Luton Town FC vs Wycombe Wanderers (30th Jan 2018)

REPORT: LUTON TOWN 2 WYCOMBE WANDERERS 3

Hatters lose out by the odd goal in five as Chairboys move up to second

The Hatters ended January with a 3-2 home defeat for the second year in a row as Wycombe moved up to second in Sky Bet League Two – eight points behind Hatters – by taking all three points away from Kenilworth Road.

The Chairboys led from the second minute, when Paris Cowan-Hall opened the scoring, and had striker Nathan Tyson on target twice either side of half-time, with Elliot Lee’s eighth and ninth goals of the season not enough to get the Town back on terms on an eventful night at the Kenny.

Just like last term, when the Town lost 3-2 to Cheltenham on transfer deadline night, the opening month ended disappointingly for Nathan Jones and his side - only this time, they are in a much better place at the summit of the fourth tier.

Jones made two changes from the side that won 1-0 at Grimsby on Saturday, bringing the Lee brothers, Olly and Elliot, back into the starting XI after both were on the bench at Blundell Park.

Olly came back into midfield, with Jordan Cook suspended following his dismissal on Cleethorpes, while Elliot was selected up front in place of Harry Cornick, who was on the bench.

Little more than a minute was on the clock when Wycombe took the lead, after the Town gave possession away cheaply midway inside the visitors’ half.

One ball over the top found Tyson in the clear, and although Town keeper Marek Stech saved his initial shot, the veteran frontman retrieved possession and set Cowan-Hall up to lash the ball home from the edge of the box.

The Chairboys should have doubled their lead in the fifth minute when Tafari Moore exploited the space behind Dan Potts and crossed from the right, but Tyson directed his header straight at Stech.

It took ten minutes for the Hatters to string a decent attacking move together, and when Alan Sheehan and Potts combined down the left to feed Luke Berry inside, the midfielder tried to bend one from 25 yards, but Wycombe keeper Scott Brown was right behind it.

Ten minutes later a golden chance to level came along, when Elliot Lee wriggled free in the box and curled a low shot that Brown could only parry in the air towards Collins, who seemed set to volley into an empty net only for Joe Jacobson to get in a crucial block.

Town defended several dangerous looking crosses, before Collins had the next chance, latching onto Berry’s knock-down and smashing in an 18-yard shot that took a wicked deflection off a Wycombe defender, causing Brown to dive low to his left to turn it around the post.

Stacey was having plenty of joy down the right, without finding the killer ball, but it was from one of his low crosses that was turned behind that Sheehan delivered the 31st-minute corner for another great opening – this time Potts winning the header and directing it goalward, but Elliot Lee, unmarked inside the six-yard box, made little contact with it and Brown collected easily.

Elliot Lee seemed determined to make amends, and after snaking his way across the edge of the box, he fired in another right-footed effort that flew high into the Oak Road End.

Wycombe extended their lead in the 39th minute when Tyson took advantage of some poor Town defending from a left-wing corner to tap in from close range.

The Hatters were back in business two minutes before the break, however, and it came seconds after Brown had produced another tremendous save to deny Collins as he latched onto Olly Lee’s low cross from the right.

Elliot Lee managed to fetch the ball back from the right edge of the area and drove inside, firing a low shot across Brown and inside the far post to half the arrears.

The Town finished the half building up a head of steam, and the ever-threatening Elliot Lee continued the momentum into the second, using his low centre of gravity to turn his man on the left 35 yards from goal and drive towards the box, only to see his shot saved well by Brown.

Potts then came within a whisker of connecting with a Sheehan free-kick, before Olly Lee burst down the left and sent another dangerous low cross into the six-yard box that was just too far in front of Collins.

The game was becoming stretched, and after Collins was fouled on the edge of the area, Sheehan stepped up to curl a 65th-minute free-kick towards the top corner, but Brown once again flew across his line to turn it around the post.

Jones had already reshuffled the midfield by bringing Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu on for the injured Mullins and dropping Rea into the back four, and with just over 20 minutes left, he introduced Cornick in place of Shinnie.

Within a minute the visitors had restored their two-goal advantage, however, Tyson racing clear onto a Dominic Gape ball over the top to slide his finish under the advancing Stech.

Elliot Lee dragged the Town back into things again in the 78th minute when he made something out of nothing, after receiving a ball into feet from Berry out on the left angle of the box.

Lee faced his man up, drove at him and, as the ball bounced up, produced a flying volley that Brown did well once again to save. The rebound flew straight back to the younger Lee brother, however, and he lashed the ball into the roof of the net for 3-2.

After a lengthy hold-up as Wycombe right-back Moore received treatment, Town went back on the offensive – Stacey sending in another cross from the right that found Collins unmarked, but the striker’s acrobatic volley was well off target.

Wycombe hadn’t had much of the ball in the second half, but one of their subs – Scott Kashket – found space in the box, only for Rea to deflect his shot wide for a corner. Stech then saved well from the same player, as the Chairboys’ forward looked to turn Gape’s shot into the bottom corner.

