Luton Town FC vs Hartlepool United (14th Feb 2017)

PUBLISHED 22:55 14th February 2017 Valentine's victory keeps pressure on for Town

LUTON TOWN 3 (Hylton 5, Gambin 13, Palmer 81)

HARTLEPOOL UNITED 0

Att: 6,965 (90 away)

The Hatters rose to the challenge of a Valentine’s night visit from Hartlepool United with a 3-0 victory that maintained the pressure on the automatic promotion places in Sky Bet League Two.

Danny Hylton opened the scoring on five minutes with his 18th goal of the season, before Luke Gambin opened his Town account eight minutes later and substitute Ollie Palmer did likewise late on to make sure of the three points.

Nathan Jones’ lads remain fourth, three points behind Carlisle, but have moved closer to leaders Doncaster and second-placed Plymouth – the Town’s next two opponents who both lost tonight – after making it three straight home wins and ten goals scored in all competitions over the past week.

Jones made three changes to the starting line-up from Saturday’s 2-1 home win over Crawley.

Johnny Mullins returned to the heart of defence after serving his four-game ban, with captain Scott Cuthbert dropping to the bench. Alan Sheehan was handed the captain's armband as January signings Gambin and Lawson D'Ath came into midfield, with Jonathan Smith and Jordan Cook missing out.

The Hatters had the lead in the fifth minute, and it was that man Hylton – who had already had two sighters in the first couple of minutes – who was on target yet again.

It started with a long, drilled pass from goalkeeper Matt Macey to Isaac Vassell, who laid the ball off to Gambin. The ex-Barnet man looked up and saw Hylton peel off the shoulder of his marker, then picked him out with a delightful ball that the striker chested down and slipped past Joe Fryer for 1-0.

It was almost two five minutes later when Sheehan’s free-kick from the right edge of the box, after Gambin had been brought down, brought a smart save at his near post from Fryer, before Hylton headed the resulting corner over the bar.

Vassell was next to try his luck after some incisive build-up play down the left with Jack Senior, but the second goal wasn’t long in coming - and it was Gambin who registered his first goal for the club.

Sheehan clipped a lovely ball down the left and Gambin, making his fourth start for the Town, took advantage of some hesitancy between the visiting centre-halves to latch onto the loose ball and strike it crisply past Fryer into the bottom corner from just inside the box.

D’Ath was impressing every time he got the ball and, after Vassell just failed to connect with one delightful right-wing cross from the ex-Northampton wideman, he set Hylton free again to rifle another 20-yard effort at goal, this time straight at the Monkey Hangers’ keeper.

Hartlepool’s first attempt on goal – in fact, the first time they’d been in the Town penalty area – came on 28 minutes when Lewis Alessandra, on as an early sub for injured centre-half Matthew Bates, headed Nathan Thomas’ right-wing corner inches wide of the far post.

Just after the half-hour, Hylton looked to get on the end of a good cross from right-back O’Donnell, then – from the resulting corner – Glen Rea headed goalwards and was only denied his third goal of the season by a visiting defender blocking on the line.

The game meandered towards half-time with the Town dominant, but not managing to rediscover the cutting edge of the opening quarter-of-an-hour, and it was the visitors who started the second half on the front foot, Thomas firing wide when off-balance and Rea having to hack a left-wing corner away from the far post.

In the 53rd minute D’Ath tried to spark a bit of life back into the game with an effort from distance, then Hylton skipped past two defenders in the box and took aim from 12 yards, but his attempted curler was too high for the top corner.

Vassell raced onto a Hylton through ball on 58 minutes, but Fryer got down low to parry the striker’s left-foot shot, and just after the hour, Hartlepool reminded the Town they were still in the game when Michael Woods fired narrowly over Macey’s crossbar.

Visiting manager Dave Jones then introduced top scorer Padraig Amond from the bench and within seconds, O’Donnell had to be alert to produce a last-ditch tackle to deny Thomas a clear run at goal, then Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu – making his 100th appearance for the Town – had to clear behind for a second corner in quick succession as the men from the north-east looked for a way back.

Hatters boss Jones made a double substitution on 73 minutes, taking off strike pairing Hylton and Vassell and bringing Jack Marriott and Palmer on in their place, but it was Hartlepool who had the next effort on goal, Thomas swinging his left boot and testing Macey from 20 yards.

The Hatters made sure of victory with nine minutes of normal time remaining, however, and it was Palmer whose persistence on the right wing, in harrying possession out of Scott Harrison, earned the fortune that came his way when an attempted cut-back to Marriott was deflected back to his feet.

