Luton Town FC vs Sunderland (23rd Oct 2024)

23/10/2024 LUTON 1-2 SUNDERLAND

Unlucky Hatters defeated by leaders

Adebayo on target but Town lose out to table-topping visitors at Kenilworth Road

At the end of a pulsating second half that had seen Sunderland come out victorious, the Town players were deservedly applauded off the pitch by their supporters who had urged their heroes along for 90 minutes against the Championship league leaders.

It was a testament to a performance that warranted better on a night that saw the Hatters unfortunate to leave the field defeated after a display which showed similar spice to Saturday’s superb derby day win over Watford.

For the neutral, this was a good one. The Hatters pressed and pushed high up the pitch but just could not find a way past a stubborn Sunderland defence that dealt with almost everything that was thrown their way. At the end, the visitors registered 42 clearances to the Town’s four.

It was a theme throughout that started from the first whistle as the Town began with burning intensity. Clear-cut chances, however, were at a premium.

For all the forward momentum the Hatters could not force visiting goalkeeper Anthony Patterson into a save in a first half that ended when Carlton Morris’ finish – reacting quickest to Daiki Hashioka’s flick-on from an Alfie Doughty corner – was harshly ruled out for offside.

Goalless at the break, three minutes after the restart the Town almost led only for Patterson to throw up a strong hand to brilliantly keep out Elijah Adebayo’s close range header following Jordan Clark’s cross.

On top and looking for the opener, the Hatters then suddenly trailed on 55 minutes. Tahith Chong’s touch fell invitingly at the feet of Chris Rigg who, after holding off three Town defenders, struck a left-foot finish beyond Thomas Kaminski.

However, the Hatters responded well and were level just eight minutes later. Doughty’s free-kick from the right was beautifully volleyed goalwards by Morris at the back post and Adebayo was on hand to nod home from close range. It was the striker’s first goal of the season and his name was sung loudly from the stands by the Town support.

Sadly for the Hatters that noise was muted as Sunderland regained the lead in style three minutes later. Romaine Mundle dashed past two challenges on the left-hand edge of the box before finding the perfect low finish beyond Kaminski.

Up went the decibel level from the Town faithful with their side trailing once more, and on 72 minutes, it was almost 2-2 when Patterson blocked Doughty’s left-foot drive after being teed up by substitute Jacob Brown.

As time ticked down the Hatters continued to push for an equaliser only for half-chances to fall at the feet of man-of-the-match Tom Holmes, Morris and Clark.

In the dying moments and with the Town getting desperate, birthday boy Kaminski went up for the latest of late corners but Sunderland – who had cleared cross after cross after cross all night – dealt with the final one and that was that.

So while the result did not match Saturday’s derby day excitement, there were plenty of positives to take and on to Coventry we go on Saturday.

See you then.

Come on Luton.

Town: Kaminski; Moses, Doughty, McGuinness, Holmes, Hashioka (sub Taylor 90); Clark, Krauß (sub Woodrow 81), Chong (sub Nelson 70); Morris, Adebayo (sub Brown 70).

Subs not used: Krul, Nakamba, Mpanzu, Johnson, Benagr.

Attendance: 11,332, including 1,252 in the away end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue8tQDV6Fcg – Rob Edwards post match interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IDhZt9yKrs – match highlights

Hatters fall to an undeserved defeat against table-toppers Sunderland

Championship: Luton Town 1 Sunderland 2

Luton weren't able to capitalise on the momentum garnered from beating Watford at the weekend as were beaten by top of the table Sunderland this evening, although it was a thoroughly undeserved loss for Rob Edwards' side.

The Hatters had by far the better of proceedings, producing yet another front-footed performance to warm the cockles of those in attendance, but sadly on this occasion, they came up against a defence who were willing to whatever it takes to clear their lines, and an attack that was clinical, two of their three shots on target in the second half hitting the back of the net.

