Luton Town FC vs Tottenham Hotspur (7th Oct 2023)

Report | Town miss chances in defeat to ten-man Spurs

Town 0

Tottenham 1 van de Ven 52

“We left points out there,” said a deflated Rob Edwards after the Hatters fell to a defeat against ten-man Tottenham Hotspur.

As it was one of those days. Again.

For Edwards and the Town to come off the field disappointed not to have taken something off one of the ‘top six’ - was testament to another performance that warranted more as the Hatters endeavoured to keep their unbeaten visitors at bay in an intoxicating encounter inside a packed Kenilworth Road.

It was frantic and it was fascinating; but, yet again, it was that killer instinct in both boxes that was difference on a day which could have seen the Town take a point and maybe all three.

However, if the first seven minutes were to go by, it seemed as though the Hatters were going to endure a very long afternoon.

Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs flew out of the blocks and could – and perhaps should – have been three goals ahead inside seven minutes. Thomas Kaminski was brilliant to save the second of those chances, denying Richarlison from close range.

Having ridden their luck and kept Tottenham at bay, slowly but surely the Town grew into the game. That said, Spurs’ threat was not going away. Kaminski made another immense save, getting down low to turn Dejan Kulusevski’s low effort around the post.

But with every passing minute the Town were growing in confidence and belief. Tom Lockyer had the ball in the Spurs net – which was rightly chalked off for a foul – but as half-time approached you felt as though the Hatters had the opponents’ measure after a nervy opening.

At 0-0 the game turned. Yves Bissouma had already been booked before he decided to throw himself to the ground following a weaving run goalwards. There was no foul. There was a dive, and referee Brooks had no option to show the midfielder a needless and indeed silly second yellow card.

But here comes the but: the Town’s Achilles heel this season has been their failure to take chances and then be punished at the other end.

So guess what?

On 47 minutes the Town should have led. Chiedozie Ogbene raced down the right and delivered a perfect cross on a plate for Elijah Adebayo. However, from inside the six-yard box the striker couldn’t turn home.

So guess what?

Five minutes later, after a succession of Tottenham corners, Micky van de Ven turned home the loose ball to give Tottenham the lead.

It had the Wolves game written all over it.

The Town plugged away, aiming to make their extra man count and on 64 minutes another good chance fell their way when Alfie Doughty’s wonderful left-wing cross was nodded over by an unmarked Jacob Brown.

As both sides made their changes, the game lacked fluency as the Hatters tried in vain to find a leveller against a Tottenham side that had packed their backline to see out the points.

And despite five minutes of injury time, the Town could not raise themselves for one last chance.

Come the final whistle both sets of players showed the toll of an exhausting afternoon.

So the wait goes on for the Hatters’ first Premier League victory – next up here is Liverpool.

Next up, in a fortnight, is a trip to Forest. See you then.

Town: Kaminski; Andersen (sub Mengi 59), Burke, Lockyer (sub Barkley 81), Doughty, Obgene; Nakamba, Mpanzu (sub Berry 66); Adebayo (sub Chong 67), Morris, Brown (sub Woodrow 67)

Subs: Krul, Kaboré, Mengi, Giles, Johnson.

Attendance: 10,929.

Post-match reaction | Rob on Spurs defeat

Town manager Rob Edwards reacts to the Hatters’ Premier League defeat at Kenilworth Road against Tottenham Hotspur.

“I thought Spurs came out the traps really strongly in the first ten minutes,” said Edwards. I was disappointed with how we started the game, which I told the lads at half-time but then I thought we grew into it, started to execute the game plan and then we looked a good team.

“You knew Spurs would have most of the possession, then we started playing how we wanted to and got a goal which was ruled out.

“We were able to keep them pretty quiet, it was difficult for us in transition when we won the ball because they smother you in numbers quickly, then we had to defend with numbers.

“We got into half-time at nil-nil which was a real positive, the dynamic and mood of the game changed when they went down to ten men, we predicted their tactical change at the break and pressed them aggressively man-to-man.

“We wanted width with Chieo and Doughty, created a really big moment at the start of the second half that unfortunately we didn’t take and then we switched off by not dealing with the short corner well enough.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvBKOeSS920 – Rob Edwards interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koX9X2MtXHM – Match highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OKlRpA4aGw – Extended match highlights

Missed chances prove costly yet again as Luton are beaten at home by 10-man Spurs

Premier League: Luton Town 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Luton's quest for a first Premier League win at home will stretch until after the international break as they were beaten 1-0 by a Spurs side who went top of the table despite having to play the entire second half with 10 men in what was a topsy-turvy clash at Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

The visitors should have been completely out of sight in a first half that they utterly dominated, missing chance after chance due to poor finishing and some inspired saves from Town stopper Thomas Kaminski.

