Luton Town FC vs Crewe Alexandra (8th Oct 2016)

PUBLISHED 18:01 8th October 2016 Hatters held after as Alex hit back from Hylton opener

Luton Town 1 (Hylton 44)

Crewe Alexandra 1 (Lowe 64)

Att: 7,716 (254 away)

The Hatters endured a frustrating afternoon at Kenilworth Road as Crewe Alexandra came from a goal down to take what manager Nathan Jones admitted was a deserved share of the spoils.

Top scorer Danny Hylton netted his seventh goal of the season to put the Town ahead at the break, but veteran striker Ryan Lowe equalised with his own seventh strike of the campaign to level things during the second half.

Jones had made one change to his starting line-up from last Saturday's 1-1 draw at Cheltenham, with Jake Gray coming into the midfield in place of Jordan Cook, who has been ill.

Christian Walton was temporarily back from England Under-21 duty and in the Town goal after flying back from Kazakhstan yesterday afternoon.

In front of Walton was a back four of James Justin, Scott Cuthbert, Alan Sheehan and Dan Potts, with Olly Lee anchoring the midfield behind Gray, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu and Cameron McGeehan. Danny Hylton and Jack Marriott were up front.

Crewe had the first attempt at goal inside the opening minute, when Charlie Kirk’s left-foot drive rippled Walton’s net – but thankfully having passed the outside of the post and bounced back off an advertising board!

The Hatters were intent on attacking too, however, and Justin swung in a couple of dangerous crosses inside the opening three minutes that had the visitors’ defence on alert.

In the fifth minute Marriott had the ball in the Alex net, but the assistant’s flag was already raised for offside as he nicked Justin’s long pass in front of visiting keeper Ben Garratt for a cool finish.

Walton proved the flight back hadn’t affected him when he got down low to keep out a Chris Dagnall effort, and ahead of him, the outfield players were keeping plenty of possession without really hurting Crewe.

That might have change just after the quarter-hour when, after stringing at least 15 passes together from back to front and across the pitch, some great combination play between Justin and Hylton on the right have the latter opportunity to cross dangerously, but Crewe manager to clear the danger.

Hylton soon had Garratt back-pedalling to gather a looping header from just inside the area, but Walton was the next keeper called into action, having to turn away a stinging strike from Alex midfielder Billy Bingham.

McGeehan tested Garratt from outside the area in the 28th minute, the Crewe number one struggling to deal with the ball on the greasy surface and grabbing it at the second attempt in front of Marriott.

Gray came close to unlocking the door on the half-hour when he swapped passes from a short corner with Marriott, then whipped in a vicious cross that eluded everyone in the six-yard box and flashed past the far post.

The breakthrough came a minute before half-time when Sheehan strode out of the back four, into the Alex half and fed Potts on the left.

The full-back played inside to Mpanzu, whi clipped a beautiful ball over the defence for Gray to roll it across the six-yard box and invite Hylton to tap in from close range.

Crewe brought Tom Lowery into their midfield at the break, in place of Kirk, and it was the young sub who fired in the first effort of the second half, although a deflection took his edge-of-the-area shot well wide.

Bingham was next to try his luck from 25 yards, then – after Mpanzu had been booked for a foul on Zoumana Bakayogo just before the hour – George Cooper bent a free-kick that had Walton back-pedalling fast, but it landed safely on the roof of the Town net.

A minute later captain Cuthbert had to produce a tremendous covering tackle to deny the marauding Bakayogo, but Crewe were level on 64 minutes when Cooper picked out Ryan Lowe at the far post, and the veteran nodded past Walton with ease.

A couple of minutes earlier, Jones had brought Alex Gilliead on for Mpanzu, with the Newcastle loanee going to the tip of the midfield diamond and McGeehan dropping slightly deeper.

The substitute was involved in the most incisive passing move the Hatters put together in the second half when he and Lee combined to play in the flying Justin, whose run was cut short by Bakayogo on the right edge of the area.

The Crewe left-back received a yellow card for his troubles, but Sheehan couldn’t reproduce his set-piece magic from Hartlepool ten days ago, and his curling 74th-minute effort cleared Garratt’s crossbar.

With ten minutes to go, Jones brought on Glen Rea for Lee and Josh McQuoid for Marriott as the Town prepared to take a corner. When the delivery came in from Sheehan, his central defensive partner Cuthbert met it with his head, but Hylton couldn’t keep his effort down.

McQuoid was soon into the game after a quick turn on the edge of the box, he curled towards goal, but his shot similarly proved too high.

It wasn’t to be for the Hatters, who drop a place to fifth but remain unbeaten in four league matches.

Next up for goalkeeper Walton, who rejoins the national squad tonight, is Tuesday afternoon’s game against Bosnia & Herzegovina at Walsall (3pm kick-off) and the opportunity for a first cap at Under-21 level.

