Well, what a day that was. Firstly a couple of gorgeous pints of Tring’s Squadron ale, I will definitely have that one again followed by some nicely cooked chips set a comfortable backdrop for the afternoon. Ok, it’s the FA Cup and I was, in all honesty, expecting to face a Solihull side very much up for the game and really going for their moment of glory; yes, we would have to take care.
With the pre-match enjoyment behind us, the crowd observed a minutes silence to respect and reflect both on the Chapecoense football team’s disaster and also the passing away of the most gifted defender I have even seen in a Luton shirt, Paul Futcher. Nathan made two changes to last week’s “Exeter zombie stomp” with Lee and Vassell dropping to the bench to be replaced by Gilliead and Marriott and with the game underway, both sides had a fairly open and attacking first few minutes. However, as far as Luton were concerned, after that first few minutes, we simply took on the style of football reminiscent of the Sow & Pigs second eleven pub side playing on Popes Meadow and kicking uphill. You have to give every credit to Solihull who were really out to enjoy their moment in the cup but honestly, for forty minutes of that first half, we were simply pretty dreadful. We gave away so many silly, niggly free kicks, we were continually second to the ball and the midfield once again simply vaporised never to be seen again during that first half. Amazingly to my mind, the normally so reliable Rae was making many errors and the timing his tackles was simply poor. Why do I mention Rae, well simply because he is usually Mr reliable but yesterday in the first half our reliable man sunk to the level of the pub eleven; we were really simply dire. Solihull quite deservedly took a two-goal lead with two very sweet strikes from Osborne and could almost have been three ahead at the break such was their hunger for the game. Solihull came out early for the second half but where was the Luton team; apparently Nathan was having a few extra words of encouragement. O’Donnell came on for young Justin who had been roughed up a lot in the first half and picked up an injury but that was the only change although Nathan could so easily have made use of all three game changers at half time. Straight from the start of the second half, the Hatters were at Solihull; pressurising them, pushing them back. We had started to remember the need for a touch of fight, determination and realised we could actually pass the ball. A touch of that determination was shown by Jack Marriott near the half way line on the main stand side when he physically dismissed a Solihull player moved forward a touch before releasing a super ball to the onrushing pair of Hylton & McGeehan. Hylton made clear to Cam that is was a ball for Danny boy and he moved into the area and sweetly tucked the ball away. Then a further three goals within the next nine minutes totally changed the complexion of the game. Firstly Mullins controlled the ball on the edge of the area and coolly slotted the ball away, followed by a 60-yard dash by Marriott on the left before he released the ball to O’Donnell who running into the area to calmly smack the ball past the keeper. With the fourth goal, Hylton turned provider for Marriott as he raced away to latch onto a low long Hylton pass and easily beat the goalkeeper: excellent stuff, just what Marriott deserved and also needed to boost his goal scoring confidence. Yes, what a turnaround and what a totally different Luton side had emerged, the Sow & Pigs second 11 had returned to Toddington and been replaced by an unrecognisable side that took the national league side apart. In that second half, unlike at Exeter last week, here was not a long high to be seen as we played the ball along the deck with both short range and long range passes; blimey, this was unexpected but nice. With time ticking on, it was obvious that Solihull were a completely spent force and further chances were created and to be fair, the Solihull keeper saved some of those decent attempts from the Hatters. Yet, further goals were to follow firstly from the “Madonald O’Donnell” sneaking a left-foot shot into the corner and then in added time, from Jack Marriott crowning a fine second half display by him as he ran onto a good low pass from McGeehan to tuck the ball away for goal number six. The job was done, the crowd entertained and the Hatters are in the hat for Monday’s third round draw. I truly would not have expected that at half time but in the end, I was very happy to have been within that rather small crowd that say three teams take part, Solihull, the pub team’s second 11 and finally an unrecognisable passing unit in orange shirts in the second half. Overall thoughts: We have been the underdogs in the past in cup games and raised our game too often outplay for long periods opposition from higher divisions and most of us I suspect thought we would see some of this. However, I doubt any expected such a dismal performance from our side as we saw in the first half. Yet, what a totally amazing contrast in the second half when a totally different mindset was shown by the Luton team and we absolutely took Solihull apart and truly we could have had even more goals. The Sunday Rant: Oh, yes, I know but here I go again about Mr Cook. I have not missed one of his games and seen a few, very few, glimpses of talent but he continually disappears from the show. He seems obviously low on confidence so really Nathan, why have him in the starting 11? I just don’t understand it; surely it would be better to start with Pelly and have Cook introduced from time to time form the bench until some confidence returns to his game. A few thoughts on individual performances: The Sow & Pigs 2nd 11 that turned up in the first half: Just awful but not only awful individually also awful as a collective item some call a team and as often happens devoid of a midfield. The whole first half is best forgotten and locked in a virus vault somewhere to sit alongside displays at Crawley, Cheltenham & Exeter. Those Guys in orange shirts who came out in the second half: Walton: easy second half with not a great deal to do. O’Donnell: replacing the injured Justin. Firstly SOD still retains that capability of scaring you to death by poorly weighted back passes but going forward he was really very strong and contributed two goals to the tally. He looked a very happy chap. Sheehan: is he really the LB answer? However, decent enough in the second half and had a really good free kick well saved by the Solihull keeper. Cuthbert: yes, he was on the field in the second half and did fine. Mullins: also turned up for the second half and as with Cuthbert was fine in that second period and scored with a lovely placed shot. Rea: decent second period and did his usual closing down stuff in front of the back four or was it back five later in the game, although to be fair defender O’Donnell was often playing more like an attacking midfielder. I wonder if O’Donnell with his powerful running could do something in midfield? Gilliead: always dangerous in the second half; I doubt he will be a premier league player with Newcastle so let’s get some money together. Cook: as ever does not do much bad and does not do that much that’s good enough to really justify selection in the starting eleven but Like Olly, he is good in training. McGeehan: quite a mix from our Cam, some good running and challenging and some rather sloppy short passes. Marriott: for me he was the star of the show in the second half with lots of powerful running, creating two goals and scoring two himself: well done Jack, good to have you back. Hylton: he enjoyed the second half. I liked the comment Nathan made about Danny being fit for the second half as he did sod all in the first half; good stuff Nathan.Second half subs: Potts and Vassell: did fine. The Teams: Luton: Walton, Mullins, Cuthbert, McGeehan, Hylton (Vassell, 82), Cook, Marriott, Gilliead (Potts, 76), Rea, Justin (O'Donnell, 45), Sheehan Unused subs: Smith, Pelly, Lee, King Solihull Moors: Lewis, Murombedzi, Franklin (Morris, 72), Daly, Gough, Asante, Byrne, Jones (Knights, 83), Fagbola, Osborne, Sterling (White, 82) Referee: Christopher Sarginson Attendance: 3,512 including 635 enthusiastic fans from Solihull.
1 Comment
Paul St-Amour
12/5/2016 08:13:57 am
Great blog - can you let me have your email, as I must have recorded it wrong.
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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
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