The Leyton Orient loanee did the rest from close range, tucking the ball past Fryer at his near post and racing towards the Town fans in G Block to celebrate.

He was almost celebrating again four minutes later when he won the ball on the left by-line, right in front of those same applauding supporters, and blasted a low shot that Fryer this time dropped down to keep out.

In the final minute of normal time Rea glanced a header wide from Sheehan’s deep free-kick, then – a minute into injury-time – Marriott forced another good save out of Fryer with a stinging 20-yarder.

Three was enough, however, on a night that started convincingly and finished comfortably, albeit without catching Carlisle.

It’s six wins and one defeat in nine in all competitions, and next up are league leaders Doncaster on Saturday to kick-off a massive week for the Town.

TOWN: Macey, O'Donnell, Mullins, Sheehan (c), Senior, Rea, D'Ath (Smith 66), Mpanzu, Gambin, Hylton (Palmer 73), Vassell (Marriott 73). Subs: Cuthbert, Gray, Justin, Moore (GK)

Yellows: Rea

HARTLEPOOL: Fryer, Featherstone (c), Bates (Alessandra 14), Thomas, Walker, Oats, Woods, Nelson (Amond 61), Harrison, Richardson, Kavanagh. Subs: Bartlett (GK), Hawkins, Rooney, Martin, Hawkes

Yellows: Thomas, Richardson

REFEREE: John Brooks

http://www.lutontown.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/luton-town-football-league-two-hartlepool-unitedd-3574254.aspx

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

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

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PUBLISHED 22:44 14th February 2017 The** Hatters made it three home wins on the spin**

Town boss Nathan Jones felt a scoreline of 3-0 didn’t flatter his side as the Hatters maintained their position of fourth in Sky Bet League Two with a convincing win over Hartlepool United at Kenilworth Road.

Danny Hylton gave the Town the lead within five minutes with a smart finish, before Luke Gambin doubled the advantage with 13 minutes gone with his first goal since signing in January.

Substitute Ollie Palmer also opened his account for the club as he fired home from close range in the latter stages to make it 3-0.

The teams around the Town also picked up points, which means the Hatters must wait until at least Saturday to see if they close the gap on third-placed Carlisle United, who beat league leaders Doncaster 2-1.

Jones was pleased with his side’s win, as they made it three victories on the bounce.

He said: “I am delighted with the win. Look, we won it in the first 20, 25 minutes. The start we had was fantastic. We really played on the front foot and that’s what got us the win.

“We took the foot off the pedal a little bit really, we veered slightly from the game plan and then the second half was a little bit of a non-event until we brought Ollie Palmer on. Then we finished very, very strongly.

“Three-nil didn’t flatter us, and any win at home is really important now.”

Town’s impressive play in the opening period left the Hatters manager singing his side’s praises, but he wants his players to kill off games sooner.

“We played in their half, we got it into our front ones who can cause problems given that sort of space,” Jones continued.

“I think we needed a little bit more of a killer instinct about us and a bit more of a ruthless streak, and I would have liked it to be over by half-time.

“But I can’t be that arrogant or that presumptuous because they’re not a bad side, and I am glad we got the job done.”

League Two: Luton Town 3 Hartlepool United 0

Luton Town made it back-to-back home wins with a comfortable 3-0 victory over struggling Hartlepool this evening, although it could and really should have been oh so many more.

With the Hatters racing into a 2-0 lead after just 12 minutes, many in attendance sat back expecting to witness a Valentines Day massacre with the floodgates bursting open.

Alas, that never looked like happening, as Town went on to huff and puff for large periods against what at times was a desperately poor visiting side, until Ollie Palmer came off the bench to wrap up victory in the closing stages.

However, after failing to take advantage of home matches against the division's so-called weaker opponents, most notably Cheltenham a fortnight ago, then Luton will quite rightly be delighted by the ease they picked up all three points ahead of a trip to leaders Doncaster Rovers on Saturday.

They couldn't gain any further ground on third placed Carlisle, who defeated the table-toppers 2-1 to maintain their three point gap, but with second-placed Plymouth beaten at home by Leyton Orient, it brought the top two ever so slightly into sight once more.

Town chief Nathan Jones made three changes to his side, surprisingly dropping captain Scott Cuthbert to the bench, where he was joined by Jonathan Smith, with Jordan Cook failing to recover from his neck injury in time.

That meant Johnny Mullins returned from suspension, while Lawson D'Ath came in for his full home debut as Luke Gambin started too.

Hatters set about getting the early goal that they have so craved this season, taking the lead on just five minutes with a lovely clipped ball by Gambin releasing Danny Hylton who chested down and easily beat Joe Fryer for his 18th of the season.

