Luton Town FC vs Bristol Rovers (18th Aug 2015)

PUBLISHED 21:35 18th August 2015 Full report from Kenilworth Road

LUTON TOWN 0-1 BRISTOL ROVERS

The Hatters were sunk by another late goal as an injury-time strike from Stuart Sinclair gave Bristol Rovers all three points.

In a game in which the Town struggled to create many clear-cut chances in front of goal, the Pirates pinched all three points with a goal at the death to leave Kenilworth Road stunned.

Sinclair raced through in behind the Town defence to slam a shot past Mark Tyler to leave the Hatters to reflect on a first defeat of the season.

The Hatters, who were unchanged from Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Oxford, began on the front-foot with Paddy McCourt pulling the strings in midfield. The Northern Ireland international fired the first shot of the evening on seven minutes but his effort from the edge of the box flew wide of the post.

Rovers, promoted from the Conference via the Play-Offs last season, arrived at Kenilworth Road protecting an incredible unbeaten record away from home in league competition stretching back to September last year.

And slowly the visitors worked their way into the game. On 16 minutes left-back Lee Brown’s curling left-foot free-kick was blocked by the Town wall after Daniel Leadbitter had been pulled down on the edge of the box by Luke Wilkinson.

And a minute later it was hearts in mouths time for the Town when Jermaine Easter’s volley from the edge of the penalty area took a huge deflection and dropped inches wide of the target with Mark Tyler beaten.

As the Hatters huffed and puffed in search of a way through the Rovers rearguard, it was the visitors that continued to look the more likely side to open the scoring. Sinclair arched an effort goalwards that was cleared by Nathan Doyle on 38 minutes, and moments later Tom Lockyer planted a header just wide following a deep left-wing cross.

Rovers then came even closer to taking the lead on 40 minutes, and the Hatters had Tyler to thank for an excellent stop to keep out Brown’s first-time effort after the visiting left-back had ghosted in at the back post to meet a low right-wing cross.

The visitors continued in the same vein after the break as the Town struggled to test Aaron Chapman in the visitors’ goal.

The Pirates were denied again by Tyler six minutes after the restart when the Town cleared a chance off the line following a melee in the penalty box.

With the Hatters failing to create any chance of note in a frustrating period of play, John Still introduced Jonathan Smith and Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu in a bid to up the ante as the final 20 minutes approached.

There was a brief rally from the Town with 15 minutes to go with McCourt almost conjuring up a chance for Mackail-Smith on 74 minutes only for Chapman to cut out the winger’s low cross.

Still then sent on Jack Marriott for Mackail-Smith, but as the game entered four minutes of injury time, it looked as the though the match would end in stalemate.

However, Rovers had other ideas and in the final minute of four additional shown, they won it. Sinclair latched onto a ball over the Town of the Town defence and he took one touch before firing past Tyler to send the visiting support into ecstasy.

There was no time left for the Hatters to find an equaliser – and that was that.

Town: Tyler; O’Donnell, Griffiths, McNulty, Wilkinson, Cuthbert, Doyle (sub Smith 64), McGeehan (sub Ruddock 69), McCourt, Mackail-Smith (sub Marriott 74), Benson. Subs not used: Potts, Lawless, McQuoid, Justham.

Attendance: 8,061, including 553 from Bristol Rovers

http://www.lutontown.co.uk/news/article/luton-0-1-bristol-rovers-gallery-2629820.aspx

League Two: Luton Town 0 Bristol Rovers 1

Luton Town conceded their second injury-time goal in the space of four days as they were beaten at home by League Two new boys Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night.

With just seconds left on the clock, former Hatters youth teamer Stuart Sinclair was left completely unmarked to race through and fire past Mark Tyler, compounding what was a truly miserable evening for John Still’s side.

The hosts, for whom so much is expected after a summer of eye-catching transfer activity at Kenilworth Road, struggled to get up a head of steam throughout the entire 90 minutes, failing to test Pirates keeper Aaron Chapman with a single shot on target.

Although the season is still very much in its infancy and the new players naturally need time to bed in, the lack of tempo in Hatters’ performance and the seemingly bemused manner in which they went about their 3-5-2 formation has to be a cause for concern.

Boss John Still had opted for the same side who had drawn 2-2 with Oxford United at the weekend, but Hatters badly lacked the pizazz that was on show during Saturday’s encounter.

Once again it was Paddy McCourt behind their best moments early on, but unable to find the killer final ball to Craig Mackail-Smith and Paul Benson, he eventually opted to go it alone, dragging wide from 20 yards.

Rovers then enjoyed a decent spell of pressure as Luke Wilkinson was fortunate to avoid being sent off after he was adjudged to have fouled Daniel Leadbitter when he was the last man, although with his opponent clearly diving, it would have been a horrible injustice.

The Pirates continued to look the move lively, Jermaine Easter’s deflected drive flying wide and Tom Lockyer nodding narrowly off target.

