Luton Town FC vs Stevenage (2nd Apr 2016)

PUBLISHED 17:15 2nd April 2016 The Hatters fall to a late defeat at the hands of Stevenage

LUTON 0-1 STEVENAGE

The Town lost out to a late penalty for the second time in two games as Stevenage took all three points from their trip to Kenilworth Road.

Olly Lee was adjudged to have fouled Ben Kennedy in the box, allowing Michael Tonge to beat Jonathan Mitchell from the spot with just five minutes remaining.

The win overshadowed a return from injury for Josh McQuoid, playing just his second game under Nathan Jones, who watched captain Scott Cuthbert hobble off midway through the second half.

Alan Sheehan came closest for the Hatters, striking the bar with his weak right foot with the Stevenage keeper left stranded, but the Town made it eight home games in a row without scoring before the break.

The gaffer made three changes from the trip to Barnet, drafting in Paddy McCourt and Joe Pigott for Pelly Ruddock and Paul Benson, while Lee also came back in for Magnus Okuonghae. That saw Glen Rea shifting back to central defence as Sheehan kept his place on the left side of the back four.

It was a fare of familiarity all round at Kenilworth Road, as Stevenage boasted three ex-Hatters of their own in their starting XI. One of those in Luke Wilkinson was in action immediately, jostling with Jack Marriott in the area, and while it seemed the Town forward was poleaxed, the referee waved away the protests.

That was as good as it got for the hosts in the early stages with Stevenage doing most of the early running, winning numerous corners aptly dealt with by the Hatters defence.

While the visitors boasted possession, it was the Town who had the first meaningful opportunity. In typical McCourt fashion, the midfielder ghosted his way across the 18-yard line before pulling back for Marriott who could only send his first-time shot into the Oak Road end.

Two minutes later, the Boro had the best chance of the half. Bradley Pritchard robbed Jonathan Smith in a central area, reverse-passing to Greg Luer to strike past Mitchell and, thankfully for the Hatters, the far post.

Marriott and Pigott cut frustrated figures in attack, but the former almost made the most of a chance to stretch his legs. The Hatters seemed unfortunate not to give away a foul on Jake Mulraney, with Marriott subsequently zooming beyond Wilkinson down the left flank. His cutback seemed destined for Pigott, but the slightest nick from a Stevenage defender saw the ball nestle calmly into the ‘keeper’s gloves.

The stroke of half-time saw the derby heat up, with Mulraney and Sheehan getting involved in handbags on the touchline. Mulraney seemed aggrieved at missing out on a decision, requiring a calming down from his teammates as both players avoided a caution to bring the half to a close.

The same Stevenage man was booked moments into the second half, however, scything down an on-rushing Smith, but McCourt and Sheehan were unable to cause danger from the subsequent, and potentially threatening, dead ball.

Sheehan came just inches away moments away, curling away a superb long-range effort, on his weaker right foot, which left Jones for dead, only for the ball to come back off the crossbar and away from danger.

The Town were clearly upping their performance after the break, with McCourt the next to take aim, whistling a shot just wide from the area’s edge, while Marriott met Jones’ gloves with a low drive from McCourt’s neat pass.

But as the Hatters were finding their feet, Stevenage had the game’s best opportunity so far. With Mitchell’s clearance blocked by a Town man, the visitors were able to exploit an overlap from which the subsequent Kennedy shot nutmegged Cuthbert but slipped a touch wide.

The Town made changes after that, bringing on Danny Green and Josh McQuoid, for his first game since January, while Cuthbert hobbled off to be replaced by Ruddock for the closing 25 minutes.

Cuthbert’s injury forced a reshuffle in the hosts’ back four as Ruddock slotted in at right-back, Stephen O’Donnell switched flanks and Sheehan sat with Rea in the middle – a completely new structure from Easter Monday’s game at the Hive.