The hosts almost doubled up their lead on 10 minutes, when Gambin won a free kick and Alan Sheehan nearly beat Fryer at his near post, his low effort brilliantly tipped away.

However, the second wasn't too long in arriving, as a long ball forward wasn't dealt with by the Pools defence, allowing Gambin to pick possession up, advance into the area and fire into the bottom corner, netting his first goal for the club.

Hylton looked for number 19 shortly afterwards, denied by Fryer, as the only problem Town looked to have was complacency, such was the grip they had on proceedings.

It almost cost them on the half hour, when Sheehan was caught in possession, with the visitors winning a corner that Scott Harrison headed narrowly wide of the target.

Happy to still be in the game at the break, Pools started the second period like the team with the two-goal lead knocking the ball around as Hatters were caught in a slumber for the opening five minutes.

Hylton almost woke them up, doing superbly to beat two in the area with drag backs, but faced with just Fryer, lifted his shot over the bar on 53 minutes.

Now wide awake once more, Hylton set Isaac Vassell away and although the angle was against him, he forced the on-loan Middlesbrough stopper into a decent stop low down.

But Pools weren't without a threat at times, Michael Woods shooting narrowly over the bar, as they definitely improved from being considerably the worst team to visit Kenilworth Road in the opening period.

Despite a brief surge, Town just couldn't get back into top gear, too often the final ball letting them down, as Fryer was to enjoy a far easier evening then he could ever have expected after 12 minutes.

The addition of Palmer and Jack Marriott from the bench for the final quarter of an hour changed that though, with Palmer robbing Scott Harrison on the touchline and after trying to pick out Gambin, saw the ball fortuitously ricochet into his path to open his Town account.

Palmer almost had a second, winning another lost cause and then trying to catch out Fryer, the keeper repelling the danger, and he also sprang to his left to deny Marriott a fourth late on as well.

Hatters: Matt Macey, Stephen O'Donnell, Jack Senior, Johnny Mullins, Alan Sheehan (C), Glen Rea, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, Lawson D'Ath (Jonathan Smith 66), Luke Gambin, Isaac Vassell (Jack Marriott 73), Danny Hylton (Ollie Palmer 73).

Subs not used: Craig King, Jake Gray, Scott Cuthbert, James Justin.

Pools: Joe Fryer, Nicky Featherstone (C), Matthew Bates (Lewis Alessandra 14), Nathan Thomas, Brad Walker, Rhys Oates, Michael Woods, Andrew Nelson (Padraig Amond 61), Scott Harrison, Kenton Richardson, Sean Kavanagh.

Subs not used: Adam Bartlett, Lewis Hawkins, Louis Rooney, James Martin, Josh Hawkes.

Booked: Thomas 42, Richardson 45, Rea 60, Woods 84.

Attendance: 6,965 (90 Pools).

Referee: John Brooks.

Star Hatter: Jack Senior. Whole-hearted display from the first minute.

Hatters** boss delighted as Luton race out of the blocks**

Hatters boss Nathan Jones expressed his delight after finally watching his side explode out of the blocks against Hartlepool last night.

Luton have struggled to break teams down at Kenilworth Road this term, but there were no such worries of a repeat performance once Danny Hylton took Luke Gambin’s delightful pass in his stride to break the deadlock on just five minutes.

Gambin himself then added the second just seven minutes later, firing into the bottom corner to give Pools a mountain to climb, as Luton led by two goals at the break for the first time in the league this season.

Jones said: “I thought we won it in the first 20-25 minutes. The start we had was fantastic, we really played on the front foot and that’s what got us the win.

“We played in their half, we got it into our front ones who can cause problems given that kind of space.

“It was a great ball (from Gambin) and stuff we work on, the movement of the front three, and then a great finish from Danny.

“Second one, we went into the front men a little bit more direct, Luke was backing up play, and a great finish.

“I’m delighted, 3-0 didn’t flatter us and any win at home is really important now.

“This is the game normally that we didn’t take advantage of, but we’ve put that to bed. It’s another mini milestone for us, so we’re happy tonight.”

Once Gambin had notched Town’s second, most fans were expecting Hatters to go on and really put their opponents to the sword, but it never materialised.

The home support had to wait well over an hour to celebrate another goal, substitute Ollie Palmer on target, as Jones admitted his side rather went through the motions at times.

He continued: “We took our foot off the pedal a little and we veered slightly from the gameplan.

“Second half was a little bit of a non event until we bought Ollie Palmer on, and then we finished very, very strongly.