Town made just one change from the side who unceremoniously thumped their arch-enemies on Saturday, Daiki Hashioka in for his first start since May, Reece Burke missing out due to a groin injury. There was some good news for boss Edwards though, as the other trio who were withdrawn, Tom Krauß, Tom Holmes and Tahith Chong, all kept their places, although Town's injury situation was displayed by teenager Benedict Benagr's inclusion on the bench.

The worry was that it would be a case of after the Lord Mayor's show for the Hatters and those fears were justified early on, Alan Browne easily beating Jordan Clark's sliding challenge in the area and cutting the ball back for an unmarked Dan Neil whose blast was touched over by Thomas Kaminski. Romaine Mundle then escaped on the opposite flank, his cross half-cleared, Browne's ambitious backheel blocked by Kaminski at close quarters.

Town though soon clocked on to the task, getting their press on, as with Chong, Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo leading it, allowing Clark and Krauß to pick the seconds up, they began to bounce off their fans, culminating in Victor Moses' cross controlled by Morris who swivelled and shot narrowly wide. Sunderland weren't without their threats though as a mistake by Hashioka allowed the Black Cats to break, Jobe Bellingham in space to shoot goalwards, Clark deflecting it narrowly wide.

Luton, as they had in their play-off semi-final victory back in May 2023, started to squeeze their opponents from corners, as the Black Cats just couldn't get out, Mark McGuinness's looping header forcing Anthony Patterson to tip over the bar, while Morris's attempt cannoned off a covering defender and bounced over via the woodwork.

Patterson tried to come out and claim to relieve the pressure, only ending up cleaning out his own player, with Krauß's strike also deflected wide on the half hour mark, as the only criticism that could be be thrown at the Hatters was that their increasing dominance hadn't resulted in the deadlock being broken.

Town thought they had done just that on the stroke of half time though as yet another set-piece was swung in by Doughty, Hashioka flicking on and Morris tucking home at the far post, only for the flag to go up and chalk the goal out for offside. Replays show that he was clearly onside, but unfortunately Clark was standing in an offside position and potentially interfering with play, which is what the official must have spotted.

After the break, Luton maintained their aggression, the excellent Tom Holmes forcing an error which was taken on by Clark and once his shot was charged down, the midfielder dinked over a terrific cross that was met by Adebayo, tipped over by a flying Patterson. However, Town did pay the price not taking their chances on 53 minutes, as a poor touch from Chong was seized upon by Chris Rigg, who managed to slalom his way into a shooting position, and although the angle was against him, slammed under the body of Kaminski.

Boosted by the opener, the Black Cats now had far more of a swagger about them than at any time in the first period, Dennis Cirkin forward to have a crack, Kaminski making a sharp parry. Luton weren't behind for long though, 10 minutes in fact, as Alfie Doughty swung a free kick in, Morris evaded his markers at the back post to volley the ball back and there was Adebayo to head home from a few yards out to end his 13 match goal drought, netting for the first time since he scored against Everton in May.

Sadly for the Hatters, they couldn't remain on level terms for any length of time, as with Chong trying to run the ball into opposition territory, he lost possession on the half-way line, as the visitors quickly switched the ball out to the left. There it was picked up by Mundle who had already given notice of his individual flair, showing that it was no fluke, by cutting inside both Moses and Clark, bending the ball into the far corner.

Edwards rang the changes, with Jacob Brown and Zack Nelson on for Chong and Adebayo, the attacker eager to get involved, winning possession and finding Doughty to his left, his blast too central, Patterson able to block. Krauß saw an effort charged over from just outside the box as Moses had a crack from even further out, which was always rising.

Corners, as they had all game, were still causing problems for the visitors, another one seeing Holmes get too much on his left-footer, sending it into the stands. As Luton committed men forward, ex-Hatter Aaron Connolly looked like he was about to add a third when sent clean through in the final minute, but Doughty appeared out of nowhere to make a terrific crunching challenge and keep Town in the game.

They almost capitalised in the five minutes of stoppage time that were extended due to Patterson's theatrics, as Clark couldn't volley home, claiming his shirt was being pulled. There were even louder screams for a spotkick in the dying seconds, as with birthday boy Kaminski up, the ball appeared to connect with the hand of a Black Cats player inside the area, but referee Tom Nield waved the appeals away, as Town were somehow left empty-handed.