Five minutes before the break the hosts were indebted to keeper Tyler for a crucial point blank save from Lee Brown’s close range effort.

There was no change to Town’s fortunes after the break as still they looked laboured and cumbersome, with Ellis Harrison wide from outside the box.

Changes were made as Jonathan Smith replaced a hobbling Nathan Doyle and Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu came on, but despite Luton finally enjoying possession, they couldn’t do anything with it.

McCourt once again was engineering all of Luton’s, what could be described as brightest moments, but after a delightful one-two with Benson, he broke into the area and slid his cross far too close to the underworked Chapman.

With the Kenilworth Road crowd’s frustration audible for all to hear, they then witnessed the hammer blow as with time running out, Sinclair broke away and coolly found the net, to leave Luton heading to Yeovil this weekend still searching for that first victory.

Hatters: Mark Tyler, Scott Cuthbert, Steve McNulty, Luke Wilkinson, Stephen O’Donnell, Cameron McGeehan (Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu 70), Nathan Doyle (Jonathan Smith 64), Paddy McCourt, Scott Griffiths, Paul Benson, Craig Mackail-Smith (Jack Marriott 76). Subs not used: Dan Potts, Alex Lawless, Elliot Justham, Josh McQuoid.

Rovers: Aaron Chapman, Daniel Leadbitter, Lee Brown, Tom Lockyer, Tom Parkes, Ollie Clarke, Ellis Harrison, Chris Lines (C), James Clarke, Jermaine Easter (Matty Taylor 68), Stuart Sinclair. Subs not used: Steve Mildenhall, Jake Gosling, Cristian Montano, Billy Bodin, Jay Malpas, Jeffrey Monakana.

Referee: Trevor Kettle. Booked: Wilkinson 15, McCourt 55, Harrison 76. Attendance: 8,061 (553 Rovers).

Hatters MOM: Steve McNulty. Captain is one of the few who can hold his head high.

LUTON TOWN 0 BRISTOL ROVERS 1

Luton for promotion? Not on this evidence. Not a hope.

If you suffer from heart problems or merely a nervous disposition, the health advice would be to steer clear of Town's matches this term as, for the second game running, they conceded a 94th minute goal.

This time, against Bristol Rovers, it was a fatal one as they suffered their first defeat of the League Two campaign to which Stuart Sinclair – released by the Hatters as a youngster – supplied the killer touch. It was precisely what they and Luton deserved.

It is only three games into the campaign but boos and jeers from the home fans at the final whistle were fully merited but no less worrying for a side tipped for the top of this division. They look miles off that prediction.

Luton were unchanged from the side that suffered a last-gasp draw at home to Oxford on Saturday but here they played an unconventional false midfield – in so much as they were hardly there at all.

There was an early cameo from Paddy McCourt but sadly it was all too short, with a sumptuous through-ball from inside his own half and one on the edge of the penalty box that neither Stephen O'Donnell nor Craig Mackail-Smith could make anything of. That set the script for the rest of the match – lead-footed first touches; misplaced passes; aimless balls forward; nervous, last-ditch defending and most criminal of all, not one single effort on target. At home. Poor is an understatement.

Until Rovers' late show the only saving grace had been a huge dose of fortune, first as Luke Wilkinson was fortunate to remain on the pitch. A horrendous ball from Nathan Doyle skewed into the path of Daniel Leadbitter, but with a clear run on goal the Bristol wide man was tripped. Referee Trevor Kettle opted for a yellow card and Luton breathed a sigh of relief while Rovers raged at the official's leniency.

Luck – if it's pertinent to call it that on such a pitiable night – was on Town's side once more when Jermaine Easter's deflected shot left Mark Tyler rooted to his goal-line but bounced wide.

The home goal lived an increasingly charmed life in the first half when Tom Lockyear headed wide before the keeper rescued the Hatters, keeping out Easter from point blank range.

From similar range, five minutes after half-time, the Gas striker was denied by a mass of bodies as nothing whatsoever changed about Luton's insipid evening.

It came to something when the only thing worth cheering by the 70th minute was the introduction of Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, but at least it had the effect of creating some forward thrust – even if they squandered a promising counter-attack.

Moments later McCourt jinked to the byline but his cutback was easily scrubbed out by keeper Aaron Chapman, who'd had a cigar on most of the match.

The 64th minute introduction of Jonathan Smith had at least disrupted the visitors' flow and looked to have gritted Luton through to a point, but the Pirates finally claimed their bounty when Matty Taylor played in Sinclair and he stabbed a sickener past Tyler.

Misery, sheer misery.

