Luton Town FC vs Sunderland (11th Aug 2018)

HATTERS 1 SUNDERLAND 1

Home debut goal for Matty Pearson earns a deserved point at a packed Kenny

Centre-back Matty Pearson scored on his competitive home debut to rescue a point against Sunderland and get the Hatters up and running in this League One season in front of a sell-out crowd at Kenilworth Road.

It wasn’t quite the swashbuckling stuff seen at Fratton Park last weekend, despite Town’s defeat to Portsmouth, as Josh Maja had put a strong Black Cats side in front on the stroke of half time.

But Town came out fighting in the second half and got their rewards in the 68th minute from a well-worked corner routine.

Though both sides had chances to win it, battling Town deserved their point.

Danny Hylton and Jack Stacey returned to the starting 11, in place of Harry Cornick and James Justin, and the right back was much the busier early on.

Glenn Loovens headed straight at Marek Stech, while Alan McCormack had Town’s only first half effort on goal, a very wayward volley.

Black Cats skipper George Honeyman was furious when referee Charles Breakspear waved away appeals for a penalty, instead only awarding a corner that Loovens headed wide.

Just before the half-hour mark, Lynden Gooch blasted inches wide of Stech’s post to signal a spell of Sunderland pressure that finally told on the stroke of half time when the impressive number 11 threaded through to Maja who had an eternity to pick his spot in the bottom corner.

The Hatters tested their rivals more after the break, with Dan Potts seeing a shot blocked and Pearson heading over from a corner.

Stech was relieved to see the ball go over the bar after he fumbled Gooch’s curler, before Town then finally broke their duck in League One.

James Collins and Alan Sheehan worked the corner routine that got them a penalty at Accrington and a goal at Forest Green last season. The skipper dinked to the back post where Pearson first headed down and he poked into the corner.

The visitors nearly took the lead again when Chris Maguire turned and shot from 12 yards, rattling Stech’s crossbar, but Hylton will wonder how he didn’t get off the mark for the season. Last term’s top scorer had his head in his hands after nodding Stacey’s well wide with the goal at his mercy.

As the game opened up, Sunderland sub Lee Cattermole got a far better connection with his head but glanced just wide.

Potts climbed highest for a corner in time added on but couldn’t direct it down so Town had to settle for a much-deserved point

TOWN: Stech, Potts, McCormack, Pearson, Stacey, Hylton, Lee (Jervis, 90), Mpanzu, Grant (Cornick, 56), Collins (Rea, 86), Sheehan

Unused subs: Justin, Bradley, Shinnie, Shea

Goals: Pearson, 68

Yellows: McCormack, Grant

SUNDERLAND: McLaughlin, Matthews, Oviedo, Loovens, Maguire, Honeyman, Gooch (Molyneux 90+2), Baldwin, Maja (O’Nien, 86), Power, Mumba (Cattermole, 54)

Unused subs: Ozturk, O’Nien, Ruiter, Embleton, Hume

Goals: Maja, 45,

Yellows: Matthews, Baldwin, Loovens

Attendance: 10,059 (1,047)

Referee: Charles Breakspear

NJ | "WE'VE COME A LONG WAY - THAT'S A BIG RESULT TODAY!"

The gaffer's assessment of this afternoon's 1-1 draw with Sunderland

Hatters boss Nathan Jones declared himself satisfied with a point from today’s game with Sunderland, after Matty Pearson’s second-half equaliser got the Town on the scoreboard for the first time this season.

The Welshman said: “I’m reasonably happy with it because it gets us on the board. We’ve bounced back from an undeserved defeat last week and up against probably the biggest club in the league, and I thought we acquitted ourselves very well.

“I thought it was a quite even game. The second part of the first half they really came into it and tested us, got their goal. But then we came right out of the traps and I thought in the second half we were excellent.

“It was probably a fair result, and I’m pleased because they are a good side. They’ve got a lot of good players and they’ve got what used to happen to us last year, where people used to say about our budget. We were probably just slightly bigger than some others, whereas Sunderland have got a big, big budget. Still, it’s a difficult job for them, but I’m pleased with the point.”

Jones was delighted with how his side responded to going a goal down to Josh Maja’s strike on the stroke of half-time.

“We showed we’ve got a lot of character, but we’ve got to learn quickly,” said Jones. “We haven’t kept a clean sheet yet and we’ve conceded two out of pretty much nothing, because teams at this level have got more quality.

“We saw that with the ball and the run and the finish. They showed that they have real threats and if you have a look through their side; Oviedo played in the World Cup, Matthews went for millions from Cardiff to Celtic, he’s an international. They’ve just bought Max Power.

“They’ve got a great squad and they’ll take some beating. But I felt we matched them for long periods. There was a 20-minute period first half where they were better than us. Not many do that to us, but they did, and then second half I felt we were the better side and deserved our point.”

The Town were roared on by over 9,000 Hatters in a capacity crowd of 10,059, and the manager wants these occasions to become regular fixtures at Kenilworth Road – not just one-offs.

“We want these games to become the norm,” he said. “We want to keep moving forward, keep building and keep developing. I thought the Sunderland crowd were magnificent as well today, they travelled down in their numbers, shows what a quality club they have.

“But we showed our class again. Our fans clapped us off because they know the shift we’ve put in, they know where we are and they know that to compete with these sides is a massive thing, but it’s brilliant.

