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.
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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. A Big Thank You: A thank you to all who have helped to bring together a site to replace the now closed 262 football site which failed in Mid-November. The Ltfcfool has successfully brought together well over 100 previous 262 posters that have also been joined by a good number of new posters enrolling on the forum. The Bobberman League & Cup Competitions have restarted with almost 90% of the previous players joining.
So, it’s with real appreciation that I thank Face Book folk, Outlaws & the Twitter Hatters for helping converting a potential crisis into a real success. Luton 1 Notts County 1 Due to time constraints at the moment, I am tending this season to restrict whittling on about matches to away games but heck, why not write a few notes about our top of the table clash with Notts County in a Kenilworth Road Stadium with all tickets sold for the clash. As ever, it’s nice to meet up with a large group of fellow Hatters for a pre-match refreshment or two; simply always great but yesterday it had the added edge of pre-planning for that exciting day out in early January when we take on Newcastle at the splendid St James's Park. Strangely my second most visited ground as I spent a lot of time on Tyneside as a youngster and just had to have my football fix. What is really nice is that so many people are planning to make the trip and hopefully enjoy the day out. For a league two club with no hope of winning the FA Cup, it’s all about simply enjoying the occasion and it's such a financially induced shame that the big boys treat the FA Cup with such contempt. Sadly that’s where we are now with football firmly in the grips of the goggle box paying couch potatoes. Nathan named an unchanged side for the game; sounds fair to me I thought as I queued in a very long queue for my FGR & Swindon tickets. I have a lot of time for the guys and girls in the ticket office, a great bunch of helpful people but why do they have such a surname split on the two collection windows? On days like this, I often think if only my name was something like Zyskowski I would have been tucking into my cone of chips five minutes ago. Incidentally, there is good news for all going to FGR by train, I am going by Road so your train journey should both be uneventful and on time. The old Kenny Lady was really rocking with over 10,000 supporters coming along to watch two side neck & neck at the top of the most glorious league in football; what a joy to be there. Once the game was underway it soon became apparent why County are having such a successful season. Anybody who remembers the successful Stevenage side that won promotion from the Conference would have witnessed the overall approach before: a group of physical, tall and well-coached players simply playing a system that if you have the giants available, will succeed at the lower league levels. Indeed for the first twenty minutes, County were playing with a very high tempo that whilst not totally stifling our style did prevent us from really getting at them. However, such a high rate of energy could not last and after that initial twenty-minute spell we really came on quite strongly and started to get at the County defence with Elliot Lee, in particular, pulling the defending giants all over the place. Then just as I said to my good lady “I know it’s a corner but we never score from corners”, Jonny Mullins rose above the Titans to head the ball into the net: wonderful stuff! Great to be in front in a game where clear-cut chances were a real rarity. County countered and simply used every opportunity they could slinging the long ball goalwards time and again yet it’s all credit to the superb Sheehan and his able centre back companion, Mullins, that the great majority were effectively repelled. In the second half we continued to press forward but just could not take the rare chances that came our way with Rea proving why his footballing future lies in the defensive side of the game as he belted the ball over the bar from close range. Also later in the game Mullins almost scored the winner with a good effort from within the box only for the keeper to pull off a great save. The equaliser, well sadly one that has to be owned by Mr Stech as he made a complete mess of coming out for a high ball from a free kick and the ball was embarrassingly touched into the net by the aged 6ft 3in frame of Ameobi. In search of a winner, Nathan to my surprise brought on “something different” Collins in place of the excellent Elliot Lee: in reality, the ineffective Hylton can’t be substituted as I understand it’s a clause incorporated in his contract. In the end, a hard fought well contested 1-1 draw that sees both sides maintain their place at the head of the L2 table. Overall Impression: A fair point against a side well constructed to physically blast their way out of league two. Whilst I acknowledge the County approach, which is incidentally more than many County fans were doing a month or two ago when they were having a go at their manager Nolan for his style, It’s not one I would enjoy watching: just not for me. When we come up against such physically strong sides, our game sometimes, but not always, can struggle to reach its peak. To some extent that’s what we saw yesterday and whilst I felt we played well we did not manage to hit peak performance; we just simply can’t turn on the 5 goal plus magic every game. I am personally satisfied with the point and although it’s early December I feel convinced that our talented side will be promoted at the end of the season: a good day out with hopefully many more good games to come. A few Thoughts on Individual Performances Stech: had a decent game apart from that dreadful lapse when he came out for the free kick lofted ball that gave County the equaliser. Stacey: usual athletic powerhouse but maybe not as effective down the right hand of the attack as he can be, yet made some good clearances in his defending duties. Potts: sound as ever and takes up that far post position so well when attacking at dead ball kicks. Mullins: in the past, I have been a touch critical of Mullins but yesterday I thought he was really very solid indeed; one of his best games in a Luton shirt in my opinion. Sheehan: an outstanding afternoon and much to my surprise won so many of the aerial challenges against much taller more physical men. Rea: usual gritty tackling and move breaking approach yet, unfortunately, his move breaking skills also infuse into his attempts to pass a ball to colleagues. Berry: just look at how hard this guy works and such an improvement from the headless chicken we sold to Barnsley. He will pop up everywhere on the pitch and rarely wastes the ball. Shinnie: delighted to say that this unquestionably very talented footballer has learnt the art of survival in the uglier side of L2: a real talent who yesterday looked just so comfortable on the ball. Olly Lee: he did ok but maybe not the sort of game where Olly’s talents will really flourish. Elliot Lee: I thought Elliot was a complete thorn in County’s side all afternoon and I really reckon we have a hungry young mane here with something to prove after failures/rejection earlier in his career. He had a super game and I was a touch surprised when Nathan hooked him off. Hylton: did ok but nowhere near his usual self and general well kept out of it by the County defenders. The Subs: Collins: lots of energy after his time on the sidelines recovering from that Cheltenham injury but far less effective than Elliot had been. Gambin: a cameo appearance and tried in the few minutes he had. |
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December 2017
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