For the rest of the squad, it’s a free week to prepare for the trip to Leyton Orient next Saturday.

TOWN: Walton, Justin, Cuthbert (c), Sheehan, Potts, Lee (Rea 80), Gray, Mpanzu (Gilliead 62), McGeehan, Hylton, Marriott (McQuoid 80). Subs: O'Donnell, Smith, Vassell, King (GK)

Yellows: Lee, Mpanzu

CREWE: Garratt, Turton, Guthrie, Davis, Lowe (c), Dagnall, Cooper, Bakayogo, Bingham, Hollands, Kirk (Lowery 46). Subs: Nugent, Richards, Udoh, Wintle, Ng, Ainley.

Yellows: Bakayogo

http://www.lutontown.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/luton-1-1-crewe-gallery-3353475.aspx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC34wOIoPmk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sgsLLtQW_I

League Two: Luton Town 1 Crewe Alexandra 1

Luton Town were held to a third straight draw in League Two after a hugely uninspiring performance against Crewe Alexandra this afternoon.

Although Danny Hylton had put Luton in front with his seventh of the campaign on the stroke of half time, the hosts produced a display lacking any kind of real spark, with Crewe always looking the side more likely to score.

That turned out to be the case too, as the Railwaymen deservedly got the leveller their neat and incisive play thoroughly deserved, veteran Ryan Lowe losing James Justin to nod home the back post just after the hour mark.

A telling factor in just how little the home supporters had been entertained, was the lack of a roar that usually accompanies the fourth official's board to signal injury time, with many already accepting they weren't about to witness a late winner.

Keeper Christian Walton had made it back from his rather pointless trip to Kazakhstan to sit on the bench for the England U21s to take his place between the posts, while Jake Gray was preferred to Jordan Cook, who was out with illness, as Glen Rea recovered sufficiently to be named on the bench.

It looked like Crewe had gone ahead inside a minute, when Charlie Kirk's low drive saw the net ripple, but thankfully it had flown into the side-netting, while Walton show no signs of jetlag, getting down smartly to repel Chris Dagnall's low attempt.

That was to set the tone for the majority of the first half, with Crewe able to keep an increasingly narrow Town at arms length, as Walton was by far the more overworked keeper during the first 20 minutes, getting down well to push Billy Bingham's left footer aside.

It took Luton 27 minutes to force a save of any real note from Ben Garratt, as Cameron McGeehan's shot skipped up off the turf and hit him in the face, the keeper recovering to grab the rebound ahead of Marriott.

Hatters then had the lead out of absolutely nothing, with a goal of serious quality though, as Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu picked the ball up deep and produced a superb chip over the top for Gray, who had escaped his marker.

The midfielder took it first time, cushioning a volley across goal where Hylton was lurking to tap home from close range.

Despite the bonus of the lead, Luton didn't look like they had the where with all to about increasing that in the second period, as Crewe began the better once more, half time sub Tom Lowery finding space for a shot, deflecting behind.

Still, the visitors found pockets of space between Luton's midfield and defence, particularly on the left, where there was an alarming lack of cover for Just at times.

Billy Bingham's snapshot flew just wide with Walton scrambling across his goal, while George Cooper's free kick landed on the roof of the net, as Alex fired a number of warning shots.

Town didn't heed them though and were pegged back on 64 minutes when Cooper's pinpoint cross to the far post was expertly nodded home by Lowe, as Luton failed to keep a clean sheet for the seventh league game running.

Although with the equaliser, Crewe then didn't pose as great an attacking threat, Luton couldn't really build up a meaningful head of steam, Alan Sheehan harmlessly over the bar from a free kick, with Hylton stabbing off target from Cuthbert's header.

Jones threw on Glen Rea and Josh McQuoid, with the latter trying the spectacular with seven minutes left, firing over, but time and time again, Hatters kept passing the ball across the back-line, showing no real urgency to grab the winner.

As it was, that proved the case, with Hatters dropping down to fifth in the table, and now trail leaders Plymouth by some nine points, after the Pilgrims won again at Stevenage.

Hatters: Christian Walton, James Justin, Dan Potts, Scott Cuthbert, Alan Sheehan, Olly Lee (Glen Rea 80), Jake Gray, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu (Alex Gilliead 62), Cameron McGeehan, Danny Hylton, Jack Marriott (Josh McQuoid 80).

Subs not used: Craig King, Stephen O'Donnell, Jonathan Smith, Isaac Vassell.

Crewe: Ben Garratt, Oliver Turton, Jon Guthrie, Harry Davis, Ryan Lowe (C), Chris Dagnall, George Cooper, Zoumana Bakayogo, Danny Hollands, Billy Bingham, Charlie Kirk (Tom Lowery 46).