Hatters: Thomas Kaminski, Victor Moses, Daiki Hashioka (Joe Taylor 90), Mark McGuinness, Tom Holmes, Alfie Doughty, Tom Krauß (Cauley Woodrow 81), Jordan Clark, Tahith Chong (Zack Nelson 70), Carlton Morris ©, Elijah Adebayo (Jacob Brown 70).

Subs not used: Tim Krul, Marvelous Nakamba, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, Joe Johnson, Benedict Benagr.

Black Cats: Anthony Patterson, Dennis Cirkin, Dan Neil ©, Jobe Bellingham, Alan Browne, Chris Rigg (Leo Hjelde 90), Luke O'Nien, Romaine Mundle (Patrick Roberts 81), Wilson Isidor (Aaron Connolly 67), Chris Mepham, Trai Hume.

Subs not used: Simon Moore, Nazariy Rusyn, Adil Aouciche, Milan Aleksic, Tom Watson, Zak Johnson.

Referee: Tom Nield. Booked: Rigg 29, Patterson 73, Holmes [edit was Taylor] 90, Morris 90, Bellingham 90, O'Nien 90.

Attendance: 11,332 (1,252 Black Cats).

Luton boss argues that Morris's disallowed goal should have stood against Black Cats

Town’s opener was ruled out for offside

Luton boss Rob Edwards argued that Carlton Morris’s first half strike shouldn’t have been ruled out by the officials during this evening’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Sunderland.

With the Hatters dominating the opening 45 minutes, winning corner after corner, visiting keeper Anthony Patterson tipping over Mark McGuinness’s header, it looked like Town’s set-pieces would finally pay off when yet another Alfie Doughty delivery was met by Daiki Hashioka. The Japanese international’s header saw Elijah Adebayo and Jordan Clark, who had been in an offside position, go for it, but fail to connect, Morris escaping his markers at the back post to tuck home.

However, the referee’s assistant flag was raised claiming Clark had been interfering with play, something Edwards couldn’t agree with afterwards, saying: “If we had VAR then maybe it would have been ruled back in our favour. I don’t think Clicker is doing too much at all, but we didn’t get it and the first goal is really important at any level.

“I just think he starts in an offside position on the goalkeeper, but then he’s coming away from it and I don’t think he gets in the way of anybody, or affects anything. That’s my opinion. Obviously like always, they’ll think differently and that’s fine, I suppose that’s football. But I don’t think he affects the play, the direction of the ball, any individual Sunderland player at all.”

After the break, the Black Cats took the lead when Chris Rigg fired home early on, Town quickly level thanks to Elijah Adebayo’s first goal of the season, heading Morris’s volley back across into the net. However, Romaine Mundle curled in what proved to be the winner midway through the half, as a late rally by the hosts saw Clark slice wide from close range and then Luton see huge penalty appeals for handball rejected in the final seconds of stoppage time.

Asked about both incidents, Edwards added: “I don't think it was a penalty, I think it’s just hit his hand but he’s in a natural position, so no complaints there. I think Clicker had half a big opportunity right at the end and he’s slashed it. Heat of the battle, he didn't realise he had a bit more time, he could have even had a touch, but overall he was very good tonight. So other than Carlton’s offside one I’ve got no real complaints on anything else.”

Edwards thought Luton turned in a match-winning performance during Black Cats loss

Hatters manager at a loss to explain home defeat

A hugely disappointed Luton boss Rob Edwards thought his side had turned in what he felt was a match-winning performance against Sunderland last night only to somehow leave empty-handed following the 2-1 reverse at Kenilworth Road.

He was right too, as a look at the stats shows just how dominant the Hatters had been on the evening with 19 shots in total, but only four on target, as the Black Cats managed less than half that amount, with eight, but importantly five of them within the posts. A look at the crosses tells a remarkable story too, Luton sending 43 into the area, Alfie Doughty with an incredible 25 of them, but only 10 of them were accurate, nine for Doughty, the one other delivered by Victor Moses, the visitors managing a mere four.