The switch seemed to be paying off with Green testing out Jones, but the Hatters should have been ahead with 15 minutes remaining. Ruddock’s zipping run was ended in the midfield, although Smith kept the move alive to send Marriott through on goal. The striker elected to shoot with the goal beckoning, forcing the ‘keeper into a smart stop to leave a frustrated Cameron McGeehan screaming for the ball with the goal gaping.

And with just seven minutes remaining, Stevenage had a penalty. With Lee guilty of letting the ball run under his feet, the midfielder sprinted back only for the referee to adjudicate a trip on Kennedy, leaving Tonge to fire past Mitchell from the penalty spot, despite the Town stopper diving the right way.

The goal inevitably took the wind from the Hatters’ sails, subsequently misplacing several passes in a desperate bid to level the game up, much to the frustration of the Kenilworth Road faithful.

The Town poured into seven minutes of added time with a string of corners, but were unable to prevent their run of home games from starting with a defeat, leaving the total at five home wins for the season.

Hatters: Mitchell, O’Donnell, Rea, Cuthbert (sub Ruddock Mpanzu 65), Sheehan, Smith, Lee, McCourt (sub Green 62), McGeehan, Marriott, Pigott (sub McQuoid 62)

Subs not used: Justham, Lawless, Benson, Banton

Attendance: 8,502, with 347 backing Stevenage

http://www.lutontown.co.uk/news/article/gallery-luton-town-0-1-stevenage-3038608.aspx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBxf9WhGSic

League Two: Luton Town 0 Stevenage 1

A dubious late penalty condemned Luton Town to yet another shocking result at Kenilworth Road this afternoon, as they were beaten by struggling Stevenage.

With just five minutes to go, Olly Lee lost possession inside his own half allowing visiting attacker Ben Kennedy a run at goal.

The midfielder recovered to track Boro’s attacker into the area, before Kennedy threw himself over Lee’s trailing leg to win the decision from official Darren Handley, who really should have been wiser to the offence.

However, he whistled for a spotkick, which Michael Tonge took, expertly beating Jonathan Mitchell and finding the corner of the net, as Hatters suffered a ninth defeat in front of their own supporters this term.

Although the manner in which they were beaten was a bone of contention, in truth Luton didn’t deserve anything from the afternoon, as they laboured from start to finish, producing a display that boss Nathan Jones admitted left him feeling ‘sick to his stomach’ with afterwards.

The Town chief made three changes to their side, bringing in Paddy McCourt, Olly Lee and Joe Pigott as Paul Benson and Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu dropped to the bench, with Magnus Okuonghae missing out completely.

Stevenage had former Hatters Luke Wilkinson, Ronnie Henry and Fraser Franks in their side, while Aaron O’Connor was on the bench and ex-assistant Terry Harris in the dug out as well.

Wilkinson could consider himself lucky not to concede an early penalty, catching Jack Marriott with a reckless high boot inside the area, but nothing was given.

Luton then struggled to get hold of the ball in the opening exchanges, with Stevenage settling far quicker until McCourt ran across the edge of the box and found the unmarked Marriott who blasted over the top.

It was the visitors who always looked the more likely though, with Luton gifting possession away in their own half on an alarming number of occasions.

From one such indiscretion, Jonathan Smith had his pocket picked by Bradley Pritchard who fed Greg Luer, the striker dragging wide of the bottom corner when faced by Jonathan Mitchell.

From then on, the half degenerated into a desperately tedious affair, as Luton meandered with the ball, constantly going backwards, while any attacking moves were over-hit and easily gobbled up by visiting keeper Jamie Jones.

Anything that could be described as an opportunity went the way of Stevenage too, Luer’s shot easy for Mitchell, as all Boro custodian Jones needed to do was gather Marriott’s deflected cross.

Such was the frustration creeping over from the terraces, Lee tried his luck from fully 30 yards, hammering well over as Luton stretched their unwanted record to eight games without a first half goal at Kenilworth Road.