Subs not used: Ben Nugent, Dave Richards, Danuel Udoh, Ryan Wintle, Perry Ng, Callum Ainley.

Bookings: Lee 26, Mpanzu 59, Bakayogo 74.

Referee: Nicholas Kinseley.

Attendance: 7,716 (Crewe 254).

Hatters MOM: Scott Cuthbert - skipper marked his 50th game with some excellent clearances.

Jones left frustrated by Hatters' inability to keep a clean sheet

Luton Town boss Nathan Jones was left disappointed by his side's inability to keep a clean sheet once more as they were held to their third straight league draw in succession with a 1-1 draw against Crewe Alexandra at Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

Striker Danny Hylton had put the Hatters in front with his seventh goal of the season on the stroke of half time, but the Railwaymen grabbed a deserved leveller when Ryan Lowe escaped the attentions of full back James Justin to head home just after the hour mark.

Hatters have now gone seven games without a shut out in the league, while for the second week running they were pegged back once having gone ahead, as the boss said: “It’s frustrating because when not playing as well as we would have liked, we still scored a goal and a good goal at that, it's just at the minute we're not keeping clean sheets and that's a bit of frustration.

“They’ve scored a similar goal to what we’ve scored, albeit by poor defending and that’s a learning curve for him (Justin).

“There’s only one in the box, we’ve got three in the box and he’s dinked it, he’s run off the back of James and that’s poor defending.

“It’s not something we haven’t worked on, because we know their threat, I mentioned their threat, the front two are lively, their movement and I’m disappointed with that.

“They scored from their only clear cut chance, they had a lot of play and shots from outside the box, and for me it was a gift with how we marked.

“If we'd had kept a clean sheet we would have won and I’’m glad that we haven’t lost the game, because that’s important, but having taken the lead, I’m just disappointed we didn’t up the tempo second half and hold on for the win.”

Hatters didn’t send too much at visiting keeper Ben Garratt either, as bar Hylton’s strike from a lovely move involving Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu and Jake Gray, they had very little else on target, bar the leading scorer volleying over in the second period.

Jones continued: “From our two clear cut ones, we scored one and then Danny’s there when it’s headed back across, if he hits the target there he scores.

"It was a good goal for us and was Pelly’s probably only contribution. I thought he wasn’t at it today, although the ball was magnificent and the ball across was lovely bit of awareness and Danny was there to finish it off.

“The other few occasions we got into areas, we tried to play our natural game, we changed later on to try and find a way to win it, but it wasn’t to be.

“It’s not the worst point in the world, Crewe are a a good side, 17 points before today, they’ve got 18 points now, so they’re right in the mix.

“It’s not the worst point, it’s just frustrating we didn’t go on and maybe get the second goal which would have given us the victory, but more important than that, keep the clean sheet to win the game.”

Jones: Teams are changing when they come to Kenilworth Road

Hatters boss Nathan Jones has warned his side they are going to have learn to cope with opposing teams changing their tactics when visiting Kenilworth Road this season.

Luton were held a 1-1 draw with Crewe Alexandra yesterday in a game where they struggled to exert any kind of dominance throughout the 90 minutes, failing to build on Danny Hylton's opener on the stroke of half time.

Ryan Lowe deservedly levelled just after the hour mark as Hatters failed to create enough opportunities to significantly test visiting keeper Ben Garratt, which Jones felt was down to the Railwaymen abandoning their usual free-flowing style in favour of a more conservative approach.

The Town chief said: “I don't think we were at our fluent best, but they condensed the space and sat off, which is the first time they've done that, as normally they press high and go after you, which was the prep work we had done all week.

“But they sat off and tried to hit us on the counter attack, and frustrate us a little bit.

“A lot of sides come and people aren’t playing their normal game, they’re changing for us and when I watch other games, they don’t seem to be doing that for anyone else.

“We’ve built a reputation at the minute, so we’re going to need to change something, but the worst thing for us was having got in a 1-0, we couldn’t, one, go on and capitalise on that and two, hold out for the win.”

“It was a fair result if I’m honest, they're a decent side, we saw that, they're similar to us in how they move the ball and how they want to play.”

Striker Jack Marriott, who had an early goal ruled out for offside, struggled to get into the game once more, tightly shackled by the visiting defence, until he made may for Josh McQuoid with 10 minutes to go.

On the 22-year-old’s display, Jones continued: “We weren’t as fluent and when space is limited then Jack’s not as effective so that’s something we need to look at, but he’s an important player for us, he’s an excellent player for us.

“At the minute when sides come out against us with more space then Jack flourishes, but today, they condensed it, they sat off, so there wasn’t that much space for him to work.”