Luton: Tyler, O'Donnell, McNulty, Cuthbert, McGeehan (Ruddock Mpanzu, 70), Benson, Griffiths, McCourt, Mackail-Smith (Marriott, 75), Doyle (Smith, 64), Wilkinson

Unused subs: Potts, Lawless, Justham, McQuoid

Bristol Rovers: Chapman, Leadbitter, Brown, Lockyer, Parkes, Clarke, Harrison, Lines, Clarke, Easter (Taylor, 68), Sinclair

Unused subs: Mildenhall, Gosling, Montano, Bodin, Malpas, Monakana

Referee: Trevor Kettle Attendance: 8,061 (553)

Hatters boss John Still is likely to persist with his 3-5-2 formation despite the 1-0 defeat against Bristol Rovers last night.

The Luton chief has now started with the system for the last three games and despite working well against Bristol City in the Capital One Cup, it looked increasingly disjointed yesterday evening.

Both Stephen O’Donnell and Scott Griffiths appeared very uneasy in their wingback roles as neither could provide any sort of telling final ball, leaving strikers Craig Mackail-Smith and Paul Benson forced to feed off scraps.

It meant Hatters failed to have a single shot on goal throughout the entire evening and Still’s reluctance to change is coming under growing criticism from supporters.

When asked about his tactics, the Luton chief said: “I can remember when the first year we went up, we started off with the 4-2-3-1 and people were moaning about, ‘we’re not doing this, not doing that’.

“You have to give it a chance, so we have to give it a chance. It’s the first time it’s not really worked to be honest as it wasn’t good enough.

“You keep working with them and working with them for the combinations. That’s why I didn’t change the team, I wanted to give them the opportunity to bed in.

“We’ve been really, really pleased with the three centre halves and they’ve all played well.

“If I looked at the team in the games we’ve had, that’s been the most consistent area, although it doesn’t make us the most consistent team.

“So you’re loathe to mess about when you have something that’s working.”

Surprisingly, summer signing Danny Green has been jettisoned from the squad completely after starting the opening fixture of the season at Accrington, with the winger’s delivery from the flanks a feature Town are crying out for.

Neither Alex Lawless or Luke Guttridge have featured at all so far either as when asked whether those players will come back into contention, Still continued: “Absolutely, it’s something we’ll look at and of course when we look at the DVD and look at the players we have, we’ll see if we can do anything else.

“In terms of players we’re okay, when you get new players in and a new system, you have to give it an opportunity.

“Our three centre halves have been terrific, so if you’ve got a good component, you work round the component.

“Now I’ll look at that, they were good the three of them, but other areas of the pitch we weren’t good enough.”

Skipper Steve McNulty didn’t feel it was an issue with the shape of the side either, as he added: “You can’t say the team that played, or in the last two league games weren’t good enough to go out and win the games.

“There’s enough talent in the team to win the game more thank comfortably, so there’s no excuses.

“We huffed and puffed all night, but didn’t create enough chances going forward. It was a lacklustre performance and we need to improve on it.”

Luton Town: John Still admits he would have booed Hatters off himself after poor Rovers display

John Still admitted he had 'no complaints' with Luton fans booing his side after they lost 1-0 to a 94th minute Bristol Rovers goal last night.

It was the second consecutive League Two match that the Hatters conceded so deep into injury time and after his men failed to have a single shot on target the manager confessed that the Pirates 'deserved' their victory.

The first defeat in the division this term for winless Luton led to jeers from the Kenilworth Road crowd at the final whistle and Still said: "I'd have booed. I've got no complaints with that. I remember when I first came here and people were saying about the supporters being unhappy. Well, when you don't play well supporters are going to be unhappy. That's football.

"This is the real world we live in. When you win they're happy, when you don't win they're not happy. There's nothing wrong with that.

"I've been in the game too long to worry about one game. We've been really poor in one game. The year we came up we were poor in a few games and I'm sure we'll be poor again, but we'll go back to work, believe in what we do and we'll hope that we can find the right way of producing the right results."

Stuart Sinclair claimed the last-gasp winner just when Luton looked to have scraped a point from an abject display against a Rovers side that have not lost on their travels since September 6, 2014.

"I thought they deserved to win," Still said of Bristol, adding that in stark contrast to their performance against Oxford on Saturday: "From the first minute we never played with that intensity. We had little periods where we did, but not sustained.

"We didn't move the ball quick enough, spent too long on the ball and let them get behind the ball. When we did cross our crossing was poor. We never really tested their goalkeeper. They didn't really test Mark [Tyler], in fairness, but for the away team, I thought they deserved to win.

"We haven't played well enough and, if I'm honest, I don't really know why.

"I don't have any complaints with the result, whether they scored early or late or whatever."

Still's only praise was reserved for his three centre halves – Steve McNulty, Luke Wilkinson and Scott Cuthbert – saying it's been Luton's 'most consistent' area in all three league games so far.

But he was left to rue a night where nothing went right in an offensive sense, as slow, inaccurate passing, poor crossing and a lack of tempo took its toll.

"Our attacking play…if it didn't go through Paddy McCourt we didn't attack," the manager said.