After the break, Luton appeared, at least for the opening 10 minutes, to have been sent out with some harsh words from Jones ringing in their ears, mustering an attempt to try and get on the front foot for once.

They were inches away from an opening goal too, Alan Sheehan cutting in from the flank and curling a lovely effort beyond Jones, only to see the crossbar prevent him from breaking the deadlock.

The newfound positivity was catching as McCourt rifled a half volley narrowly wide and then Marriott tested Jones low down, the keeper fielding comfortably.

However, it soon tailed off, with Kennedy going close twice in the space of a minute though, shooting wide once, before picking up possession after Mitchell’s clearance rebounded off his own player and whistling milimetres wide.

Luton were then forced into a reshuffle as after bringing on Josh McQuoid and Danny Green, skipper Scott Cuthbert went off injured, meaning Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu took over at right back, O’Donnell moved to left and Alan Sheehan partnered Glen Rea.

McQuoid just failed to turn in Green’s low cross with his first tough, while the winger, who endured a tough half an hour, then fired hopefully straight at Jones from distance.

Despite the lacklustre nature of their performance, Luton created the best opening on 75 minutes as Marriott was sent clean through, but with McGeehan unmarked and waiting to ponce, opted to go for goal, finding Jones’ outstretched arms.

Stevenage heeded the warning and after weathering the slightest amount of pressure, broke away to win the penalty, which Tonge made no mistake from.

There was no chance a shell-shocked Luton were ever coming back from the hammer blow as their passing fell to pieces in the latter stages, as they miles away from a team who had harboured an outside chance of reaching the play-offs this term.

Hatters: Jonathan Mitchell, Stephen O’Donnell, Alan Sheehan, Scott Cuthbert (C Pelly Ruddovk Mpanzu 66), Glen Rea, Jonathan Smith, Olly Lee, Cameron McGeehan, Paddy McCourt (Danny Green 62), Joe Pigott (Josh McQuoid, Jack Marriott.

Subs not used: Elliot Justham, Alex Lawless, Josh McQuoid, Danny Green, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, Zane Banton.

Bees: Jamie Jones, Luke Wilkinson, Fraser Franks, Greg Luer, Michael Tonge, Dean Parrett (Dale Gorman 78), Dean Wells, Ronnie Henry (C), Bradley Pritchard, Jake Mulraney (Charlie Adams 53), Ben Kennedy.

Subs not used: Chris Whelpdale, Aaron O’Connor, Tom Pett, Chris Day, Jerome Okimo.

Attendance: 8,502 (347 Boro).

Booked: McCourt 16, Mulraney 47.

Referee: Darren Handley.

An angry Hatters boss Nathan Jones declared he was left feeling ‘sick to his stomach’ by his side’s woeful display against Stevenage this afternoon.

Luton went down to a 1-0 defeat courtesy of Michael Tonge’s late penalty, given for what looked like a clear dive by Ben Kennedy, but rather than concentrate on that controversial incident, Jones lambasted his players for their shocking performance from start to finish.

The Town chief said: “I feel sick to to the pit of my stomach. That’s not a side that I want to put out there, it was energy-less, it was heart-less, we had no desire for a derby game and the only thing I can say is I feel sick.

“We didn’t start the game well, we didn’t play with any desire, didn’t press, didn’t outwork Stevenage, we got outworked by Stevenage, we got out-pressed by Stevenage.

“The penalty was very, very soft, our penalty in the first half was more of one, but I would be a coward if I was going to blame the referee or have a go at the referee for that, because I had players out there who had no real desire about them in anything they did, how they went about the game.

“It would have been a great opportunity today, we’ve kept it quiet, but we would have been five points off it (top seven), but I just don’t think they wanted it enough.

“I think that’s been symptomatic all season, so we’ve given them a real good chance, now we’ve got some decisions to make.”

On just why Luton were so poor throughout the contest, Jones continued: “I think they’ve thought they’re a better side than what they are.

“They’ve stopped working, stopped doing the basics, stopped doing all the good things that we do week in week out.