“I wanted us to keep going (after the second goal) as they were on the ropes a little bit. We needed a little bit more of a killer instinct about us a bit more of a ruthless streak and I would have liked it to be over by half time.

“But I can’t be that arrogant, or that presumptuous really, as they’re not a bad side.

“I’m glad we got the job done as second half we didn’t really get hold of the game, didn’t really play very well, but apart from a few set-plays, we never looked like conceding.

“A third goal would have killed the game, it’s very optimistic to come back from 3-0 and that’s what we didn’t do, as we started to overplay a little bit.

“But we’ve won the game 3-0, we would have loved it to be over a bit sooner, but you don’t win football games easily, especially not in this league.”

Goalscorer Gambin revealed a big part of Town’s preparation had been to put the struggling visitors under pressure from the kick-off too, although admitted once 2-0 ahead, Luton did lose their way slightly.

He said: “We’ve put a lot of focus on starting right and we went at it, got the two early goals and after that, they sat off and the game lost tempo.

“They were a bit disheartened but we kind of let them get back into it because we were comfortable. They never looked like a massive threat, maybe from a set-piece, but they were never going to break us down.

“We just took our foot off the gas as we knew we had the two goals, but the whole squad, everyone did a job, we’re a real tight group and we can take the momentum on to Saturday’s game.”

Meanwhile, centurion Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu added: “We got two quick goals and we’ve been trying to get quick goals all season, so it’s good to get two in 15 minutes. It wasn’t a great game but sometimes you’ve got to win ugly and the end result was three points.

“Two-nil is a bit of an awkward scoreline. If they nick one it’s 2-1 but if we get another one then it’s game over and we’re coasting.

“Obviously, we held on, got a clean sheet and that’s what we wanted.”

Palmer’s cameo receives glowing praise from boss Jones

Luton boss Nathan Jones reserved special praise for the impact on-loan striker Ollie Palmer has made since arriving at Kenilworth Road on transfer deadline day.

The 25-year-old forward joined on loan from Leyton Orient until the end of the season and has come off the bench three times now for the Hatters, catching the eye on each occasion.

He bagged his first goal for the club during last night’s 3-0 win over Hartlepool too, dispossessing Scott Harrison by the touchline and then tucking home once an intended cross for Luke Gambin rebounded fortunately into his path.

Jones said: “What he has shown since I spoke to the kid back in January, he’s shown a real desire to come here and want to do well for Luton Town.

“He was desperate to come here and since he’s come in the building, he’s been brilliant and that showed today.

“That epitomises the conversations I had with him when it was difficult to get him out of his old club.

“He showed a real, real desire and that’s what we want, that’s what we wanted to add to the squad. He’s improved the squad and I’m delighted for him as he deserved that.

Palmer almost added a second as once again he chased down a lost cause, won the ball back, before unleashing a shot that was excellently saved by Pools’ impressive on-loan Middlesbrough stopper Joe Fryer.

Jones continued: “His tail was up there and he had a bit of confidence about him, so it was brilliant.

“He showed a real desire to do well, we call them game changers and he did, he changed the momentum of the game when he came on and I’m delighted for him.

“Now we have different edges, different cutting edges, different qualities about us and I’m delighted. We’re in a real, real good place.”

Fellow goalscorer Luke Gambin also revealed that the squad had met during the week to discuss the importance of their roles from the bench.

It was highlighted by Palmer, although both Jack Marriott and Jonathan Smith helped Hatters wrest control back during a second period that Luton had struggled to get going.

He added: “We had a meeting during the week about the subs, making sure when you come on you’re ready to impact the game and Ollie came on and it was good to see that straight away, he impacted the game.

“It just helped us get through that second half and made it comfortable for us.

“That’s your job to come on and change the game, whether you’re starting or on the bench. Coming here the lads are such a tight group, you can really get the sense of everyone’s out there trying to help each other.

“So you’re doing it for the team, you want to come on in such a great position, impact the game and try to get the win.”

EARLY teasing, probing and scoring, followed by a limp 75 minutes – that's Valentine's Night for you!

At Kenilworth Road, Luton were a bit wham, bam, thank you ma'am, but that was enough to put to bed a Hartlepool side that had won just one of their last seven League Two tests.

It was a thrilling hammer-and-tongs opening 15 minutes that did the damage as they rushed full-blooded into a two-goal lead.

Danny Hylton reaffirmed his love affair with scoring – to notch his fourth in three games – and Luke Gambin, who provided the sumptuous assist, rammed home his first for the Hatters.

Town threatened to romp away with it but they veered from the sublime to the sloppy. Even Ollie Palmer's first for the club in the 81st was more luck than design.

