at home to Colchester; oh, what an early goal would do! Well, thankfully we got that early goal following a touch of magical “nutmegging” play by Pelly on the right wing. Honestly, players at this level can only dream about that type of skill that an on form Pelly has. This move was similar to one magical moment last week at Cambridge but this time, he was standing when the magic was produced. After beating his man all ends up he raced into the area and fired the ball across for Danny Hylton to touch in at the near post. What a lovely goal that was and an absolute credit to L2. The dominance in the first half continued and Cook should maybe have done better when sent clear but confronted by the 6’6” giant frame of the Wycombe keeper Blackman, failed to get the ball around him. All credit to the keeper who came out well to make things difficult for Cook. In fact the on loan from Chelsea keeper (allegedly on £13k a week at Chelsea), Jamal Blackman was having a thoroughly good game as shown when he saved a penalty from the usually cool McGeehan following a foul on Cook as he ploughed into the left-hand side of the Wycombe area; bit of a close call that foul both in terms of the Wycombe player and where the tackle took place! In this first half, we saw attack after attack as we simply “passed ‘em to bits”; it was great first half performance and yet at half time difficult to accept that we were only one goal in front despite some superbly entertaining and enterprising play; super stuff for those supporters watching. We started the second half again in style, oh how, I was enjoying this! On 56 minutes we deservedly got our second goal; not so much class but more one of quality, persistence when Hylton followed up on the loose ball from a saved shot and collected his second goal. However, as much as we supporters would want, no side can really keep that tempo and dominance for a full 90 minutes. After about the 60-minute mark Wycombe did come back into the game pushing forward and in truth looking reasonably interested. That push by Wycombe brought a goal in the 63rd minute when a dodgy bit of defending by the hatters let an alert Bloomfield in to race on and score. Oh dear after all that really good play surely we were not going to be pulled back Oxford style as in last season. To Wycombe’s credit they continued to push and push and just at add a little more push, well a lot more push actually, they introduced that likeable rogue mountain Akinfenwa with 20 minutes to go. Good old Akinfenwa introduced himself to a couple of our players by gently bouncing them onto the ground and then playfully lifting them up from the deck. Thankfully we stood firm with Cuthbert being absolutely immense in our defence; he had a great game. We, of course, kept pushing forward and were rewarded with a second penalty for a foul on Hylton. Hylton having scored two already was in no mood to give the ball to McGeehan despite a polite request from our Cameron. The spot kick was put away nicely for our Danny to record a hat trick and the first hat trick since Mark Cullen’s perfect hat trick quite some time ago. Wycombe tried to push forward to drag another goal back but into injury time a lovely break saw Hylton beautifully send Cook away to this time coolly slot the ball home past the excellent Jamal Blackman. It almost did not end there as we nearly got a fifth when McGeehan’s effort was well saved by the Wycombe keeper. All in all an excellent game for the Hatters and truly one of the best home performances seem at the Kenny for a long time. So that’s now three games with three goal margins of victory and goal difference of nine after only six games; happy days! Just a touch of amusement and not quite in the cricketing mould of Lilly caught Willey, bowled Dilley but I wonder what the conversation was between our own Akin Famewo and Akinfenwa; would have made a lovely bit of commentary! A few thoughts on individual performances: Really before making any comment on individuals, it has to be said that this was truly a complete team performance with every Luton player turning in a quality performance and resulting in a passing show that we love to see at Luton. It was so much of a great team show, that I was tempted not to draft this section as I thought “how can you criticise such a quality collective showing”, however, for better or worse here we go: Walton: his usual solid self-assured showing which is great to see in a 21-year-old keeper. He was catching the ball well, collecting the ball well, looking to roll the ball out from the back and when necessary able to hoist the ball well downfield. O’Donnell: he certainly has his critics but as mentioned in other match notes, he is really working well to improve and to my mind he is certainly doing just that. I thought that he had a really decent high energy game and was always available and willing to attack down that right hand side. Cuthbert: another player who seriously divides opinions but for me when he has a confident “line leaving” goal-keeper behind him, he is a solid and commanding centre back. His performance, winning headers, was up there with the quality he showed at Plymouth and Cambridge away games this season. Mullins: again showed us what he is; a very capable and experienced centre back: I like the guy. Potts: has proved that he is a decent defender and is now working to improve the wing play side of his game and to my mind you can see the improvement but still hopefully more to come as his comfort and confidence with the attacking side of the game. Lee: he had a really great first half on the strong side of his game, creating space and wonderful vision for a pass. When things are going our way he is at his best and a touch Glen Hoddleish with his vision. Pelly: the usual mixture of brilliance and strength with a sprinkling of the miss-placed pass but the ratio favouring the good stuff increases all the time. Pelly is possibly the player who has benefited most from NJ’s influence. McGeehan: not the power game we have seen in recent games but nevertheless a decent game and playing a touch deeper. His penalty miss was a touch tame and he had a good shout for another penalty turned down by the referee but then gained a yellow for gently explaining to the referee what really happened! Cook: I have mentioned before that this guy is gradually growing on me; he is a really skilful player who adds something that extra that complements our play. Maybe he should have put that chance away in the first half but the giant 6’6” frame of Jamal Blackman came out well to save. He took his injury time goal very well. Marriott: he must be wondering why his name is not on the score sheet when the Town have hit four goals but possibly on another day his luck will be in. A good team game from Marriott yesterday. Hylton: well what can you say? Another great game leading the line, constantly looking for the ball, constantly drifting to find space, lots of power, persistence, assertive and oh yes, he scored three goals. For this level and probably the next, we have a top notch centre forward with a good few playing years in front of him. Smith (Sub): usual loads of graft you know you are going to get from Smith. A very speedy yellow card after about a minute on the pitch “hello fella, I am on the pitch”. Vassell (Sub): a fair turn of pace and power in his brief spell on the pitch; maybe he will get a chance when Hylton card collecting activities forces him to take a break and go fishing. Famewo (Sub): nice to see the youngster on the field for a couple of minutes mainly to let Hylton take a well deserved ovation. It was also good for Famewo to continue to get a feel for the atmosphere. The Nathan Jones post match interview and the goals from the game are on youtube and linked below: |
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December 2017
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