Crawley Town vs Luton Town FC (17th Sep 2016)

PUBLISHED 17:03 17th September 2016 Hatters suffer second successive defeat in Sussex this afternoon

CRAWLEY TOWN 2 (Collins 43, Boldewijn 90+2)

LUTON TOWN 0

Att: 2,904 (1,052)

The Town went down to a second successive league defeat this afternoon as Crawley scored late in each half to win 2-0 at the Checkatrade.com Stadium.

James Collins and Enzio Boldewijn netted for the Sussex side as Nathan Jones’ men couldn’t bounce back from last week’s 2-1 home reversal against Grimsby.

Jones made three changes to the Hatters team from seven days earlier, with Jonathan Smith, Isaac Vassell and Josh McQuoid coming in for their first league starts of the season in place of Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, Danny Hylton and Jack Marriott.

Vassell had the first sniff of goal in the fifth minute when Mark Connolly’s attempted header back to goalkeeper Glenn Morris fell short of its target, but the Cornish striker could only find the side-netting from a tight angle.

The Town soon settled into their rhythm and three minutes later, Cameron McGeehan latched onto a loose ball 25 yards out and fired low, just past Morris’ right post.

Christian Walton was soon called into action for the first time, blocking a poked effort from ex-Shrewsbury and Northampton striker Collins on nine minutes, and ten minutes later the Hatters number one was required to deal with Billy Clifford’s low shot, which he did easily.

Within seconds the Town were on the attack and, after Jordan Cook had spread a sumptuous ball out to Stephen O’Donnell on the right wing, McGeehan met the full-back’s low cross first time, only to see his angled shot blocked by a home defender.

In the 27th minute Smith closed down Andre Blackman in the Crawley left-back area and the ball broke to Vassell, who lobbed onrushing keeper Morris but couldn’t quite find the head of McQuoid, who had burst into the six-yard box looking to profit.

Vassell was busting a gut to make an impact up front, and after sprinting back to challenge Morris way outside his box in the hosts’ right-back position, he was rewarded with possession after a brave challenge by McGeehan in the middle of the park and stretched the home defence once again.

The Town fashioned their best chance of the half when, after a patient move that started inside their own half with Johnny Mullins and Alan Sheehan, McQuoid got to the right byline and cut back to the edge of the box for Cook to strike, but the midfielder’s shot flashed just past the post.

McQuoid was impressing too, and it was the ex-Bournemouth striker who had the Town’s next chance, a glancing header from Sheehan’s 37th-minute free-kick that proved a shade too high.

It was Crawley who went into the break with their noses in front, however, when – totally against the run of play – Collins met a right-wing cross from Lewis Young and beat Walton at his near post with a firm header on 43 minutes.

The Hatters had a scare two minutes into the second half when Dan Potts’ nod back to Walton fell short and, after the Hatters keeper had won the challenge with Collins, Sheehan had to react quickly to slide in and deny Enzio Boldewijn a clear shot with Walton out of his goal.

Vassell had the game’s next opportunity, bursting into the box onto a McGeehan chip over the defence, but the ball wouldn’t come down for the ex-Truro City hitman to get his shot off.

Dutch winger Boldewijn managed to do that at the other end in the 55th minute, but Walton could watch it sail safely over his crossbar.

Just after the hour Jones threw Hylton, wearing a mask to protect the cheekbone he fractured against Grimsby, and Marriott up front in place of Vassell and McQuoid, and the Town had soon created a great chance, although Cook’s attempted chip did not match the conviction of his own full-blooded challenge on Blackman that forced the opening.

O’Donnell made good progress down the right on 70 minutes and flashed a low cross through the six-yard box, then Jones made his final substitution of the afternoon, bringing on Newcastle loanee Alex Gilliead for Smith.

Gilliead made an immediate impression on the right flank, combining with O’Donnell to present Marriott with an opportunity to shoot on the turn, but the striker’s effort drifted wide.

Then, with eight minutes to go, O’Donnell fed the ball inside to McGeehan, but the midfielder’s 25-yarder few high into the 1,052 travelling Hatters in the KR-L Stand behind the goal.

With five minutes left the Hatters’ centre-halves combined for two more chances, as Mullins’ low shot from a Sheehan cross was cleared off the line before Mullins crossed for the Irishman to head goalwards, but Crawley again survived.

Another chance came in the 88th minute when Sheehan, Gilliead and Marriott linked up to the right side of the penalty box, with the latter’s blast turned away by Morris in the home goal.

The Town had the ball in the net in the first minute of time added on when Marriott lashed home from the edge of the box, but referee Gavin Ward blew up for an infringement by Hylton when challenging for the initial high ball into the area.

With the Hatters pushing for the leveller, Crawley counter-attacked and two minutes later, Boldewijn sealed the victory when he raced into the box and chipped over the advancing Walton to complete a disappointing afternoon for the Town.