Brown was Wycombe’s saviour once more in the 89th-minute when Cornick raced onto a lay-off by Elliot Lee, but couldn’t steer his shot past the keeper as he raced out towards his 18-yard line.

Seven minutes into injury-time Sheehan delivered another pinpoint free-kick that looked perfect for Rea or Potts, but neither of the Town defenders made contact and the chance went begging.

So too, did the Hatters’ hopes of increasing the nine-point advantage at the top, with Wycombe replacing Notts County in second spot – cutting the lead to eight – and Coventry’s 3-1 win at home to Cambridge taking them fourth, reducing the Town’s lead over the play-off spots to ten.

TOWN: Stech, Stacey, Mullins (Mpanzu 57), Sheehan ©, Potts, Rea, O Lee (D’Ath 78), Berry, Shinnie (Cornick 69), E Lee, Collins. Subs: Justin, Jarvis, Famewo, Shea (GK)

Goals: E Lee 43, 78

Yellows: Potts

WYCOMBE: Brown, Jacobson, Gape, El-Abd ©, Bean, Cowan-Hall (Kashket 82), O’Nien, Moore (Thompson 83), Akinfenwa, Tyson (Mackail-Smith 76), Scarr. Subs: McGinley, De Havilland, Freeman, Ma-Kalambay (GK)

Goals: O’Nien Cowan-Hall 2, Tyson 39, 70

Yellows: Cowan-Hall, Tyson, Mackail-Smith, Brown

REFEREE: Tim Robinson

ATT: 8,564 (791 away)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-HA3vDotQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaAc--5irOM

NATHAN JONES ON THE DEFEAT TO WYCOMBE

Town boss Nathan Jones was disappointed by the 3-2 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers as the Hatters' lead at the top of Sky Bet League Two was cut to eight points.

The visitors scored within the opening 70 seconds as Paris Cowan-Hall fired home from the edge of the box after Marek Stech saved Nathan Tyson's shot. They then doubled their lead six minutes before the break as Tyson converted from close range, before Elliot Lee tucked away in the 43rd minute to halve the deficit.

Tyson got his second of the evening and his side's third as he finished off a smart counter-attack after 70 minutes, before Lee hammered home after seeing an initial acrobatic effort saved with 12 minutes to go.

The result sees the Hatters remain top of the table, but the Chairboys moved into second to bring the chasing pack a point closer to the Town.

Jones said: "It was a disappointing evening. It was a wonderful game for the neutral, in terms of end-to-end chances. But it's disappointing from our point of view.

"We didn't give ourselves a real chance after we conceded after the first minute from schoolboy defending, poor defending in fact. That put us on the back foot and then to concede from a set-play, we lost two headers in the box, two things we have massively earmarked from them. So that was disappointing.

"Then we give ourselves a chance with a goal, and then we felt on the whole we were the better side. Just when we're in the ascendancy, they go on the counter attack. We have the opportunity to put two balls in their box of real quality, both full-backs hit the first man and then they break and score. It's poor really in terms of that.

"Elliot Lee then scores again and then they see the game out. When you concede three at home, it's very unlikely you win the game."

Hatters waste the chance to go clear with Wycombe defeat

League Two: Luton Town 2 Wycombe Wanderers 3

Luton Town wasted a great opportunity to move further clear at the top of the League Two table, beaten by promotion rivals Wycombe Wanderers this evening.

With Notts County not in action, a victory for the Hatters could have seen them extend the gap to 12 points, but from the moment Nathan Tyson opened the scoring, they were always playing catch-up against a Chairboys side perfectly drilled in the dark arts of managing a game.

Although Elliot Lee scored twice to try and raise a grandstand finale, Luton could barely muster a shot in anger during nine minutes of stoppage time, as Wanderers climbed to second, now only eight points adrift.

Hatters boss Nathan Jones made two changes, the Lee brothers returning for Jordan Cook and Harry Cornick, but the Chairboys got off to a perfect start, taking the lead in the second minute as Tyson was given the freedom of Kenilworth Road to reach a ball over the top.

Although his effort was saved by Marek Stech, the striker showed good awareness to tee up Paris Cowan-Hall who drilled into the bottom corner from 18 yards.

It should have been 2-0 just moments later, the unmarked Tyson heading straight at Stech, as Wycombe's electric opening continued, while Luton, who looked so solid and disciplined with 10 men at Grimsby on Saturday, were alarmingly all over the shop at the back.

Missing a player of the ilk of an Alan McCormack to get in amongst the visitors' midfielders, Hatters were second best all over early on.

To their credit, they finally started to grow into the game and were close to levelling as Elliot Lee's low curler palmed away by Scott Brown, Joe Jacobson blocking James Collins' follow-up.

