No Joy For Luton

On a day when most other results went in their favour, Luton failed to capitalise at Spotlands running out 2-0 losers.

Rochdale had failed to keep a clean sheet in 19 games in all competitions so Luton went there with high hopes of returning with at least a point but in freezing temperatures the home side were simply too strong on the day.

The Hatters made two enforced changes with Jake Howells and Kevin Nicholls nursing injuries from Tuesday’s FA Cup victory at Altricham and Rossi Jarvis and Kevin Gallen coming into the side.

It did not bode well when Luton conceded as early as the 2nd minute when a ‘nothing’ challenge by Keane was penalised and from the free kick the ball found Wiseman to cross for a poorly marked Thorpe to head home.

Unusually for the Hatters, heads seemed to drop immediately and they found themselves under extreme pressure with little to offer in the way of counters.

Some last ditch defending from Spillane saved the day soon after the opener when scorer Thorpe looked about to double his tally and five minutes later another timely challenge this time by Jarvis pervented the same player from scoring, distracting him enough to cause him to lift the ball over the bar instead.

Luton offered little in return although Gnakpa got in a speculative effort which never looked a serious threat to the Home net.

Luton began to keep possession better but still failed to threaten the 1-0 deficit.

The rest of the first half was stop and start with over-fussy referee Bratt failing to let anything flow, and almost wearing out his whistle. He must learn that dubious involvement merely frustrates the players and wrecks the game as a spectacle.

Luton were slightly more organised in the second half and Gallen put Martin in for a run on goal but he was unceremoniously dumped by Stanton with the referee deciding that the rash challenge was only worthy of a free kick and nothing more. The free kick was charged down and Stanton had got away with it.

Another nothing challenge this time at a corner kick in the 58th minute saw the game put beyond the Hatters when the whistle happy official ruled that Roper had impeded McArdle, when 99 times out of 100 such jostling is ignored by referees as simply players holding their ground, and LeFondre struck home the resultant penalty kick.

Martin shot over the bar after a good turn in the box when Roper headed on a free kick from deep, but it seemed like one of those days when the Town were just not quite up for it and the rub of the green (and the referee’s whistle) was going against them.

With little more than a quarter of an hour left Thorpe left Gnakpa for speed and slipped the ball into the run of LeFondre who beat Logan but saw the effort just drift over the bar.

Talbot had joined proceedings just after the second goal and got in a good header from McVeigh’s cross and it looked to have reduced the deficit but a cracking save from Russell denied him.

As the game died a death in the last 5 minutes, Luton would be left to rue a couple of dodgy decisions which cost them two goals but, in truth, had they won a point it would have been ill deserved with their hosts playing the vast majority of the the football and Luton hanging on and rarely producing anything memorable.

To be fair Mick Harford had barely 16 players fit to play at the start; hopefully he will have more on Tuesday, and they desperately need to up their game if they are to get three points in that one.

Luton Town:

Conrad Logan, Claude Gnakpa, Ian Roper, Michael Spillane, Keith Keane, Rossi Jarvis, Asa Hall, Garreth O’Connor (Dean Talbot 59), Paul McVeigh (Harry Worley 79), Kevin Gallen, Chris Martin.

Substitutes not used: Dean Brill, George Beavan, Mark Farthing.