Sunderland’s almost watertight defence stood firm though, recording 47 clearances, Town having to make just six, with seven blocks as well to three from Edwards’ side. Critically the one stat that ultimately matters is goals, and with Chris Rigg and Romaine Mundle both finding the net, it saw the Wearsiders collect all three points for the first time in Bedfordshire since May 2007 when Roy Keane was in charge.

Speaking afterwards, Edwards believed it was Town’s players who should have been walking off triumphant, although did praise his squad for not showing any signs of a hangover following the sheer ecstasy of beating local rivals Watford on Saturday, saying: “I feel really, really disappointed at the moment. Credit to Sunderland, they have come away from home and won the game. They're top of the league for a reason and they found a way, but, for me and us, bitterly disappointed.

“I just thought we dominated the game almost from start to finish. I thought the first half was almost entirely in their half, their territory. The way we pressed, they couldn't really find a way out. That's where now though, we've got to be more ruthless and try and find a way and be more clinical. Whether it's a cross, whether it's a decision, a pass, we’ve got to find that extra bit, but we didn't do too much wrong tonight. We did a lot right.

"After a really big day for us on the weekend, it was probably a little bit of concern from me about, right, how are we going to react now? Is the intensity going to be there again? And the players gave us everything. I do think so many aspects of that were a winning performance tonight. They’re top of the league, but we competed very, very well and in my opinion should have won the game and we haven’t.

“Hopefully in terms of performances there’s a consistency there though. There’s an intensity, a desire and a passion, the boys are playing with that, so we’ve got to maintain it. It’s not perfect I know that, but so many good things. We dominated in terms of territory and where we want the game to be played, loads of it was in their half. Without getting too technical, we’ve had three times the touches in their penalty area than they’ve had, so we’ve got to come out and win the game.”

The two major annoyances for Edwards was that for all of Luton’s dominance, large periods of the contest taking place in the Sunderland half, with the visitors unable to get out of their penalty area at times in the first period, visiting goalkeeper Anthony Patterson opting to break up play when picking up a mysterious injury that immediately vanished, they only managed one goal, Elijah Adebayo heading home from close range.

He was also exasperated with Town’s defending that allowed the visitors managed to find the net twice, a poor touch from Tahith Chong seeing the ball rebound through to Chris Rigg, as although the teenager still had plenty to do, he did in with style, slaloming past Town’s desperate attempts to block and slam past Thomas Kaminski.

With the scores level, Mundle then cut in far too easily past Victor Moses and Clark to pick out the bottom corner as well, after Chong had been dispossessed, illegally he felt, when leading a charge forward. It wasn’t given though as the Town chief continued: “I think we had around 20 shots, four on target, something like that, so clearly that last bit was not quite there.

"Some of our crossing was a little bit over-hit or just not quite where it needs to be. In the first half Tom Krauß puts an amazing cross in and we’re just not there on the end of it, so positioning as well, but there wasn’t a lot wrong, Maybe we didn’t quite get the delivery, whether that was from open play or set-pieces, right.

“We know we can do better in those two moments for their goals. Mundle’s one was particularly frustrating as we’d done a lot of work on the wide players. We thought (Patrick) Roberts would play, would start, and the wide players coming inside, the shooting ability, he’s jinked inside too easily and it was a good finish from him.”

Although falling short, Town’s fans made for another intimidating atmosphere on the night, as the ovation they gave Edwards and his players at the full time whistle showed just what they had thought of Luton’s efforts, the boss adding: “A big thank you to the supporters because they were brilliant all night. They were excellent, I know they’ll be disappointed like we are, I can’t blame them, we all want to win, but the fans were brilliant throughout the whole evening and at the end especially.

"What we’ve got to go and do now is brush up on a few moments where we got punished, Rigg and Mundle, a couple of outstanding individual efforts, but we can do better to stop that and continue to do what we’re doing at the moment. As that’s two very good performances in a row, we haven’t got the result tonight, but we can’t lose heart or belief.”