Middlesbrough vs Luton Town FC (16th Dec 2020)

Match Report | Middlesbrough 1-0 Luton Town

Fine margins as the Hatters are defeated at the Riverside Stadium...

Drama was at the forefront of this evening’s Sky Bet Championship match against Middlesbrough as the Hatters were defeated at the Riverside Stadium.

Chuba Akpom scored the only goal of the game in the 52nd minute as Town were denied an equaliser from the spot later in the half after James Collins doubled-kicked his penalty effort.

Having controlled possession and had more shots on target, defeat was harsh for Nathan Jones’ side, who dropped down to 13th in the table.

The manager opted to make one change for this evening’s match against Boro, bringing Rhys Norrington-Davies back into the starting line-up ahead of George Moncur.

The Hatters – who are now without a goal in the last four away matches – had a fantastic early chance to take the lead against a Middlesbrough side who have lost just once at home in the league this season.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall delivered a dangerous corner to the far post, Dan Potts headed the ball back across towards Sonny Bradley, who under pressure, could only flick wide from close range.

Middlesbrough had just a single shot on goal in the first period but score seven minutes into the second half through Akpom.

Marcus Tavernier broke through the middle of the park and laid the ball wide to Marvin Johnson, who crossed low and the striker was able to steer his effort past James Shea.

Jones made a double change shortly after the hour mark with both Ryan Tunnicliffe and Luke Berry introduced and drama ensued not long after.

Glen Rea produced a superb turn and quick shot from distance that Marcus Bettinelli spilled into the path of James Collins, who fired towards goal but was thwarted by the arm of Sam Morsy.

Referee Andy Davies promptly pointed to the spot and awarded Morsy a red card, but the action didn’t end there.

Collins put the penalty away, though the referee consulted his assistant amid complaints from the home side that the Town striker touched the ball twice when taking.

After communication between the two, the goal was disallowed and play resumed with a Middlesbrough free-kick.

Town commanded proceedings against the ten-men of Boro and almost snatched an equaliser right at the death, but Berry was denied by Bettinelli who got down well to save his header on a night it just wasn't to be for Luton Town.

Middlesbrough: Bettinelli; Dijksteel, Fry, McNair, Bola; Morsy, Saville, Tavernier, Johnson (Spence 78), Watmore (Wing 70); Akpom (Assombalonga 78)

Subs not used: Stojanovic, Coulson, Jones, Folarin, Roberts.

Goals: Akpom (52)

Yellows: Assombalonga

Red: Morsy

Town: Shea, Pearson, Lockyer, Bradley (C), Potts; Rea (Clark 87), Mpanzu (Hylton 87), Dewsbury-Hall (Tunnicliffe 62); Cornick (Moncur 76), Norrington-Davies (Berry 62); Collins.

Subs not used: Isted, Cranie, Nombe, Morrell.

Yellows: Rea

Referee: Andy Davies

Nathan Jones reacts to defeat against Middlesbrough

NJ spoke pitchside following the slender loss against Boro...

Manager Nathan Jones chose to focus on the positives following the 1-0 defeat against Middlesbrough in the Sky Bet Championship this evening.

Chuba Akpom scored the only goal of the match in the 52nd minute but drama arose later in the half as Town were denied a goal from the penalty spot after James Collins double-kicked his effort from 12 yards.

Immediately after the match, the gaffer was asked about the decision straight away, to which he answered: “I think he has touched it twice, so it is the right decision.

“It was a tough game tonight because they are a front-footed side but I thought we were excellent. We curtailed everything they did and it was a really good away performance.

“I asked for a little bit more tempo just after half-time so that we could create a little bit more but we didn’t and we allowed them to come on to us a little bit and that’s how we conceded.

“We had to change, we did, and we were immediately on the front foot. We got a penalty, should score those Collo, he usually scores those and it is unfortunate. That was really the turning point, I think if we had scored there, we could have gone on and won the game.

“We’ve not been in any danger, that’s the frustrating thing. A game of not much quality, a lot of endeavour and I thought we matched them all over. It’s just two moments where we didn’t defend well enough and didn’t take a penalty well enough cost us tonight.”

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/65099363/middlesbrough-v-luton-town/ - programme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJE22KLXGMA – Nathan Jones interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C03Byox75_g – match highlights (Middlesbrough)

Hatters suffer controversial defeat at Boro after Collins' penalty is disallowed

Championship: Middlesbrough 1 Luton Town 0

Striker James Collins' controversial disallowed penalty saw Luton stretch their winless run on the road to five games with a 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough this evening.

Midway through the second half, the visitors were awarded a spot-kick when Sam Morsey handled Collins' close range blast, an offence he saw red for.

Although Town's leading scorer stepped up to beat Marcus Bettinelli from the spot, he slipped in the process of taking it, with the ball appearing to hit his standing foot on its way into the net.

Referee Andy Davies initially awarded the goal, but surrounded by the Boro players, as was his assistant, reversed the decision on the advice of his fellow official, the strike chalked off.

