Luton Town FC vs Hull City (21st Sep 2019)

LUTON TOWN 0 HULL CITY 3

The Town suffer a second league defeat in a row

The Hatters suffered second successive league defeat with a 3-0 loss against Hull City at a sold-out Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

Two second half goals from Kevin Stewart and one from Kamil Grosicki resulted in an afternoon to forget for the Town.

Luton started the better of the sides and were on the front foot from the first whistle, but the game eluded their reach as Hull were ruthless towards the end of the contest.

The Hatters began in good fashion as James Bree had the ball on the left hand side and spotted Izzy Brown bursting through the middle. The midfielder unselfishly passed the ball wide to Harry Cornick - who was free in space - but his effort was blocked behind for a corner.

Minutes later Hull warned the Hatters of their threat going forward as Grosicki went close in the 12th minute.

Jackson Irvine won possession in midfield and played the ball through for Grosicki to run on to, but as he tried to square the ball across goal, Luton nullified the threat and cleared.

Before the half-hour mark, Irvine spurned the best opportunity of the half as he headed over Eric Lichaj’s cross after good play from the Tigers.

Tom Eaves produced the game’s first shot on target just a minute before half-time, but his tame effort was gathered with ease by Simon Sluga.

Hull City took the lead in the 64th minute as Stewart fired the ball into the top left corner as the ball broke to him from 12 yards out.

The away fans thought they had a second just four minutes later but Grosicki’s shot from distance rippled the side netting.

The Town’s first notable chance of the afternoon came in the 71st minute when Ryan Tunnicliffe’s effort was narrowly deflected wide after brilliant individual play from substitute George Moncur.

From the resulting corner, James Bree had a header saved and James Collins hit the post, before George Long gathered the ball and put an end to the attack.

Luton threatened in the latter stages as Andrew Shinnie’s free-kick was headed over by Dan Potts inside the six-yard box. That proved to be costly though as the Tigers went up the other end and got their second.

The ever dangerous Grosicki was the man who got it, after darting in from the left-hand-side and firing past Sluga into the bottom corner.

In the 90th minute, the away side got a third after a defensive mix-up. Jarrod Bowen ran through on goal and his effort squirmed under Sluga and in trying to clear, Potts hit the ball against the keeper and left Stewart to force it home.

The 40th meeting between the two sides was without doubt one to forget, as the Hatters now divert their attention to Leicester City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

TOWN: Sluga, Bolton (Potts 76), Pearson, Bradley, Bree, Tunnicliffe, Shinnie, Brown (Mpanzu 65), LuaLua, (Moncur 65) Cornick, Collins. Subs not used: Lee, Jones, Butterfield, Shea (GK)

HULL: Long, Lichaj, De Wijs, Burke, Kingsley, Stewart, Irvine (Batty 84), Lopes (Honeyman 66), Bowen, Grosicki, Eaves (Magennis 45) . Subs not used: Tafazolli, Ingram, (GK), Bowler, Pennington

Referee: Andy Madley

Yellows: Grosicki, Honeyman

Attendance: 10,066 (1,033 away)

GRAEME JONES REFLECTS ON THE DEFEAT TO HULL CITY

Hatters boss Graeme Jones lamented his side’s second half performance as they were defeated 3-0 at home by Hull City.

After going in 0-0 at the break having been the better side, the Hatters conceded midway through the second half, before letting two in late on.

Jones said: “I was pleased with the first half performance and I thought the goal was coming. I asked us to be consistent with our football performance as we had been in the first half, and we couldn’t sustain it. I think even then as I look at the first goal back, if James Collins flicks the ball on, we have got two players free in the box and that’s the margins in football, James doesn’t flick it on, they go down the pitch and we concede. That’s the fine margins you’re dealing with in the Championship.

“The second goal is a long ball, it’s individual errors. The third goal is comical. It’s a 1-0 game, we had a couple of chances, I thought we were building momentum for maybe five, ten minutes – Tunnicliffe had a shot, Bradley having a great header in the six-yard box, the ball on the rebound nearly being over the line. After that I feel like we were spent and that’s my disappointment today. That resistance and that fight, especially when that second goal went in. I can’t have that.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALPnMwhXbMM – Graeme Jones interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA5d4Ot1wiM – Extended highlights (HCFC coverage)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-iC7MCx9m8 – match highlights

Town pay the price for a poor second half as Hull claim the points

Championship: Luton Town 0 Hull City 3

A woeful second half display saw the Hatters fall to a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Hull City at Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

Goalless at the break, with precious little opportunities created by either side, the points were there to be taken, the visitors doing just that during the second 45, scoring three times, as Town's inability to keep clean sheets came back to bite them yet again.

Once Kevin Stewart put the visitors in front just after the hour, there was only one place the points were going, and that was back to Humberside as Luton looked well short of the progressive side they have done since the Championship began.

The hosts named an unchanged team from the side who lost 3-2 at QPR last weekend, although Dan Potts came in for Brendan Galloway on the bench.

An excellent burst forward by Izzy Brown saw Town almost in early on, the midfielder looking up to find Harry Cornick, whose effort was blocked.

With 15 to gone, Hull created a fine opening on the left, Kamil Grosicki, beating the advancing Simon Sluga to pick out Tom Eaves in the middle, but the striker's control was found wanting, allowing Town's keeper to pounce on the loose ball.