“They didn’t do that today and that’s how we’ve ended up losing the game. Jack’s (Marriott) clean through one on one, should score, we hit the bar, had a penalty claim, they were the better chances of the game, so we didn’t take those for a start, but that would have masked a really weak performance.

“I can’t stand here and defend the performance because that’s as poor as we’ve had.

“Maybe we’ve got carried away with thinking we’re a good side as a leopard doesn’t change its spots and maybe we’ve seen that today.

“Maybe we’ve been over achieving in the last few games, I don’t think we have, but today was as poor as performance as I could have imagined us putting in, and as I said, I just feel sick.”

The futures of a few of Luton’s players could well be in doubt after this afternoon’s efforts too, as Jones has already confirmed he will be trimming the squad in the summer.

He admitted that certain individuals had helped make his mind up for him, adding: “I can’t think of one player, maybe Glen Rea that comes out of it with any real quality.

“Glen worked hard, won his headers, had a bit of desire, but I can’t really defend anyone else, I really, really can’t.

“That makes me sick to think in a derby we put in that kind of performance and I won’t be standing for that.

“I kind of know where we are now, it will rubber stamp a few things for me. It’s really given me an eye opener, I’m a big believer in changing something and making a difference, but if players are not grasping the mettle themselves then there’s only so much you can do.

“They’ve done fantastically well for me and even after defeats I keep saying it. Today was our worst performance, we were nowhere near, we really weren’t.

“I don’t work as hard as I do and my staff don’t to put up with performances like that, that’s not me.

“Moving forward we’ve got to be way, way better and we will be, but it might not be with one or two.”

Luton Town 0 Stevenage 1

Lacklustre Luton paid the penalty for too many errors as any lingering play-off hopes finally vanished with a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to near rivals Stevenage.

It was a poor performance from the Hatters, despite Alan Sheehan hitting the bar and Jack Marriott missing a gilt-edged opportunity in the second half, as Boro grabbed a hard-fought winner.

For a second game in a row Town conceded a late spot-kick when Olly Lee compounded his own error by felling Ben Kennedy in the area and Michael Tonge gleefully rammed home the penalty with five minutes to go.

It was a huge result for the visitors, boasting four ex-Hatters on the pitch at the final whistle, as they moved nine points clear of the drop to all but assure their League Two status for next season.

Luton had decent appeals for a penalty waved away after just two minutes when Marriott was clattered over as he looked to burst on to a bouncing ball in the box.

The visitors proceeded to dominate the opening stages in the glorious Spring sunshine without creating any real chances before Town could have taken the lead on 12 minutes. Stephen O'Donnell burst down the right before finding the mercurial Paddy McCourt who slalomed his way across the box and then teed up Marriott with a reverse pass, but his snapshot flashed over the bar.

A Jonathan Smith error gave Boro a real opportunity two minutes later as Greg Luer was slipped clean through, but his mishit effort crept just wide of the far post.

McCourt was lucky to just be booked for an awful two-footed lunge on Tonge as neither team was able to wrest control of the game.

A rare Luton break saw Marriott get the better of ex-Hatter Luke Wilkinson on 36 minutes but his low cross was deflected into the midriff of keeper Jamie Jones.

Another Town mistake let Luer in with five minutes to go, but his effort was easily saved as a disappointing half of football ended goalless.

The two sides came out after the break with far more purpose and the Hatters were desperately unlucky not to snatch the lead four minutes in when Sheehan jinked past his man and his curling right-foot effort came back off the bar.

A venomous half-volley from McCourt flashed just wide and soon after he fed Marriott who drilled low at Jones as Town looked to press.

At the other end Kennedy dragged a good opportunity just wide before going even closer on 62 minutes following another defensive clanger. As Jonathan Mitchell looked to clear quickly he kicked the ball into his own man and the ball came to Kennedy who fired through Scott Cuthbert's legs and inches wide of the far post.

