Luton Town FC vs Preston North End (13th Aug 2022)

Report | Luton Town 0-1 Preston North End

The Hatters suffered a first league defeat of the season at Kenilworth Road this afternoon as Preston North End left with all three points courtesy of a first-half Brad Potts goal.

Nathan Jones made two changes from last weekend's draw against Burnley, with Reece Burke brought in for his first league start of the season.

Carlton Morris came into attack to partner Elijah Adebayo, with Harry Cornick missing out through injury.

Luke Berry and Henri Lansbury were also sidelined, meaning youngsters Louie Watson and Elliot Thorpe were amongst the substitutes after impressing in the Carabao Cup during the week.

The Hatters had the first sight of goal on 11 minutes, Morris climbing highest to meet Luke Freeman's free-kick, but his header was straight at visiting keeper Freddie Woodman.

North End took the lead seven minutes later when Brad Potts finished Robbie Brady's cross with an acrobatic volley, for his side's first league goal of the campaign.

The Hatters mounted a response, with Adebayo and Allan Campbell linking up, but the Scottish midfielder's shot was blocked by Jordan Storey, before the game was halted by referee Dean Whitestone for a drinks break midway through the half.

Just after the half-hour Amari'i Bell and Dan Potts combined down the left for the latter to cross into the six-yard box, and Jordan Clark's follow-up volley at goal, as Preston half-cleared, was deflected high into the air by Liam Lindsay, forcing Woodman to tip over by the joint of post and crossbar.

Ben Whiteman became the first into the book for pulling Freeman back as the midfielder looked to launch a Hatters attack just inside the Preston half in the 40th minute.

But the next attempt was also from the visitors, as Horvath had to dive low to his right to keep out a 43rd-minute shot from Brady as a minute's applause for North End supporter Joseph Hughes, who sadly passed away at the age of 43 on Thursday, drew to a close.

Morris whipped in a dangerous cross looking for Bell in first-half injury-time, but Woodman punched clear and Preston went in at the break with the advantage.

Town came out after half-time in search of a leveller and there was a shout for a penalty when Adebayo went down in the area having been barged to the ground by Potts when looking to get on the end of a Jordan Clark cross, but ref Whitestone wasn't for moving.

Potts was proving a threat at the other end too, and his cross-shot had Horvath scrambling in the 55th minute, but thankfully the ball flashed past the far post.

Adebayo led an attack down the right, but his cut-back from the byline only found a Preston defender, whose clearance was deflected behind off Morris for a goal-kick, to sum up the Town's frustrations.

It was end-to-end by this point, Horvath gathering a Brady free-kick before Clark tried his luck from distance, but didn't connect properly.

Jones made his first changes just after the hour, bringing Elliot Thorpe on for his league debut in place of Potts, while Cauley Woodrow was thrown into the attack in place of Freeman.

The next opening didn't arrive until the 72nd minute whe Clark crossed from the left for Morris, but the big striker couldn't direct his header on target, then Thorpe crossed from the right for Adebayo, whose knock down landed at the feet of Campbell, who sliced his volley wide.

Ref Whitestone showed Woodman a yellow card in the 77th minute for time-wasting, delaying the taking of a free-kick, and Hughes joined him in the book ten minutes from time for a cynical foul on Adebayo that presented Bree with a chance from 20 yards.

His free-kick was on target, but diverted behind by the head of Whiteman and North End dealt with the resulting corner.

Woodrow had the Hatters' best chance in the 83rd minute, latching onto Bree's clip over the top but unable to keep his volley down with Woodman stranded off his line.

Storey and substitute Daniel Johnson were the next two Preston players to be booked, the first for a foul and second for time-wasting, before Adebayo slipped his man in the box but couldn't keep his left-footed shot down.

Horvath had to be alert to save from Troy Parrott as the clock ticked down, then Clark saw a shot deflected well wide at the other end as the Hatters sought a late way back into things.

Jones threw Cameron Jerome into the attack in injury-time, in place of Campbell, but there was to be no way back and the Hatters head to Bristol City on Tuesday still seeking a first win of the campaign.