The Wanderers keeper, when not taking timewasting tactics to new depths, made an even better stop on 29 minutes as Collins' low effort took a deflection, and he sprang to his left to palm behind for a corner.

Elliot Lee worked some space but couldn't keep his shot down, while Wanderers had a second after some shocking Town defending from a corner, Tyson left in acres of space to crash home from close range.

Luton had lifeline on 44 minutes when Olly Lee's glorious low cross was turned goalwards by Collins, as Brown made a brilliant reaction stop.

However, the rebound was fed to Elliot Lee and his low shot beat Brown, just, to nestle into the bottom corner.

In the second period, the goalscorer set off on a mazy run, beating three challenges, only to shoot straight at Brown, while Alan Sheehan's curling free kick drew another quite brilliant stop from the Chairboys' pantomime villain between the posts.

Wanderers appeared to have put the game to bed on 70 minutes when Town were caught out once more from a ball over the top and this time Tyson made no mistake, racing away and slipping his shot beyond Stech.

It was back in the balance once more with 12 minutes to go though, Elliot Lee bagging his second of the night, beating Brown at the second attempt.

Stech kept Luton in it from Scott Kashket's deflection, before Town had their best chance in the last minute, Harry Cornick going clean through but faced with Brown, shot straight at the custodian.

Hatters: Marek Stech, Jack Stacey, Dan Potts, Johnny Mullins (Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu 57), Alan Sheehan (C), Glen Rea, Olly Lee (Lawson D'Ath 78) Luke Berry, Andrew Shinnie (Harry Cornick 69), Elliot Lee, James Collins.

Subs not used: James Shea, James Justin, Akin Famewo, Aaron Jarvis.

Chairboys: Scott Brown, Joe Jacobson, Dominic Gape, Adam El-Abd (C), Marcus Bean, Paris Cowan-Hall (Scott Kashket 82) Luke O'Nien, Tafari Moore (Curtis Thompson 83), Adebayo Akinfenwa, Nathan Tyson (Craig Mackail-Smith 76), Dan Scarr.

Subs not used: Nathan McGinley, Will De Havilland, Nick Freeman, Yves Ma-Kalamby.

Booked: Cowan-Hall 72, Tyson 74, Mackail-Smith 79, Brown 85, Potts 90.

Referee: Tim Robinson.

Attendance: 8,564 (791 Wycombe).

Hatters MOM: Elliot Lee. Brace gave Luton hope.

Jones laments Town’s ‘naive’ defending in Chairboys defeat

Luton boss Nathan Jones lamented his side’s ‘naive’ defending, as they were beaten 3-2 at home by fellow promotion chasers Wycombe Wanderers last night.

The Hatters chief saw Paris Cowan-Hall open the scoring inside two minutes, before Nathan Tyson was given the freedom of the penalty area to make it 2-0.

Although Elliot Lee pulled one back, Tyson sprinted away to put the Chairboys 3-1 up, with Lee’s second goal of the evening turning out to be a consolation.

A frustrated Jones said: “It was a wonderful advert for football if you’re a neutral in terms of end to end stuff, chances at both ends, but from my point of view, naive defending has cost us the game.

“Going forward, we had no problem, I thought we were very good in possession. We created enough chances to have won the game, it’s just defensively, we were very, very poor.

“To concede a goal after a minute, we lost the ball in their half, we didn’t go with the runner.

“Then the one who robbed it off the one who lost the ball (Olly Lee), he had more desire to get back into that area and he scored and that was symptomatic of us first half defensively.

“We concede from a set-play, a poor set-play, second phase set-play and we can’t show them any more as it’s clear what they do. They go, they win that, especially with (Adebayo) Akinfenwa and we didn’t defend well enough.

“We’ve lost a header in our box and I can’t understand how it’s got to the boy.

“They’re all avoidable goals because we’re in possession, both full backs had an opportunity to put balls in, both underhit crosses, and then they break and score.

“So one, we’ve got to be better in the final third and two, we’ve got to make sure we don’t get hit with a sucker punch.

“It’s difficult to analyse it because we just didn’t defend well enough as attacking-wise no problem, but we just did not defend well enough and we were naive in our defending.”

Jones didn’t have any issues with his sides play at the other end as Chairboys keeper Scott Brown made some magnificent saves to ensure his side came out on top, denying James Collins, Alan Sheehan and Harry Cornick in the final minute.

He added: “We had enough chances to have got something out of the game, even at 3-2, Harry Cornick’s gone clean through, one-on-one and should score.

“Attacking-wise, no problem, I can’t criticise our attacking play. We scored two and should have had three, four maybe, then it shows you’re a good attacking side.

“It was just defensively, we needed someone to organise and shut up shop and not to concede and we conceded at bad times.

“We conceded straight away, conceded the second from a set play and just when we’re in the ascendancy, we concede a third, that’s basically the tale of the game.

“I can’t criticise us in possession but out of possession we weren’t good enough, we weren’t because we’ve conceded three and deserved to concede three.”