Blackburn Rovers vs Luton Town FC (14th Dec 2024)

14/12/2024 BLACKBURN ROVERS 2-0 LUTON TOWN

10-man Town defeated at Blackburn

First half goals enough for Rovers to earn victory at Ewood Park

The Hatters fell to another defeat on the road as they were beaten 2-0 at Ewood Park.

In-form Rovers’ sixth successive win was secured thanks to two first-half goals from Amario Cozier-Duberry and Owen Beck.

The Town had chances in both halves to cut the deficit but their chances of a comeback were dashed following Liam Walsh’s second red card of the season with 17 minutes remaining.

It began with Rob Edwards naming an unchanged side following Tuesday’s win over Stoke but clear-cut chances were few and far between in the opening quarter.

However, Rovers had looked threatening in the opening exchanges with Cozier-Duberry a menace on the right flank – and it was the on-loan winger who opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark. Makhtar Gueye was the creator, bursting in the box to lay the ball off to Cozier-Duberry whose low shot crept into the bottom corner.

The Hatters’ response to going behind was excellent and within two minutes of trailing they came close to a leveller. Firstly Elijah Adebayo’s low shot was parried away by Aynsley Pears in the Rovers goal and the home goalkeeper then kept out Tahith Chong’s on-target follow-up.

But just when the Town sensed an equaliser, Blackburn doubled their lead five minutes before the break. Joe Rankin-Costello raced down the right and his cross seemed set to be converted by Gueye with the goal at his mercy. The Rovers striker completely fluffed a guilt-edged chance from six yards but the ball spun kindly into the path of Beck who thundered a finish past Thomas Kaminski.

The Hatters number one stopped Rankin-Costello’s shot on 43 minutes and Harry Pickering flicked an effort inches wide in first-half stoppage time as the hosts ended the half in the ascendency.

Behind at the break the Town started the second half well, and Carlton Morris wasn’t far away with a looping header five minutes after the restart following Jordan Clark’s right-wing deep cross.

Jacob Brown then sent a low shot on the turn wide of the mark on 51 minutes as the Hatters continued to search for a way back into the game.

As the Town pressed in a bid to halve the deficit, Morris came mighty close to making it 2-1 shortly after the hour when turning brilliantly in the box and sent a shot on the turn millimetres wide of the post.

But the Hatters’ hopes of mounting a comeback looked bleak on 73 minutes when Walsh was red-carded for a late, rash challenge on Rovers’ Yuki Ohashi.

As time ticked down Rovers ended the stronger with former Rovers stopper Kaminski having to repel efforts from substitutes Ryan Hedges and Harry Leonard and prevent a third.

But the Walsh red card knocked the stuffing out of the Town and the final whistle signalled a seventh straight away defeat.

Town: Kaminski; Chong, Moses (sub Nelson 86), Hashioka (sub Johnson 77), McGuinness, Holmes; Clark, Krauß (sub Walsh 62); Brown (sub Woodrow 62), Morris (sub Taylor 86), Adebayo.

Subs not used: Krul, Andersen, Nakamba, Mpanzu.

Attendance: 13,857, including 705 Hatters in the away end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcngK82qJRo – Rob Edwards post match interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqVtzN01rXk – match highlights

Reckless Walsh sees red as Luton lose a seventh straight away game at Blackburn

Championship: Blackburn Rovers 2 Luton Town 0

Luton's utterly miserable run away from Kenilworth Road shows no signs of ending as they returned home pointless for the seventh successive game, beaten 2-0 by Blackburn Rovers this afternoon, a result made worse by midfielder Liam Walsh’s second half red card, his second dismissal in just five appearances.

The Hatters went with an unchanged side for the contest at Ewood Park although Walsh was deemed fit enough for a place on the bench, something that boss Rob Edwards probably regrets now. With a serious lack of quality from either side on display early on, Harry Pickering booked for a poor challenge on Jacob Brown inside 60 seconds, Sondre Tronstad tried to change that with a fierce volley from outside the box that Brown bore the full brunt of, requiring treatment which he thankfully recovered from.

Home attacker Amario Cozier-Duberry tried to change that, exchanging passes in the box and having a crack, his shot hitting Daiki Hashioka as it could have gone anywhere, thankfully flying wide of the target. A clever corner saw Tahith Chong switched on to get the ball in the nick of time, before Yuki Ohashi's looping header landed on the roof of the net.

It took Luton until the 22nd minute to conjure anything worthy of labelling an opportunity, Morris holding the ball up well for Tom Krauß who advanced upfield and found Chong, his attempt deflected away for a corner. Winning a second immediately, Town’s stand-out performer Jordan Clark was able to drift over another cross having seen his first attempt cleared, Morris just unable to stretch and reach it.

Rovers took the lead out of nothing on 32 minutes when Cozier-Duberry was played in by Makhtar Gueye. Despite Adebayo appearing to have done enough by getting back to nip at his heels, the on-loan Brighton & Hove Albion winger was able to retain possession and although under pressure from three Luton players, could still pick out the bottom corner.

Town did respond well though, with their best passage of play, Adebayo's attempt parried by Aynsley Pears who was able to get up and repel Chong's rebound as well. Edwards' men tried their luck from set-pieces, Clark's corner met by Hashioka, Pears with his easiest stop of the afternoon. Rovers might have doubled their advantage on 33 minutes when a deep cross saw Gueye escape the attentions of Town's back-line, unable to divert his header on target.

It looked like had given Town another lifelong on 40 minutes when a simple ball down Luton's left saw Ohashi escape and put in cross that the Senegal striker somehow got all wrong from six yards out, the ball ending up going behind him. However, no-one had paid attention to Owen Beck's run, the Liverpool loanee able to pick his spot and double Rovers' lead as once more the Hatters were hit with two goals in quick succession, meaning the result already looked a foregone conclusion.