GOALS:

PNE - Potts 18

ATT: 9,740 (895 away)

Nathan Jones assesses Preston defeat

Manager Nathan Jones was left frustrated with this afternoon’s defeat against Preston North End after believing his side had enough chances to earn something from the 90 minutes.

Brad Potts’ first-half strike was enough to compound the Hatters to a first league loss of the season, and Jones shared his disappointment after the game.

“It is frustrating really, frustrating for a number of reasons,” the gaffer admitted post-match. “One we concede a poor goal, even though they will see it as a good goal. Two we’ve had enough opportunities to get something from the games, balls in around the box, set plays, enough of the game to have got something from it.

“The flow of the game was obviously really frustrating for us, I said to the players before get the first goal because it’s very difficult to chase the game in this weather and the current climate, the way football is played at the minute. As soon as you get ahead then it is very difficult to generate the tempo and that was frustrating today on all levels.”

Harry Cornick, Luke Berry and Henri Lansbury were all absent the matchday squad, to which Jones confirmed: “We lost Harry Cornick yesterday in training, he was fully fit going into the training session then he just felt something which ruled him out today. We have big players – Harry, Fred, Alfie Doughty, Berry and Pelly are all out at the minute. We’re really missing some real game-changers and real pace and athleticism.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-2oUOfscf8 – Nathan Jones interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCQUaApfJbE - Match highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSjJMSNt6iU - Allan Campbell interview

Goal-shy Luton still searching for a first win after Preston defeat

Championship: Luton Town 0 Preston North End 1

Luton's struggles in front of goal this season continued with a 1-0 defeat against Preston North End at Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

The hosts, who couldn't break down Birmingham a fortnight ago, suffered from the same issues once more when the Lilywhites were in town, as bar one header from Carlton Morris, visiting stopper Freddie Woodman was barely tested throughout the 90 minutes.

With boss Nathan Jones moving to bolster his attacking ranks considerably in the summer, those new arrivals have yet to really hit the ground running, while talisman Elijah Adebayo's search for a first goal of the campaign goes on.

The Luton chief made two changes to his side from the team that drew 1-1 at Burnley the previous weekend, with Reece Burke and Morris coming in for Gabe Osho and Harry Cornick.

Osho dropped to the bench where he was joined by Elliot Thorpe and Louie Watson, rewarded for their performances in the 3-2 defeat to Newport County on Tuesday night.

Neither side could get any real rhythm in what was a stop-start beginning to the game played in sweltering conditions, Luke Freeman scuffing disappointingly wide after being teed up on the edge of the area.

The midfielder was involved in the next chance on 11 minutes, swinging in a free kick for Morris to meet, his downward header too close to keeper Woodman.

From barely threatening, Preston then took the lead in absolutely stunning style, as Robbie Brady's deep cross from the left was met on the volley by a flying Brad Potts at the back post, his effort thudding into the roof of the net, in what was a quite magnificent finish.

With temperatures soaring, the Hatters struggled to ever get a head of steam up, the closest they came when Jordan Clark's volley deflected off a defender and appeared to clip the outside of the outside of the point of post and bar on its way behind.

As Town continued to be wasteful in possession, James Bree lost the ball just before half time allowing Brady a sight of goal, his low shot requiring a full length stop from Horvath at his near post.

With Town needing a big second half to try and wrest the initiative back from their opponents, who were looking more and more comforable, they did start to quicken the pace, although Preston's Jordan Storey had the first attempt, shooting over from 20 yards.

Adebayo felt he had calls for a penalty when barged over inside the area, but nothing given, while the increasingly poor referee Dean Whitestone, who waved away a number of incidents away when Town players went to ground, only to then penalise Allan Campbell for exactly the same offence, just outside Town's area.

Fortunately for Luton, Brady's free kick was weak and straight at Horvath, as Jones acted to give Thorpe his league debut in place of Dan Potts, Cauley Woodrow replacing Freeman.

Whitestone continued to frustrate the home supporters and dug-out, as Town still struggled to create anything remotely clear-cut, Clark doing well to fashion a cross that Morris glanced wide.

