Well unlike last year we arrived in good enough time to make good use of the beer marquee. Unfortunately no real ale on offer but such are the sacrifices I make in following Luton. Seriously, not a bad at all with home and away fans mingling which is just as it should be. Sadly when enquiring to a couple of the locals about our pair of departed Alex’s’ they were not overly impressed with either: mind you they did not seem to be enthusiastic about any of their players. However, a chap the Yeovil supporters were very enthusiastic about was an ex-player by the name of Nathan Jones; they simply love the guy down here and talked of his enthusiasm and commitment, good to hear.
On returning to his old patch, Nathan made a few changes to the side that lost to Oxford recalling the preserved duo of Cuthbert and Smith in place of Mullins and Senior. At full back, O’Donnell replaced Justin with Sheehan taking the left back slot thereby giving a rest to Senior. So we lined up with a back four of O’Donnell, Cuthbert, Rea and Sheehan. The town got off to a blistering start really going at the Yeovil defence who seemed to enter panic mode every time that Isaac Vassell had possession and started running at them. One such run as he screamed past his marker and into the area, resulted in a penalty that Danny Hylton coolly converted to give us the early lead. Oh, it's just so nice to score a goal that early in the game. Luton kept up the pressure and Rea came close to adding a second as did Cuthbert; lots of pressure and the centre backs involved, nice but Cuthbert should have put that shot on target rather than over the bar. That pressure brought about the second goal after half an hour with a rapid fire counter-attack following a Yeovil corner. The cleared ball came to O’Donnell in the left back position, yes, that’s right the left back position and he slipped the ball through to the onrushing Hylton who powered towards the goal, rounded the advancing keeper and passed the ball into the empty net for goal number 22 of the season; fabulous stuff! We were really looking very comfortable against a poor Yeovil side and the feeling was that we would be more likely to add a goal than concede one. As you would expect after a few encouraging words from the Yeovil manager’s half-time team talk, the home side came out really fighting in the early period of the second half and to be fair we did just look a touch wobbly in that period as Yeovil had really upped their game; surely not a repeat of last season’s second half demise? Well, thankfully that was not to be the case as we came through that minor onslaught and increased our lead, effectively killing the game, in the 55th minute with our third goal of the afternoon, this time from Rea. Following a free kick awarded for a foul on Hylton, Sheehan’s cultured left clog swung over a free-kick to the far post to be met by Rea to send a header across goal and into the net. You know for a bloke that I am always saying needs to improve his heading; he was not having a bad afternoon. Oh, and Sheehan the man with the magical left foot almost added a third with the early taking of a free kick from a very long way out. He spotted the Yeovil keeper off his line and sent the free-kick high from close to the halfway line that just went over the bar with the keeper desperately trying to recover his position. That was a really clever bit of football from the thoughtful Sheehan. At 3-0 Nathan decided to add extra steel to the defence and brought on the unlucky Potts for Gray who had started to disappear from the game and within a few minutes Potts made an excellent interception around the penalty spot with the Yeovil striker in space and just about to pull the trigger; that really was a classy tackle. The game was finally completely closed off after 85 minutes when Smith passed to Pelly just on the left of the area. Pelly cut in and across the area before sending a firm shot into the floor of the net; lovely goal, now let’s have a few more goals from our Pelly. Overall Impression: Well, a great day out for the 698 travelling hatters fans to see their side put in such a commanding performance against an admittedly poor Yeovil side. Nobody had a poor game, a couple were a touch quiet but some were closer to outstanding. In that higher bracket, I would definitely put Pelly with Hylton at the top of the exceptional list closely followed by Vassell. It was Vassell who never gave a Yeovil defender a moment's rest as every time they had the ball the powerful Vassell would be after them and when Vassell had the ball at his feet they simply struggled to hold him. Well done to Mick Harford for unearthing this gem called Vassell. Some thoughts on individual performances: Macey: a couple of good saves, well one actually in the second half when diving to his right was exceptional. His handling in the air really needs some work; maybe staying for extra afternoon training simply practising taking crosses under pressure may help. I think the raw material there within Macey is rough but good and we should consider recruiting him when Arsenal let him go. O’Donnell: a fairly decent game by SOD’s own standards: a real mix of the good bad and the ugly but to be fair the good part came out on top. The good was the likes of his fine pass to Hylton in the move that led to our first goal; the bad, getting out of position so often which in turn dragged Cuthbert to RB to cover & the ugly the number of times he miss hit passes out of play but as I say, by SOD’s standards, not a bad game. Cuthbert: he was up against some tall types today and had a real battle in the air and did fine. His no-nonsense clearances particularly in the first 15 minutes of the second half, were invaluable. Rea: some good tackling and some mixed distribution. Just as I was saying last week that Rea needs to improve his heading, he pops up with a well taken headed goal. I do think that Rea looks far more comfortable as a defender rather than the holding midfield role; simply more suited to that CB position. Sheehan: a strong and brave performance from Sheehan and the bonus of that cultured left clog. He almost scored one in the second half when spotting the keeper off his line, sent a long range effort from a free kick, just over the bar. Pelly: had a very good game and was involved in most of our better moves. After an age without a goal, he cut into the penalty area from the left and planted a beauty into the back of the net. Smith: the nonstop Smith was booked after about half an hour and I worried that the booking may reduce his effectiveness but he just became a touch more thoughtful and saw out the full 90 minutes without risk of a second yellow. Gray: a bit of a surprise starter and looks as if he could do with a run in the team to get some match sharpness. Some parts of his play were decent and he quietly played his part in our victory: can’t be easy for him being so readily sacrificed from the team after a game or two, needs a run in the side but is now the right time? Cook: fair contribution but being honest, a relatively quiet one. After a couple of recent good performances, he has slightly slipped back into his “is Cook on the pitch” style: not a lot bad, not a lot good but simply just not a lot, would D’Ath or Gambin offer more? Vassell: simply scared the Yeovil defence to pieces every time he got the ball: he terrified them with his pace and power as seen in the winning of that penalty for our opening goal. Hylton: magnificent striker’s performance crowned with a superbly taken second goal giving our talisman his 22nd goal of the season. As ever he leaves a new band of Hylton fans at another ground in L2; the Yeovil crowd really took to him! The Subs: Potts: did well and made one particularly telling clearance when the Yeovil player was in a really good shooting position. Palmer: did quite well and added that extra bit of aerial power; as I have said before, a decent addition to our squad. Marriott: not on for long but nevertheless buzzing with energy and was just what we needed late in the game. The Teams: Yeovil: Krysiak, Shephard, Mugabi, Lacey, Dickson (c), Lawless, Dawson, Dolan (Goodship 82), Whitfield (Harrison 62), Zoko, Akpa Akpro (Eaves 66). Booked: Dawson, Lawless Luton: Macey, O'Donnell, Cuthbert (c), Rea, Sheehan, Pelly, Smith, Gray (Potts 66), Cook, Vassell (Palmer 69), Hylton (Marriott 77). Subs: Mullins, D'Ath, Justin, Moore (GK) Yellows: Smith Referee: Kevin Johnson.
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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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