Fog, fog, fog oh what a load of fog to drive through both in the early hours and later hours of an almost perfect day out; at times slowing to a crawl in the murky regions of Bedfordshire North Cambridgeshire. I should not moan, the train ride from MK was both comfy and warm; even after that combination of road and rail, I was back home in foggy Fenland by 10:15pm, impressive.
Anyway, pre-match and a couple of beautiful pints of well kept real ales from one of Blackpool’s gems, the Pump & Truncheon: was it six or was it eight hand pumps plus Lord knows how many ciders available. So, after a beer or two, a bag of seaside chips probably lovingly prepared and pre-packed in Lithuania, I had made the mistake of glancing into the chippies store room; it’s off to the game! Nathan made a few changes to last Saturday’s side; two forced with Alan Sheehan and Dan Potts both missing out through injury and Nathan getting over his “Buckleitis” reverted back to two strikers rather than three; Vassell was on the bench. The replacements for these three were Lee, Justin and Gilliead. Essentially NJ was sticking to that decent looking formation used last week against Carlisle with three centre-backs flanked by wing-backs O’Donnell & Justin with Lee in the holding role. What a lovely stadium Blackpool have. It’s been thoughtfully redeveloped on three sides with a temporary stand down one side that will be replaced if and when better times return to this once proud seaside club. It was sad to see the masses of vacant space within the ground as so many Blackpool supporters stayed away in protest towards the actions of their chairman; thankfully we have the excellent 2020 and dedicated backers of our own wonderful club. The matched started with both sides looked fairly lively in the early stages and apart from one mid-penalty area header from the giant Jamille Matt, all efforts from Blackpool were restricted to attempts from range that were well dealt with by the very confident Christian Walton including two really good saves from crisp well struck shots one of which was athletically turned over the bar by Walton: we really need to tell Brighton that he is not up to Championship standard, he would enjoy his football farmers with us, he best stay. Our team were easily keeping Blackpool at some distance from any threatening position, they were just rarely getting near the penalty area; whilst we were threatening ourselves and to my mind looking to be well in control. The first goal came from a rapid break out lead by our masked “Lone Ranger” Hylton accompanied by “hi-ho-silver” McGeehan flanked by “Tonto” Marriott. Marriott received the ball on the left from “kemosabe” Hylton, effortlessly cut inside his marker and then superbly placed the ball into the corner of the net; what a cracking goal. My apologies to any younger readers who have not had the delights of sitting through episodes of the Lone Ranger when they were youngsters but this was exciting stuff. After that opening goal, we came close on a couple of more occasions before half-time with efforts from McGeehan, Marriott and Lee in a good first half where we looked really splendid value for our lead. What a lovely confident first half with the entire eleven playing as a team, just what we needed: brilliant stuff. The second half had barely started when we doubled our lead: the goal came about as Gilliead held the ball well on the edge of the penalty area before slipping it onto the left for Justin to beautifully clip a ball over to the powerful onrushing McGeehan who stretched to firmly plant the ball into the back of the net. A very nice goal built from skill, confidence and power; one that certainly should be enjoyed at a higher level that L2. Even after that second goal we continued to press forward attacking down both flanks and coming close to a third goal on several occasions; we were honestly electric during that first fifteen minutes of the second half; simply streets ahead of Blackpool. It was a really well organised thoroughly professional performance with every player in a Luton shift giving a quality display. Overall impression: The players looked comfortable in a formation with what was a rather fluid three central defenders flanked by the ever willing to get forward pair of O’Donnell and the versatile Justin. I guess I will never be a fan of ferocious Olly Lee but I have to say he looked a more effective player with the benefit of the accomplished Glen Rea playing behind him. The setup was so enjoyable to watch from a Luton perspective as our players really supported each other and we saw the presence of a working midfield that uncharacteristically were first to the loose ball so often. Given a choice, I would have this formation ahead of the diamond as the players we currently have available just seem more comfortable with it. At the end of the game, It was nice how Nathan came over to the Hatters supporters with the players. Nathan was fully charged with emotion