Blackburn might even have had a third with their next attack, Town’s defence carved open with ease and Joe Rankin-Costello putting his shot straight at Kaminski and then Harry Pickering's backheel dribbled inches wide of the target, meaning the visitors changed ends still with a 2-0 deficit. Going into the second half and Luton had to somehow score twice against a side who hadn't been breached in any of their previous four games, winning them all 1-0.

Looking to give themselves any semblance of hope, the Hatters looked to hit back early, Clark with a deep cross that saw Morris meet it, only for Danny Batth to head away from close to the line. The Hatters defence still struggled to cope with Gueye though as the imposing forward put his laces behind one attempt on his left foot, lashing a fraction wide.

To be fair to Edwards' side, they did at least start to make a fist of trying to get back into the contest, looking the better side and the more likely to find the net, Morris dragging a volley narrowly off target, as having made no substitutions in the last game, Edwards did go to his bench this time, Cauley Woodrow and Walsh on for Krauß and the ineffective Brown with an hour gone.

One of Walsh's first involvements was to deliver a corner that saw Hashioka again meet it, only to put his downward header the wrong side of the post. His second was then to completely let his team-mates down once more as having come on been on for just 11 minutes, slid in late and recklessly on Ohashi to be shown a straight red, the second time in just five appearances he has been dismissed.

The midfielder tried to plead his innocence but was shoved off the pitch by a clearly furious captain Morris for the recent signing leaving his side a player down once more. Academy graduate Joe Johnson replaced Hashioka as the hosts didn't really threaten in the closing stages, Andi Weimann with a late effort that Kaminski was able to fall on.

The Belgian, afforded a fine reception on his first return to Ewood Park since leaving the club for Luton in the summer of 2023, then prevented Harry Leonard getting a third as Rovers opened up the Town defence in stoppage time.

Rovers: Aynsley Pears, Harry Pickering, Dom Hyam, Sondre Tronstad, Makhtar Gueye (Harry Leonard 89), Joe Rankin-Costello, Danny Batth, Yuki Ohashi (John Buckley 75), Owen Beck, Lewis Travis ©, Amario Cozier-Duberry (Ryan Hedges 74).

Subs not used: Joe Hilton, Kyle McFadzean, Tyrhys Dolan, Andi Weimann, Matty Litherland, Lewis Baker.

Hatters: Thomas Kaminski, Daiki Hashioka (Joe Johnson 77), Tom Holmes, Mark McGuinness, Victor Moses (Zack Nelson 85), Jacob Brown (Cauley Woodrow 63), Tom Krauß (Liam Walsh 62), Jordan Clark, Tahith Chong, Carlton Morris (Joe Taylor 86), Elijah Adebayo.

Subs not used: Tim Krul, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, Joe Taylor, Zack Nelson, Joe Johnson, Mads Andersen, Marvelous Nakamba.

Referee: Michael Salisbury.

Booked: Pickering 1, Clark 2, Gueye 51, Brown 60, Rankin-Costello 61. Sent off: Walsh 73.

Attendance: 13,857 (705 Hatters).

Hatters boss knows Town have to look at midfielder's discipline issues following second straight red

Walsh sent off 11 minutes after coming on at Ewood Park

Luton boss Rob Edwards knows that the club will have to take a serious look at midfielder Liam Walsh’s lack of discipline after he saw his second red card of the season during this afternoon’s 2-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers.

The 27-year-old, who was only signed in August, had already been sent off just 36 seconds after coming on in the 2-2 draw with Oxford United, suspended for three games. He then suffered a hamstring injury which ruled him out of four matches, before returning to the squad this afternoon, named on the bench at Ewood Park.

Replacing Tom Krauß with 62 minutes on the clock, Walsh came on with his side already two goals behind, only to then slide in recklessly and so unnecessarily on Rovers midfielder Yuki Ohashi to see red from referee Michael Salisbury just 11 minutes later. Discussing the incident, Edwards said: “Yes, I did (think it was a red). It’s not malicious, it’s just poorly timed, it’s not high.

“He’s not a bad kid and he’s not done it on purpose to injure someone and go in in a dirty way, but a very similar tackle. It’s obviously happened twice when he’s come on, so we’ve got to look at it and he’s cut up in there now because of what’s happened. We brought him on as he’s a technical player, we thought we were in the ascendancy and he can really help us and he did.

"We kept pushing and he was involved in the game, but he’s made a mistake. You get sent off, you’re going to be really, really disappointed aren’t you, a chance to impact the game and we’ll be missing him now for quite a long time, so it puts me in a difficult position. It’s standard procedure for us to have loads of headaches though, I’m used to it by now, I’ve had a year of it.”

When the red card was brandished, Walsh tried to protest his innocence, only to be shoved off the pitch by a furious captain Carlton Morris, and with the TV cameras zooming in, you didn’t need to be a lip reader to see just what the forward had made of the former Everton youngster’s second moment of madness.

Edwards continued: “Carlton is frustrated, he’s a winner and he’s just frustrated as he wants us to get back in the game. He knows with Walshy on the pitch and with 11 men we’ve got a good chance of doing it at that stage and I think we all felt it. We were playing well, we were finding good spaces, we were getting down the sides, we were getting crosses in the box, we had the momentum. Carlton is a leader for us and he’s just disappointed like everyone.”

The hosts might have found themselves down to 10 men themselves inside the opening 60 seconds when Harry Pickering slid in late on Jacob Brown, but the official deemed it was worthy of just a caution. Asked if he thought that was a fair punishment, Edwards added: “I think sometimes at that stage of the game you might get away with a little bit more, but also I do think the ball was around there as well. This one you could see with Liam it was mistimed, the ball had gone.”