TOWN: Walton, O'Donnell, Mullins, Sheehan, Potts, Lee, Smith (Gilliead 71), Cook, McGeehan, Vassell (Hylton 61), McQuoid (Marriott 61). Subs: Cuthbert, Gray, Marriott, Mpanzu, King (GK)

Yellows: Lee, Sheehan, Mullins

CRAWLEY: Morris, Young, Connolly, Boldewijn, Smith, Banton (Roberts 73), Blackman (Arthur 64), Clifford, Collins, McNerney, Djalo. Subs: Mersin (GK), Davey, Bawling, Tajbakhsh, Yussuf.

Yellows: Djalo, Banton

http://www.lutontown.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/luton-town-crawley-town-3312796.aspx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leCFjEsYB1Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acnJWgFapao

League Two: Crawley Town 2 Luton Town 0

Luton Town manager Nathan Jones’ selection gamble failed to pay off this afternoon as his side’s miserable league run at Crawley continued with another defeat to the Red Devils.

The 1,000-plus visiting fans who travelled to the Checkatrade.com Stadium were left with more than a raised eyebrow by the teamsheet that greeted them, as leading scorer Danny Hylton, Jack Marriott and Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu all dropped to the bench, with Josh McQuoid, Jonathan Smith and Isaac Vassell in for their first league starts of the season.

Glen Rea also missed out with ligament damage picked up in training, but it was a big call for the manager to leave out a strikeforce he later hailed as the ‘best in the division’ with a pairing who have yet to score a goal between them this term.

Ultimately, the alterations didn’t work out, as although Luton dominated possession and territory in the first half, they had nothing to show for their efforts, failing to test home keeper Glen Morris and falling behind as the hosts scored through James Collins’ stooping header.

Marriott and Hylton were then brought on midway through the second half, but it turned out to be too little too late, as Morris didn’t have to face a shot in anger until five minutes from time, with the hosts sealing victory when Enzio Boldewijn raced clear to beat Christian Walton, ending Crawley’s run of three straight losses.

The result made it back-to-back defeats in League Two for the Hatters, as it was the first time they have failed to score in the league this season too, dropping out of the top three in the process.

It had been a promising opening for Luton too as Vassell utilised his lightning pace to get the better of a dithering Joe McNerney, sending an angled left footer wide, while Cameron McGeehan’s pot shot was inches off target too.

However, the best opportunity went the way of Crawley, as Town’s defence was cut open on 10 minutes, the ball threaded through to Collins, only for Walton to readjust himself accordingly and block.

Walton’s next work on 20 minutes was easier, as Billy Clifford shot straight at the Luton keeper, before a lovely Town move saw Jordan Cook’s crossfield pass taken on the instep by Stephen O’Donnell who picked out McGeehan with his effort charged down.

Town’s Olly Lee, who had clearly heeded Jones’ advice to become more of a physical presence, did just that, doggedly trying to win his headers and tackles early on, although went too far on 21 minutes, picking up a caution for felling Clifford who was looking to scamper away.

Hatters were almost gifted an opener as Smith harried Andre Blackman into a mistake by the corner flag and Vassell lifted the ball over the out of position Morris, but Mark Connolly was back to hack away from the line.

The visitors pressed again on the half hour, with McQuoid twisting well to dig out a cross, the unmarked Cook failing to hit the target from 15 yards, dragging wide.

Back on set-piece duty, Alan Sheehan saw one corner not dealt with convincingly by Morris and then delivered another free kick that McQuoid flicked narrowly over.

Despite barely registering as an attacking force for much of the half, it was the Red Devils who crucially went in front on 43 minutes as Lewis Young’s teasing cross was expertly headed home by Collins.

Boss Jones made no changes at the break, giving the original 11 chance to turn it around, but they almost fell 2-0 behind early on as Dan Potts didn’t get anywhere near enough on his back header, as Walton just got to the ball ahead of Collins, with Sheehan sliding in to prevent Boldewijn from turning the rebound in.

Boldewijn hacked over with another attempt as Town, with the hour gone, opted to bring on the big guns, Marriott and the masked Hylton on for Vassell and McQuoid, to huge cheers from the reinvigorated away end.

Cook then won the ball back with a fully blooded challenge outside the D, but with a sight of goal, tried to chip Morris and once again got it all wrong, as the keeper picked it up pretty much at his bootlaces.

As much as Town continued to enjoy plenty of the ball, Morris still hadn’t had to make a save of any real note, Marriott swivelling to shoot wide from the edge of the box.

Smith soon made way for Alex Gilliead too as all three of Town’s changes were substituted, with the side now looking something like Town’s full strength 11, the Newcastle loanee catching the eye once more in his 20-minute cameo.