Meanwhile, Alex boss Steve Davis was delighted with his own side’s performance, adding: “I thought we passed the ball really well, we set up just to let the centre halves have the ball and hit it a bit longer, rather than try and play through which you can do with the diamond, you've got to make sure there are no spaces.

"We kept our discipline very well and then when we had possession, we kept the ball really well, caused them problems in the first half, without being able to score.

"We were creating more opportunities than them, the goal came a little bit out of the blue, the one time we did switch off and we got punished for it.

"Other than that, I thought we were excellent right the way through the game.

"Second half, we knew we were still in the game, knew we could create some chances, and for the first half an hour, we just pressurised them, kept the ball really well and overall, every single one of them were excellent."

Luton Town 1 Crewe Alexandra 1

This was one of those Kenilworth Road afternoons which won't make the hit parade of Hatters memories should Luton ever leave their home of 111 years.

Monday is the deadline for fans to have their say on the planning application for Town's proposed new 17,500-seat stadium at Power Court and Newlands Park and they'll hope supporters show more enthusiasm for those schemes than they were able to muster in a drab draw against Crew Alexandra.

The only bright spot was Danny Hylton's well-worked seventh of the season and that was against the run of play on the stroke of half time, but there were few surprises when a 38-year-old Ryan Lowe headed the Railwaymen level just after the hour mark. Nathan Jones' men now haven't kept a clean sheet in the league for seven straight games.

The visitors looked well-placed to press on a take maximum points, so there's a little victory there for Luton – if you get your microscope out – that they eked this one out to its dull conclusion.

When a defender doesn't score, but gets awarded man-of-the-match it tells you all you need to know about the quality on show.

That's no disrespect to Luton skipper Scott Cuthbert – he was excellent in his rearguard duties – but the Hatters laboured against classy Crewe outfit.

And, as their third 1-1 League Two draw in a row saw Town drop to fifth in the division, nine points off leaders Plymouth, it's starting to feel like Luton are in something of a rut.

Boss Jones said: "The worst thing for us was, having got in at [half time at] 1-0, we couldn't capitalise on that, as, if we'd had kept a clean sheet, we would have won the game. We scored, when not playing as well as we would have liked, but we still scored a good goal, it's just at the minute we're not keeping clean sheets and that's a bit of frustration."

There was just one change to the Luton side from the last weekend's league draw at Cheltenham with Jake Gray – the only player to keep his place after Tuesday's 2-0 EFL Trophy win over West Brom – replacing an ill Jordan Cook.

Keeper Christian Walton also kept his spot having only landed back in Blighty at 4am on Friday morning from a watching brief with England Under-21s in Kazakhstan.

It looked, for a split second, that the Brighton loan ace's first task would be to pick the ball out of the net when Crewe's Charlie Kirk ruffled the net, but his shot hit the outside of the net.

While Luton were the busier side for the opening ten minutes – with Jack Marriott finding the net but also Sian Massey-Ellis' flag raised for offside – Walton had to beat away a Chris Dagnall drive on ten minutes The Railwaymen then built up a head of steam and continued to test if the goalie was suffering from any jet lag from the five hours' time difference, but he was equal to Billy Bingham's daisy-cutter.

With Crewe looking comfortable, Town took the lead against the run of play. Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu dinked a delightful reverse ball in behind the defence to Gray, who cut it back to the Hylton for his seventh of the season.

It did little to inspire an improvement in Luton's play after the half time interval with Walton still the busier goalie, scrambling across his line after Bingham's blaster which, fortunately, narrowly missed the target.

The Luton keeper was then beaten all ends up by a George Cooper free-kick which, luckily again, hit the roof of the net.

But he was finally beaten in the 64th minute. There was almost a sense of inevitability about it when the Crewe man crossed to Lowe who, in acres of space at the back post, had an eternity to pick his spot and head home.

At that point, Crewe looked the only side capable victory, so the fact that Luton restricted their visitors to scraps was something to shout about in the resilience stakes, considering an underwhelming afternoon.

Hylton even had half a chance to snatch something when Cuthbert headed down from a corner and the heavily marshalled striker stabbed over.

That might have made for a moment to remember instead of an afternoon best left forgotten.

Luton Town: Walton, Potts, Cuthbert, Gray, McGeehan, Hylton, Marriott (Rea, 80), Mpanzu (Gilliead, 62), Lee (McQuoid, 80), Justin, Sheehan

Unused subs: O'Donnell, Smith, Vassell, King

Crewe Alexandra: Garrratt, Turton, Guthrie, Davis, Lowe, Dagnall, Cooper, Bakayogo, Hollands, Bingham, Kirk (Lowery, 45)

Unused subs: Nugent, Richards, Udoh, Wintle, Ng, Ainley

Referee: Nicholas Kinseley

Attendance: 7,716 (254)