As he had on Tuesday, Thorpe showed what he can provide, with an excellent cross from the right which saw Adebayo go up with a defender, the ball dropping to Campbell who volleyed wide.

Bree's goalbound free kick was headed away by a retreating Ben Whiteman, as the Hatters did begin to at least look capable of going through the gears in the final 10 minutes.

With eight to go, Town created their best chance of the entire game, Bree's lofted ball through the centre met on the volley by Woodrow, who got just too much on his attempt, the ball going inches over.

Troy Parrott's effort was straight at Horvath, but with Preston picking up bookings galore for their ultimately successful efforts to run the clock down, Adebayo in particularly on the receiving end of a number of tactical fouls, the forward managed to find some space by spinning well, only to shoot over.

On-loan Spurs attacker Parrott almost put the result beyond doubt, but once again, fired too close to Horvath, who even though he was sent up for a stoppage time corner, the visitors easily hung on for a first win in Bedfordshire since November 1999.

Hatters: Ethan Horvath, James Bree, Amari'i Bell, Reece Burke, Sonny Bradley (C), Dan Potts (Elliot Thorpe 61), Allan Campbell (Cameron Jerome 90), Jordan Clark, Luke Freeman (Cauley Woodrow 61), Carlton Morris, Elijah Adebayo.

Subs not used: Matt Macey, Tom Lockyer, Louie Watson, Gabe Osho.

Lilywhites: Freddie Woodman, Ben Whiteman, Liam Lindsay, Alan Brown (Ben Woodburn 79), Robbie Brady (Daniel Johnson 79), Ali McCann (Emil Riis 69), Jordan Storey, Troy Parrott (Patrick Bauer 90), Andrew Hughes, Ryan Ledson, Brad Potts.

Subs not used: Greg Cunningham, David Cornell, Jacob Slater.

Referee: Dean Whitestone.

Booked: Whiteman 40, Woodman 77, Hughes 80, Storey 85, Johnson 86, Ledson 90.

Attendance: 9,740 (895 Preston).

Jones left frustrated once more as Town fail to take their chances during Lilywhites defeat

Hatters manager reflects on Preston reverse

Luton manager Nathan Jones cut a frustrated figure this afternoon as his side’s winless run to the season continued, beaten 1-0 on home soil by Preston North End.

The hosts conceded after 18 minutes to Brad Potts’ superb winner, the wingback connecting with a flying volley that gave keeper Ethan Horvath no chance.

Although Town had 18 attempts of their own, only one from Carlton Morris was on target, as Cauley Woodrow lofted the Hatters’ best opportunity over, both Allan Campbell and Elijah Adebayo putting decent second half chances into the stands.

Jones said: “It’s frustrating for a number of reasons.

“One, we concede a poor goal, they can say it’s a good goal, two we’ve had enough opportunities to get something from the game.

“We’ve had enough chances, good chances, opportunities, balls in and around their box, set-plays, enough of the game to have got something from it and then just the flow of the game was really frustrating for us.

“I said to the players before, get the first goal as it’s very difficult to chase a game in this weather and in this current climate, and I don't mean just the weather, I mean the way football is played in terms of how much time it takes to do anything.

“As soon as you go ahead, it’s very difficult to really generate the tempo and that was frustrating today on all levels.”

Jones also felt the hosts should have had a penalty when Adebayo was fouled inside the area during the first half, adding: “Elijah was clipped and went down, but after that we’ve had chances second half.

“Cauley’s had a great chance, Allan Campbell had a wonderful chance, it doesn’t look as good until you see it back, Elijah had a shot, we’ve had so many opportunities to cross too.

"We’ve put three strikers on at the end of the game, but we keep hitting the first man so we really need to be better, be a bit more fluent, have a little bit more about us as if we do, we’re a good side.

“At the minute it's not quite clicking for us and we’re having a bit of a tough time, but we were by far the better side against Birmingham here and I felt we did enough to get something from the game today.

“It’s just the small margins we’re coming out on the wrong side of at the minute.”