Although now with their front-line strikeforce, the supply-line was still misfiring, and when Marriott did peel away to take up a great position in the area, McGeehan opted to go for goal, blazing waywardly over.

Luton belatedly made Morris work from 85 minutes onwards as a deep corner led to Johnny Mullins’ low shot being blocked and the defender recovered to cross for his centre half partner to send a downward header goalwards, the keeper palming away.

Town pushed once more, Marriott’s snap shot saved at the second attempt by Morris, while the visitors thought they had rescued a point in stoppage time when Hylton challenged the keeper in an aerial duel, with the loose ball turned in by Marriott, only for referee Gavin Ward to blow for a foul on the home custodian.

Mullins was booked for his complaints in the aftermath and Luton’s misery was compounded when O’Donnell was caught in possession, with the ball worked out to winger Boldewijn who had a clean run on Walton and coolly put the result beyond doubt, as Town have now failed to win at Crawley in their last four league visits.

Red Devils: Glenn Morris, Lewis Young, Mark Connolly, Enzio Boldewijn, Jimmy Smith (C), Jason Banton (Jordan Roberts 72), Andre Blackman (Chris Arthur 64), Billy Clifford (Alex Davey 86), James Collins, Joe McNerney, Kaby Djalo.

Subs not used: Yusuf Mersin, Bobson Bawling, Ayran Tajbakhsh, Adi Yussuf.

Hatters: Christian Walton, Stephen O’Donnell, Dan Potts, Alan Sheehan (C), Johnny Mullins, Olly Lee, Jonathan Smith (Alex Gilliead 70), Jordan Cook, Cameron McGeehan, Josh McQuoid (Danny Hylton 61), Isaac Vassell (Jack Marriott 61).

Subs not used: Craig King, Jake Gray, Scott Cuthbert, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu.

Bookings: Lee 21, Djalo 41, Banton 65, Sheehan 78, Mullins 90.

Attendance: 2904 (1,052 Luton).

Hatters boss Nathan Jones conceded he may think again before changing his striking options around so drastically after the 2-0 defeat to Crawley this afternoon.

With Danny Hylton still suffering the affects of his broken cheekbone, Jones opted to drop Town’s leading scorer to the bench, where he was surprisingly joined by strike partner Jack Marriott, plus the dynamic Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu.

That meant first league starts of the season for Josh McQuoid and Isaac Vassell in a newlook front-line, while Jonathan Smith was in too, with Town not seriously testing home keeper Glenn Morris until the 85th minute, when all three had since been replaced.

Jones said: “I’ve been a victim of my own downfall really because I’ve tried to look after a few people and I’ve tried to freshen stuff up because we’ve got a good, competitive squad.

“It’s strong all the way through, but maybe that’s something that I won’t be doing too readily.

“We’ll have to re-evaluate the squad because it’s a big game next week (against Doncaster) and I want to win again.”

Both Marriott and Hylton were introduced into the fray midway through the second half with Luton trailing 1-0, and on the decision to drop his strike pairing, Jones continued: “Danny has had to wear a mask. He hasn’t trained since Thursday because he’s got a crack (in his cheekbone), so we’ve had to look after him. “I didn’t want to use him, if I’m honest, because he has that crack. And the way he is, the way he plays and trains, he’s always liable to do something, so I didn’t really want to use him.

“If Danny hadn’t had a cracked thing then we wouldn’t have, so it’s not like a major decision, and we have to make sure that everyone is up to speed, so that if we do miss one of them for any length of time then we have replacements who are ready to go in.

“It is (Marriott being rested). They’re a partnership together, those two.

“Isaac would have probably replaced [Hylton] and then Josh has been chomping at the bit to play, so you’ve got to keep them involved and keep everyone interested.”

When asked how he thought both Vassell and McQuoid had done as a pairing, Jones added: “The other two (Vassell and McQuoid) have been flying, so I thought I’d give them an opportunity.

“They’ve been doing well in training. I’m not going to gauge them just on today. It didn’t quite come off but they worked hard.

“They looked a certain type of threat but it looks bad because obviously you’ve replaced probably the top two in the league, for me.”

Crawley Town 2 Luton Town 0

A change is as good as a rest, goes the old proverb, but at Crawley it didn't do a thing to halt the Hatters' losing feeling.

Time off for two of Town's top scorers – Danny Hylton and Jack Marriott – didn't pay-off and with the seven-goal strike pair joined by Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu on the bench, so much potency was lost.

It was telling that by the 71st minute, and with the Hatters 1-0 down to a James Collins first half header, all of manager Nathan Jones' three changes – Isaac Vassell, Josh McQuoid and Jonathan Smith – had all departed and the forwards were thrown on for a rescue mission, but they couldn't revive the visitors' verve of a fortnight ago.