The visitors then enjoyed a spell of pressure, with Eric Lichaj freed on the right hand side, crossing for Jackson Irvine to head over the top.

It took until the 43rd minute of the encounter for the game's first shot on target, as Luton gave possession away, Leonard Da Silva Lopes finding Eaves, who turned Sonny Bradley with ease, his effort well handled by Sluga.

Town, whose supporters spent plenty of the half taking much merriment from rivals Watford's capitulation at Manchester City, trailing 5-0, then went straight up the other end to fashion their best chance of the opening 45, Cornick teeing up Shinnie, who hammered over.

City took the ineffective Eaves off for Josh Magennis at the break, as they looked to add to Town's poor record of conceding early in the second period at home this term, Kevin Stewart rifling over from 20 yards.

A game that was low on quality after the break then saw the deadlock broken with 63 minutes on the clock.

Hull advanced on the left, Grosicki's ball into the area saw Bradley challenge Magennis effectively, but Stewart slammed the loose ball into the ground and beyond a helpless Sluga.

Grosicki then went close himself, firing a potshot just inches wide from 20 yards, while buoyed by the goal, City grew in adventure, Bowen curling over the bar.

Town were inches away from a leveller on 70 minutes, Ryan Tunnicliffe's measured effort from the edge of the box tipped behind by Long.

From the corner, James Bree headed goalwards, with Long repelling the ball, the rebound hitting a defender and Tigers' keeper managing to throw himself on it, referee Andrew Madley signalling it hadn't crossed the line.

Luton were never able to mount a serious head of steam in the closing stages though, too often keeping the ball at the back, then retreating to Sluga rather than try and pile the pressure on their opponents.

They should have been 2-0 behind with five minutes to go, Bowen racing away and sending Grosicki through, who with just Sluga to beat, rolled wide of the target.

Off the bench, Potts might have brought Town level immediately, unable to keep his glancing header down from Shinnie's set-piece.

It was game over with three minutes to go though, as Grosicki cut in from the left hand side and this time had his shooting boots on, beating Sluga down low at his near post.

Things went from bad to worse in the final seconds as well, as Bowen just set off and with Town back-pedalling until he was faced with Sluga, fired low, the keeper making a good stop with his legs.

As he went to grab the loose ball from dribbling over the line, Potts, with no Hull player around him, bizarrely tried to clear the danger, whacking the ball into Sluga, and although he stopped the rebound from going in, Stewart was there for comedic third, although by this point, no-one in orange was laughing much.

Hatters: Simon Sluga, Luke Bolton (Dan Potts 76), James Bree, Matty Pearson, Sonny Bradley, Izzy Brown (Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu 64), Ryan Tunnicliffe, Andrew Shinnie, Kazenga LuaLua (George Moncur 64), Harry Cornick, James Collins.

Subs not used: James Shea, Jacob Butterfield, Lloyd Jones, Elliot Lee.

Tigers: George Long, Eric Lichaj, Jordy de Wijs, Reece Burke, Kevin Stewart, Tom Eaves (Josh Magennis 46), Kamil Grosicki, Jarrod Bowen, Stephen Kingsley, Jackson Irvine, Leonardo Da Silva Lopes (George Honeyman 66).

Subs not used: Ryan Tafazolli, Dan Batty, Matt Ingram, Josh Bowler, Matthew Penningston.

Booked: Grosicki 88, Honeyman 89.

Referee: Andrew Madley.

Attendance: 10,066 (1,033 Hull).

Luton chief warns players he won't put up with the lack of fight shown in Tigers' late mauling

Luton chief Graeme Jones warned his players he won’t put up with the lack of fight shown during the latter stages of their 3-0 defeat at home to Hull City this afternoon.

With five minutes to go and trailing 1-0, the Hatters, despite never being at their best during the second half, were still in with a chance of rescuing a point.

However, Kamil Grosicki took advantage of some lacklustre defending to put the game beyond Town, with Kevin Stewart then netting after a terrible mix-up between Dan Potts and Simon Sluga.

Jones said: “We had a couple of chances, we were building momentum for maybe five, 10 minutes (in the second half).

“(Ryan) Tunnicliffe had a shot, there was a great header in the six yard box, the ball on the rebound was nearly being over the line, after that I felt like we were spent, and that's my disappointment,

“That resistance and that fight, especially when the second goal went in, I can't have that.

“Subjectively, I think physically, we couldn’t sustain the performance of the first half.

“We out-worked them, we out-possessed them first half.

"I think we were 60, 40 in possession and maybe it caught up with us late in the game.

“They sat in, they played on our mistakes, we had possession in all three goals when we conceded, so sometimes it’s fine margins.

“But the disappointment of the second and third goal, I can’t have that, I can’t swallow that, I’m afraid.,

"In any team I’m involved in, I can’t swallow that.”

Jones felt that Town had enjoyed the better of the opening 45 minutes, but conceded they were the architects of their own downfall for all three of the visitors’ goals.

He added: “I was pleased with the first half performance and I thought the goal was coming.

“I asked us to be consistent with our football performance as we had been in the first half and we couldn't sustain it.

“Even then when I look at the first goal back, if James Collins flicks the ball on, we've got two spare players free in the box, and that's the margins in football.

“James doesn't flick it on, they go down the pitch, and we concede and that the fine margins we're dealing with in the Championship.

“The second goal's a long ball, it's individual errors, the third goal is comical and really it's a 1-0 game.”