They then had to play the entire second 45 minutes with a numerical disadvantage after Yves Bissouma was sent off in stoppage time for his second booking.

It didn't fluster them though, Micky van de Ven on target just eight minutes after the break, as the profligacy was to prove catching, Luton wasting a number of glorious opportunities of their own to snatch what would have been a terrific point.

Hatters boss Rob Edwards made three changes from the 2-1 defeat to Burnley, striker Elijah Adebayo rewarded for his first goal by coming back in, along with Reece Burke and Mads Andersen.

Midfielder Ross Barkley was fit enough to take his place in the match-day squad, but Spurs displayed all the hallmarks of a team who were looking to to move to the top of the table at the start, on top from the word go, wasting two glorious chances, both through Richarlison.

The first saw Dejan Kulusevski cut in from the right, his cross somehow sent over the top at the back post by the Brazilian, before being sent clear by James Maddison, only to be denied a terrific stop from the outstretched legs of Kaminski.

Ange Postecoglou's side kept on coming, Son releasing Pedo Porro straight through the middle but he prodded wide of the target as Luton were let off the hook once more.

Son then went for goal himself, firing over the top, a theme that was to catch on as Luton got to 10 minutes somehow still on level terms, as bar one outing that saw Adebayo fail to collect Carlton Morris's pass, they simply couldn't find a route into the opposition’s half, let alone their penalty area.

Having gone five minutes without threatening, van de Ven decided to take matters into his own hands, driving out of defence and having a crack himself, well over, as some awful defending by Town saw Son allowed another go from 10 yards, Kaminski gathering comfortably.

Richarlison blasted off target, but having had so little of the ball, Luton's eyes lit up when it did drop to them 20 yards out on 21 minutes, but unfortunately it was the left boot of Marvelous Nakamba, whose lengthy search for a goal continued.

That saw a slither of belief make its way into the players and supporters, the roar when Kaminski came sliding out to gather a loose pass forward quite breath-taking, as it was when Luton won a corner on 25 minutes, Morris heading over.

If the hosts were to get anything you felt it needed an almost superhuman performance from Kamsinki and he showed he was up for the task on the half hour, a quite brilliant low save from Kulusevski’s low shot that was destined for the bottom corner.

Richarlison powered the resulting set-piece wide and then Maddison sent a 25-yard free kick over the top to offer Luton some respite.

With five minute to go until half time, the Hatters thought they had managed to take the lead themselves, Doughty’s deep free kick causing all kinds of trouble in the opposing area.

Adebayo flicked the ball over Guglielmo Vicario and it rebounded off the inside of the post, as Lockyer bravely headed the ball in from a few yards out, getting a kick to his face for his troubles.

A VAR check ruled that Adebayo had pushed his man in the lead-up though, as the goal was chalked off.

It boosted Town’s hopes though, which were doubled when Maddison was once more wayward, as the visitors were then reduced to 10 men on the stroke of half time.

With the increasingly influential Bissouma already booked for fouling Ogbene, he decided to take a theatrical dive when trying to win a free kick, as referee John Brooks was having none of it, brandishing a second yellow which meant the Mali midfielder had to have an early bath

Spurs took off Richarlison for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at the break, but the Hatters should have led after the restart, Ogbenbe doing brilliantly to get the better of Destiny Udogie and tolling the most inviting cross for Adebayo.

Just four yards out, the striker only had to tap home, but for some reason went for his right foot when he simply had to use his left and the ball got stuck under him, rolling tamely behind.

Despite being a man down, the visitors then grabbed a crucial opener on 53 minutes, a short corner routine catching Town sleeping.

Maddison turned Doughty in the area and his cross was met by van de Ven, who finally got something on target for Spurs, Kaminski unable to keep it out this time.

Luton tried to respond, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu picking out the unmarked Doughty but he dragged his volley disappointingly wide, while Morris's clever stepovers ended with Vicario parrying away on the hour mark.

An end to end game saw Porro go for the corner with the outside of his right boot which had Kaminski getting the full dive out, as it flashed wide.

Town's problems at scoring goals was highlighted perfectly when Doughty's cross from the left saw Brown completely unmarked, unable to even test Vicario, heading way over.

Still Luton pushed, the man advantage finally starting to show for the first time, as another ball in saw Ogbene get the ball stuck under his feet

Edwards responded by making a triple substitution, with Tahith Chong, Luke Berry and Cauley Woodrow on, as one of them, Woodrow should have done far better when found by Morris’s header, opting to shoot early and only sidefoot weakly at Vicario.