Town rang the changes, including the forced withdrawal of skipper Cuthbert, as they looked to up the ante. And the subs almost combined to break the deadlock with 20 minutes to go when Josh McQuoid's header from Danny Green's cross somehow rebounded back out and Marriott's follow-up was blocked.

Cameron McGeehan's surging run and pass was agonisingly just beyond the reach of Marriott before the striker was played clean through by Smith's fine pass only to show a lack of composure and thud too close to Jones.

The Hatters were made to pay a heavy price as Lee miscontrolled a pass in midfield and, as he looked to get back, he dangled out a leg which Kennedy happily fell over to win a penalty and Tonge smashed unerringly home.

Green's deflected effort bounced invitingly for Marriott as he lashed over in stoppage time, but Luton never seriously looked like equalising as any last lingering play-off hopes surely evaporated.

Luton Town: Jonathan Mitchell, Stephen O'Donnell, Jonathan Smith, Glen Rea, Scott Cuthbert (Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu 65, C), Cameron McGeehan, Jack Marriott, Paddy McCourt (Danny Green 62), Olly Lee, Alan Sheehan, Joe Pigott (Josh McQuoid 62). Subs not used: Alex Lawless, Paul Benson, Elliot Justham, Zane Banton.

Stevenage: Jamie Jones, Luke Wilkinson, Fraser Franks, Greg Luer (Aaron O'Connor 82), Michael Tonge, Dean Parrett (Dale Gorman 79), Dean Wells, Ronnie Henry (C), Bradley Pritchard, Jake Mulraney (Charlie Adams 54), Ben Kennedy. Subs not used: Chris Whelpdale, Tom Pett, Chris Day, Jerome Okimo.

Referee: Darren Handley.

Attendance: 8,502 (Boro 347).

Furious Luton boss Nathan Jones was left "sick to the stomach" by his side's insipid 1-0 home defeat to relegation threatened Stevenage.

Jones was scathing in his condemnation as he admitted his 'heartless' Town side were 'outworked' in this derby day defeat.

He admitted: "I feel sick to my stomach if I'm honest with the level of performance, with the result, just everything, I feel sick. It's not a side I want to put out there, it was energyless, heartless, there was no desire for a derby game and the only thing I can say is I feel sick."

Luton were off the pace throughout and never managed to find any rhythm to their play.

Jones continued: "One, we didn't start the game well, we didn't play with any desire, we didn't press, we didn't outwork Stevenage, we got outworked by Stevenage, we got outpressed by Stevenage."

Town, though, had created the better chances with Alan Sheehan hitting the bar and Jack Marriott, who was lively throughout, wasting a glorious one-on-one opportunity.

He had also had a good early shout for a penalty waved away, before Boro were gifted a soft, late and controversial one of their own to win the game.

However, Jones refused to blame the referee, saying: "Ironically we had the better chances of the game and again the penalty was very, very soft.

"Our penalty in the first half was far more of one, but then I would be a coward if I was going to blame the referee or have a go at the referee for that, because I had players out there that had no real desire about them in anything they they did or anything they went about the game.

"We've had Jack clean through, one-on-one, and should score, we've hit the bar, we've had a penalty claim here, Jack's had a chance early on and they were the better chances of the game.

"So we didn't take any of those for a start that could have masked a really weak performance. But I can't stand here and defend the performance, because that's as poor as we've had."

Victory would have moved the Hatters to within five points of the play-offs with a game in hand and Jones felt this lacklustre loss was 'symptomatic' of Town's disappointing season.

He said: "It would have been a great opportunity today and we've kept it quiet and stuff. We would have been five points off it today and I just don't think they wanted it enough and I think that's been symptomatic all season."

On the back of that performance, he warned: "So we've given them a real good chance now and we've got some decisions to make.

"I think they've thought they're a better side than what they are. They've stopped working, stopped doing the basics of doing all the good things that we do week in, week out, and they didn't do that today and that's how we've ended up losing the game."