“A couple of years ago Luton were going to Barrow and places like that, and now we are playing Sunderland and going to the Stadium of Light. We’ve come a long way and we are going to keep developing and keep moving forward, because that’s a big result today.”

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2M5HhPghGE

Pearson earns Hatters a point against Black Cats

**League One: Luton Town 1 Sunderland 1 **

Matty Pearson's first goal for the club gave Luton a battling and hard-fought against League One giants Sunderland at Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

With 23 minutes to go and Town trailing 1-0, the summer signing from Barnsley showed real commitment to win the ball at the far post from Alan Sheehan's corner and then a striker's instinct to divert his effort inside the far corner with the outside of his right foot.

It was no more than the Hatters deserved for their endeavours in the second period as they reacted well to conceding a goal on the stroke of half time to grab a share of the spoils and get their campaign up and running.

Town boss Nathan Jones made two changes to the team who went down 1-0 at Portsmouth, Danny Hylton free from suspension to replace Harry Cornick, while Jack Stacey was preferred to James Justin at right back.

Apart from Alan McCormack's ambitious volley flying well over, the hosts failed to really create anything of note in the opening exchanges.

Neither did Sunderland to be fair though, although they had calls for a penalty when George Honeyman was dragged down, Glen Loovens glancing a header off target too.

You could tell the visitors, relegated from the Championship last term, were a class above anything Luton had to face in League Two, but Jones' side more than matched their opponents during the opening half hour, as both sides cancelled each other out.

However, the Black Cats were a whisker away on the half hour, Lynden Gooch eventually manufacturing a shooting opportunity on his left foot, dragging inches wide from the edge of the box.

From that moment on, Sunderland's little bit extra started to show, as they appeared to have more time on the ball, nullifying Luton's threats and looking dangerous themselves, moving ahead on the stroke of half time.

Gooch was heavily involved once more, as he cut in from the right and fed Josh Maja, who took a touch and then faced with Stech, confidently found the bottom corner.

After the break, the visitors were close to a second, Bryan Oviedo's cross just above the unmarked Chris Maguire.

Town upped the ante though, Lee's touch letting him down at the wrong moment, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu's effort blocked and then Dan Potts' low drive deflected behind for a corner, with the majority of the 10,000 inside the ground starting believe a fight back was on.

Pearson showed real bravery to meet another Sheehan set-piece ahead of keeper Jon McLauglin, but his header flew into the home fans.

Sunderland appeared to have ridden the mini storm and almost doubled their lead on 62 minutes, the impressive Gooch taking aim, his curler bursting through the hands of Stech but luckily for Town's stopper, he got enough to divert it over the bar.

Town then had the leveller they had threatened on 67 minutes, as utilising the corner routine that was first started at Accrington, and served them so well last term, saw it pay dividends once more.

This time, Sheehan and James Collins combined and the captain's dinked cross was won at the back post by Pearson, who steered the ball into the opposite corner for Luton's first goal of the League One campaign.

They did have a major let off moments later, as after cursing the woodwork last week, were hailing t this time, Maguire turning and hammering against the bar from eight yards out.

Town should have been in front with 15 minutes to go though, Stacey finding space and chipping the perfect cross for Hylton, but unmarked, he nodded badly wide of the target.

Sub Lee Cattermole's glancing header wasn't far away for the Black Cats and at the death, Dan Potts connected well with Sheehan's delivery, but once again his radar was off, meaning the spoils were shared.

Hatters: Marek Stech, Jack Stacey, Dan Potts, Alan Sheehan, Matty Pearson, Alan McCormack, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, Jorge Grant (Harry Cornick 66), Elliot Lee (Jake Jervis 90), James Collins (Glen Rea 86), Danny Hylton.

Subs not used: James Shea, Sonny Bradley, Andrew Shinnie, James Justin.

Sunderland: Jon McLaughlin, Adam Matthews, Bryan Oviedo, Glenn Loovens, Chris Maguire, George Honeyman (C), Lynden Gooch (Luke Molyneux 90), Jack Baldwin, Josh Maja (Luke O'Nien 86), Max Power, Bali Mumba (Lee Cattermole 54).

Subs not used: Alim Ozturk, Robbin Ruiter, Elliot Embleton, Denver Hume.

Booked: Matthews 19, McCormack 56, Grant 59, Baldwin 61, Loovens 90.

Referee: Charles Breakspear.

Attendance: 10,059 (Sunderland 1,047).

Jones felt second half display deserved a point

Hatters boss Nathan Jones felt his side's second half display was deserving of a point against Sunderland this afternoon, as they held the Black Cats to a 1-1 draw.

The visitors had led through Josh Maja's opener on the stroke of half time, only for Matty Pearson to level with 23 minutes to go.

He said: “They're as good a side who have come here for a few years and they showed that towards the second half of the first half.

“I thought it was pretty even early on and then for the last 15-20 minutes they sort of controlled the game and we had to get to half time I was feeling then.

“We didn't manage to do that, which set us back a bit, but second half I thought we were excellent, I thought we came out, we changed something, a minor tweak really, and then we were really on the front foot.

“We got opportunities, we finally got the goal and look, we've both had chances, they've hit the bar, Danny's had a wonderful chance with a header, but I think on the whole a point is a fair result."