Doughty had another go on 72 minutes, his drive taking a nick as it whistled over, but you got the feeling that the puff had gone out of Town’s attack in the closing stages, Spurs looking more and more confident as they held the Hatters at arm’s length to take their place at the summit.

Hatters: Thomas Kaminski, Chiedozie Ogbene, Mads Andersen (Teden Mengi 58), Tom Lockyer (C Ross Barkley 81), Reece Burke, Alfie Doughty, Marvelous Nakamba, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu (Tahith Chong 66), Jacob Brown (Luke Berry 66), Elijah Adebayo (Cauley Woodrow 66), Carlton Morris.

Subs not used: Tim Krul, Issa Kabore, Ryan Giles, Joe Johnson.

Spurs: Guglielmo Vicario, Son Heung-Min (C, Emerson Royal 77), Yves Bissouma, Richarlison, James Maddison (Oliver Skipp 76), Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski (Alejo Veliz 90), Pedro Porro, Pape Matar Sarr, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie (Ben Davies 82).

Subs not used: Fraser Forster, Bryan Gil, Eric Dier, Giovani Lo Celso.

Referee: John Brooks.

Booked: Lockyer, Morris, Bissouma, Hojbjerg.

Sent off: Bissouma 45.

Attendance: 10,929.

Frustrated Edwards felt Luton were guilty of leaving points out there against Tottenham

Town beaten by 10-man league leaders

A frustrated Luton boss Rob Edwards felt the Hatters were guilty of leaving points out on the pitch for the second game running after being beaten 1-0 by table-topping Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon.

Following a first half in which the visitors absolutely dominated, wasting a plethora of chances, Richarlison, Son Heung-min and James Maddison all off target, with Thomas Kaminski making wonderful saves from Dejan Kulusevksi and Richarlison.

Spurs then had Yves Bissouma sent off for as second booking for diving on the stroke of half time, but despite having 10 men for the entire second 45, the visitors took all three points when a short corner routine saw Maddison set up Micky van de Veen to find the net just eight minutes after the break.

Prior to that, Elijah Adebayo put a wonderful chance wide from a matter of yards after being picked out by Chiedozie Obgene, sliding wide at the far post, as Edwards said: “We’re saying the same things aren’t we at the moment, which is frustrating and I feel like we’ve left points out there today.

“Look Tottenham started really well and really strongly, and we didn't come out of the traps for the first 10-12 minutes, but after that we really grew into the game.

“I was raging, I wasn't happy, it's not what we wanted to do.

"We changed how we played, we went with a back four, we took a centre back out and put another forward on the pitch as we felt it was the right way to go against them tactically.

“We started executing what we planned to do and we were doing it well, so in the end I was relatively pleased at half time, pleased that we were in the game.

“It’s 0-0, we’ve not had any really big chances, but apart from that disallowed goal at half time, that's okay.

“The dynamic changed because of the sending off, it was an opportunity for us then to try and be more aggressive.

"We felt the change that they did, we kind of predicted that we thought Hojbjerg would come on, because they would keep the way they were playing.

"They would just take one more number off the last line, so we changed our shape to go to a back three again, have three against their front two, and then we could go man for man everywhere else and then have width with Chieo and Alfie (Doughty).

"The first couple of minutes it worked really well, we had a huge opportunity, a massive chance, which in the end we didn’t take and we’ve been punished for.

"We switched off with a short corner as well, those two moments are big in the game and then we hugged and puffed and tried.

"We had a couple of other big moments that we didn’t take, and I’m saying the same things at the moment.

“They’re an elite team and just because they’re down to 10 men it doesn’t mean, right, just go on and win now Luton, it’s not that easy.

“That’s still hard for us as they’re very well organised, but I do feel like we left points out there.

“This week now, Tuesday (against Burnley) and today, we’ve left points out there, which for us, we can’t really do and we do need to learn quickly on that.”

On the winner, which saw Maddison turn Doughty in the box following a quick corner, Edwards continued: “He does it short, we talked about Tottenham being able to do things really, really quickly.

"They’re very bright once he gets turned and he’s one v one in the box, he can work a little bit of magic and he did it, but we can defend that moment better.”

Prior to the break, Luton did have the ball in the net themselves just before half time, but Tom Lockyer’s header was ruled out by VAR for a foul by Elijah Adebayo.

Edwards added: “I haven’t seen it, I’ve been told it was the correct decision, but not by my staff, so but my staff didn't come in raging and tell me it was incorrect.

"I’m really disappointed and flat as the way the game went, after they missed some chances early doors and went down to 10 men, the chances that we missed, we could have got something from the game and should have.”