But, as it was at the weekend against Crawley, a largely ugly win is still a win, while an 11th clean sheet of the campaign is nothing to be sniffed at.

And while the Hatters remain three points adrift of third-placed Carlisle – who beat leaders Doncaster – they clawed back some ground on table-topping Rovers ahead of their clash at the Keepmoat Stadium on Saturday, while second-placed Plymouth also lost to make things a little more interesting at the top.

With back-to-back clashes against the top two next on the agenda, boss Nathan Jones was able to rest captain Scott Cuthbert and Jonathan Smith as part of three changes from the weekend. Johnny Mullins returned from a four-game ban, while Lawson D'Ath was handed his full home debut and Gambin returned to the starting line-up.

The former Barnet man wasted little time in making an impact,

But the keeper had to pick the ball out of his net again in the 13th minute when his defenders failed to deal with a long ball and Gambin punished them with a arrow-like strike.

For the best part of half an hour, the Monkey Hangers had been so inept that they'd barely ventured past the halfway line, but with their first corner Scott Harrison headed inches wide.

That included, it was all pretty dreary stuff until Hylton flirted with a goal of the month contender in the 54th minute, skipping past two defenders in the penalty box before blazing over when you'd have put money on him claiming a second successive brace.

At least it aroused Luton somewhat and soon after Town's top scorer fed in strike partner Isaac Vassell but his angled drive was

That was enough to see boss Jones send on the cavalry to try to spice things up and change the momentum of the game, and it did just that. Jack Marriott and Palmer replaced Hylton and Vassell and, after impressive cameos in his first two outings, the lofty Leyton Orient loanee responded by opening his Hatters account, albeit in rather fortuitous fashion after he tried to tee up Gambin only to find the ball ricochet back into his path at close quarters.

Job done.

Luton: Macey, O'Donnell, Mullins, Hylton (Palmer, 73), Rea, Mpanzu, Vassell (Marriott, 73), Senior, Gambin, D'Ath (Smith, 66), Sheehan Unused subs: Moore, Cuthbert, Gray, Justin

Hartlepool: Fryer, Featherstone, Bates (Alessandra, 14), Thomas, Walker, Oates, Woods, Nelson (Amond, 61), Harrison, Richardson, Kavanagh Unused subs: Bartlett, Hawkins, Rooney, Martin, Hawkes

Referee: John Brooks Attendance: 6,965 (90)

We won it in the first 20 minutes, says Nathan Jones

NATHAN Jones hailed a fast start and two goals in the first 13 minutes as they key to his Luton side's 3-0 win over Hartlepool last night.

Luke Gambin sublimely set up Danny Hylton's 18th of the season and scored his first for the club to leave the Monkey Hangers reeling, but back-to-back League Two victories were only confirmed in the 81st minute when loan striker Ollie Palmer opened his account for the club.

"I'm delighted with the win. We won it in the first 20-25 minutes," said manager Jones, adding: "The start that we had was fantastic, we really played on the front foot and that's what got us the win.

"I wanted us to keep going, because they were on the ropes then, and I think we needed a bit more of a killer instinct about us, a bit more of a ruthless streak and I would've liked it to be over by half time, but I can't be that arrogant or presumptuous because they're not a bad side."

Instead, after threatening to rack up a sizeable score, it turned into a scrappy contest, albeit one where the Pools rarely troubled Town.

Jones said: "We took our foot off the pedal a bit really. We veered slightly from the game plan and then the second half was a non-event until we brought Ollie Palmer on and we finished very, very strongly.

"I'm delighted, 3-0 didn't flatter us and any win at home is really important now."

Palmer's introduction on 73 minutes was the third time in a row that the Leyton Orient forward – at Luton until he end of the season – has made a significant impact coming off the bench, this time cutting short any Hartlepool hopes of a revival and getting on the scoresheet.

Jones said: "Since I spoke to the kid back in January, he's shown a real desire to come here and want to do well for Luton Town. He wanted to come here, he was desperate to come here and since he's come in the building he's been brilliant. That showed today.

"That epitomised the conversations I had with him when it was difficult to get him out of his old club. He showed a real desire and that's what we wanted to add to the squad. He's improved the squad and I'm delighted for him because he deserved that."

The manager also hailed the performance of Gambin, saying: "I'm delighted that he's got his first goal. It's always nice for an attacking player to do that. He's very versatile and can play in a number of positions, but backed up play well and it was a clinical finish.

"He's a wonderful footballer and the stronger he gets and the more he's integrated into our squad, the better he'll be."