and came right into the arms of the adoring crowd behind the goal to embrace some of the Luton 1095 travelling fans. After the last away league game, Exeter, he actually came onto the Bobbers coach to thank the fans for travelling, what a guy, there is absolutely no doubting the man’s passion; this is his Luton team he is building and he is revelling in it. The Sunday Rant plus a thought or two Well, when Cullen came on as a second-half substitute he was given a touch of stick by some Hatters fans whilst a minority clapped his arrival. I am firmly in the latter camp as anybody who managed to score a perfect hat-trick whilst a Luton player, deserves some degree of respect. I could understand Jason Walker or Aaron O’Conner getting stick but Cullen?? Blackpool North Station is worth a rant in itself; managed in the style of a Siberian Gulag as far as passengers are concerned. The paying guests are held back by the camp guards and only allowed near the cattle trucks just before departure. The carriages themselves have seen better days and if I did not know better, I would have said the wheels had a puncture or two. Thank heavens we had the lovely Virgin trains from Preston onwards. A few thoughts on individual performances: Walton: he had a very confident game including making a couple of smart saves. His handling of the ball and anticipation were really first rate. O’Donnell: had a good game both in terms of his defending and willingness to get forward. The only flaw in his afternoon was a few wayward overhit passes but most of the time he managed to restrain those bionic calf muscles. Mullins: what you see is what you get with Johnny Mullins; a confident no-nonsense centre-back who reads the game well and is really efficient in what he does. Cuthbert: yet again our captain Cuthbert was a real physical tower of strength. His tackling was strong, his heading powerful as he attacked every ball in the air. I would say that he is currently playing some the best football of his career. Rea: a couple of early miss hit passes but soon the confident commanding Glen Rae emerged and stayed that way through the remainder of the game: what a class player he is at this level; his anticipation and awareness are above L2 standard. Justin: I thought young Justin had an outstanding game at left back; pace power and just so much confidence for one so young: a great lad in my opinion. His clever cross to McGeehan for our second goal was pure class. Lee: had a few loose moments earlier in the first half but his game settled down and from then on in he played well. He also had a really decent well placed shot from range in the second half that could have been our third. Gilliead: the young man had a very decent game always looking for the ball and making himself available as an outlet to receive a pass. Tired a touch in the second half and this often seems the case with the youngster but he will get there given time. Obviously, no use to Newcastle in the premier league so we best offer him a job! McGeehan: looks to me as if he is coming back to form: personally I think his form had drifted a touch since the transfer window speculation and that's easy enough to understand. I do sometimes give Cam some stick in the notes that I write, not because I don't rate him, because I certainly do rate him but more in frustration as I feel there is so much a fully adjusted McGeehan can offer. Anyway, as he had a good powerful physical game and took his goal well. Marriott: another player that is returning to form; he tenaciously fought for everything and looked a division higher in the way he took his goal. Kemosabe Hylton: Danny Boy gave it everything all afternoon and was the usual totally persistent pest to the home defence: plus a bonus of another game without a booking. The game changers: Pelly: came on for Cam who had picked up a knock part way through the second half. Smith gave the usual grafting performance we expect from him. Vassell: predictably came on to give Marriott a break. This man Vassell is blessed with the three P’s: pace, power and persistence: the Blackpool defence certainly knew he was on the pitch and at them. Smith: our Iniesta Smith replaced the tiring Gilliead and did had bit without reaching the heights we would like. The Teams Blackpool: Slocombe, Taylor, Robertson, Vassell, Potts, Aldred, Nolan (Gnanduillet, 81), Philliskirk (Osay-Samuel, 56), Matt (Cullen, 56), Pugh, Payne Luton: Walton, O'Donnell, Mullins, Cuthbert, McGeehan (Pelly, 71), Hylton, Marriott (Vassell, 75), Gilliead (Smith, 83), Rea, Lee, Justin Referee: Peter Banks Attendance: 3,992 and this included the noisy 1,095 supporting the Hatters on the last Saturday game before Christmas; brilliant, well done to all.
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Hi there, welcome to my site where I chronicle various things about the Hatters, a team I have followed since the mid 60’sArchives
December 2017
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