To be fair to their boss, wholesale changes in the Checkatrade Trophy win at Gillingham worked. Here at a stadium bearing the same sponsor's name, it didn't, even though two were forced upon him after Hylton cracked his cheekbone against Grimsby and Glenn Rea injured his medial knee ligament in training.

Luton shaded the first half without being spectacular but Vassell, Cameron McGeehan, McQuoid and Jordan Cook all failed to hit the target before they were sucker punched with a 43rd minute Collins diving header, the effects of which they didn't recover from until the final knockings. Even then, they went in search of a leveller without really threatening.

Marriott had the ball in the net in stoppage time only for the linesman to rule it out for a Hylton foul on goalkeeper Glenn Morris in the build-up, while an Enzio Boldewijn breakaway goal at the death added a unflattering sheen to the scoreline.

But so much will point to those three changes to the side that lost against Grimsby last week, that saw first Football League starts this term for McQuoid, Smith and Vassell.

It wasn't that the replacements didn't anything wrong, but it's a tough ask to expect an instant rapport and nothing clicked for them or their team-mates.

Still, there were goalscorers on the pitch but only a fizzing long range volley from McGeehan had keeper Glenn Morris scrambling across his line, while Cook wasted a McQuoid byline cutback in even more disappointing fashion. Both were wide of the mark, much like Luton's afternoon.

A brave intervention from Christian Walton in the Hatters goal denied Collins, which was as close as the hosts came before they eventually broke the deadlock against the run of play, just before half time. Lewis Young crossed, Collins stooped low to head beyond the dive of Walton and the Hatters never recovered.

Marriott and a masked Hylton replaced Vassell and McQuoid just after the hour, but only with five minutes to go did Luton threaten the home goal again, Johnny Mullins, Sheehan's and Marriott were all denied by conventional means before the latter found a raised flag had ended any hope of a point.

With Luton's unanswered protestations still ringing in referee Gavin Ward's ears, Boldewijn raced clear and dinked over the outrushing Walton to seal a second straight defeat.

It's a change of fortunes, which needs quick solution.

Crawley Town: Morris, Young, Connolly, Boldewijn, Smith, Banton (Roberts, 72), Blackman (Arthur, 64), Clifford (Davey, 86) Collins, McNerney, Djalo

Unused subs: Mersin, Bawling, Tajbakhsh, Yussuf

Luton Town: Walton, O'Donnell, Potts, Smith (Gilliead, 71), Mullins, McGeehan, Cook, Lee, Vassell (Marriott, 61), McQuoid (Hylton, 61), Sheehan

Unused subs: Cuthbert, Gray, Mpanzu, King

Referee: Gavin Ward

Attendance: 2904 (1,052)

Luton manager Nathan Jones suggested he'll think twice about resting strike partnership Danny Hylton and Jack Marriott again after his side drew a blank in a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Crawley.

The Hatters boss made three changes by also dropping Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu to bench and handing first Football League starts this term to Isaac Vassell, Josh McQuoid and Jonathan Smith.

None of the trio finished the game as Hylton and Marriott – with seven goals between them already this term – were introduced in the 61st minute to try to rescue the League Two contest, with Town 1-0 down thanks to a first half James Collins header.

Hylton played in a mask to protect a cracked cheekbone and he was adjudged to have fouled keeper Glenn Morris in the build-up to a late disallowed Marriott goal that would have levelled the scores, before an Enzio Boldewijn stoppage time sucker punch.

Talking of his team selection, Jones said: "Danny has had to wear a mask. He hasn't trained since Thursday because he's got a crack, so we've had to look after him. I didn't want to use him, if I'm honest, because he has that crack. And the way he is, the way he plays and trains, he's always liable to do something, so I didn't really want to use him.

"The other two [Vassell and McQuoid] have been flying, so I thought I'd give them an opportunity.

"I've been a victim of my own downfall really because I've tried to look after a few people and I've tried to freshen stuff up because we've got a good, competitive squad and it's strong all the way through. But maybe that's something that I won't be doing too readily."

Vassell and McQuoid had impressed in last month's Checkatrade Trophy win at Gillingham, but it didn't click in a first half at Crawley where Luton dominated and created chances, but didn't register one on target.

Jones said: "They've been doing well in training. I'm not going to gauge them just on today. It didn't quite come off but they worked hard. They looked a certain type of threat but it looks bad because obviously you've replaced probably the top two in the league, for me. It's something we had to do."

Asked if placing Marriott on the bench was a case of resting the 22-year-old striker, Jones said: "It is. They're a partnership together, those two. Isaac would have probably replaced [Hylton] and then Josh has been chomping at the bit to play, so you've got to keep them involved and keep everyone interested.

"But the most important thing for us is to get back to winning games. That's what we'll now have to try to do."