Town almost grabbed a point in the closing stages, only for Luke Berry's header to draw a stunning save from Bettinelli, ensuring the Hatters travelled home empty-handed once more,

The visitors had made just the one change from the 3-0 win over Preston North End on Saturday, manager Nathan Jones unsurprisingly sticking with the majority of the same side, Rhys Norrington-Davies replacing George Moncur who dropped to the bench where he was joined by the fit-again Danny Hylton.

Town almost had the perfect start, Glen Rea's shot taking a deflection on its way behind and from the corner, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's delivery was met by Dan Potts, who diverted it back into the danger area where Sonny Bradley met it, the ball flying inches past the post.

Hatters stopper James Shea had to parry away Anfernee Dijksteel's cross after he beat the offside trap from a simple ball over the top by opposite number Marcus Bettinelli, his only real work of the opening exchanges.

A scrappy affair saw the Hatters begin to the upper hand slightly when Rea's clipped ball almost released Collins, but his control wasn't quite up to scratch and the home defence smuggled the danger away.

Norrington-Davies then found some space on the left and his cross was just too high for the completely unmarked Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu just eight yards from goal.

Pretty much nothing happened from then until the 42nd minute when a deep free kick fell at the feet of Dael Fry, but his effort went over via a deflection.

Set-pieces were the only real source of goalmouth action at the start of the second half too, George Saville hooking over the top when the ball dropped invitingly for him.

An opening 50 minutes with little to write home about then suddenly came to life, with few expecting the drama that was about to take place.

Luton's slow start to the second period was punished on 52 minutes when Boro drove forward with a rare purpose, and Marvin Johnson was left in space on the left to deliver a low cross-shot that saw Chuba Akpom beat Shea from close range.

Town tried to find an immediate response, Norrington-Davies standing up a cross that Matty Pearson met, only to head harmlessly wide.

Jones threw on Ryan Tunnicliffe and Luke Berry for Dewsbury-Hall and Norrington-Davies midway through the half and with 66 minutes gone, Town had a glorious chance to restore parity.

Rea's wonderful spin saw him get away from two, and sent in a low drive from range that Bettinelli fumbled.

It dropped to Collins, whose follow up was handled by Morsy, the Boro man seeing a straight red.

However, the Town striker's 10th of the season was given and then taken away from him, with the visiting players and staff apoplectic with rage towards the officials

Luton, incensed by the decision, remained on the front foot in what turned into a bad-tempered affair, Berry's goalbound effort hitting a defender to fly over.

Although the man advantage saw the visitors monopolise possession for the final 20 minutes, they just couldn't prise open a solid Boro defence, sub George Moncur's hitting a hopeful and wayward 30-yarder.

They should have been breached again in stoppage time, giving the ball away from a corner and seeing the hosts break with a five on two situation, but Shea flipped Tavernier's effort over the top.

In the final seconds, Luton looked to have snatched a point when Berry met Moncur's corner with a downward header, only to see Bettinelli's heroics prevent Town taking a point home with him, stretching their goal drought to over seven hours on the road now.

Boro: Marcus Bettinelli, Anfernee Dijksteel, Dael Fry, Paddy McNair, Marc Bola, Sam Morsy, George Saville, Marcus Tavernier, Marvin Johnson (Djed Spence 77), Duncan Watmore (Lewis Wing 70), Chuba Akpom (Britt Assombalonga 77).

Subs not used: Patrick Roberts, Sam Folarin, Dejan Stojanovic, Hayden Coulson, Isiah Jones.

Hatters: James Shea, Matty Pearson, Dan Potts, Tom Lockyer, Sonny Bradley ©, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Ryan Tunnicliffe 62), Glen Rea (Danny Hylton 86), Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu (Jordan Clark 86), Rhys Norrington-Davies (Luke Berry 62), Harry Cornick (George Moncur 75), James Collins.

Subs not used: Harry Isted, Martin Cranie, Joe Morrell, Sam Nombe.

Bookings: Rea 76, Assombalonga 90.

Sending off: Morsy 66.

Referee: Andy Davies.

Jones: Boro players persuaded the officials to change their minds

Luton manager frustrated with the way James Collins' penalty was disallowed

Hatters boss Nathan Jones felt referee Andy Davies and his officials were persuaded by the Middlesbrough players to disallow James Collins’ penalty during Town's 1-0 defeat at the Riverside Stadium this evening.

With 66 minutes gone, the top scorer stepped up to beat keeper Marcus Bettinelli from the spot, only to see the ball appear to cannon off his standing foot before going into the net.

Although the referee gave the goal to begin with, despite being surrounded by the home players, Bettinelli and his defenders then ran over to the assistant, who hadn't flagged, but eventually signalled he had witnessed the double contact.

Davies then chalked the goal off, awarding Boro a free kick, as speaking afterwards, Jones said: “I haven’t seen it yet, apparently it touched his foot twice, he’s had two touches, so it was the right decision.

“The assistant didn’t give it until they appealed and, I want to choose my words carefully, as soon as they remonstrated, then he changed his mind.

“At no point did he flag and do that. He’d given it, he was on his way back, both of them were, and then they persuaded him to change his mind, and that’s the thing.

“If it’s the right decision then fine, but he hadn’t done that, so that’s what I was angry with.”

Jones wasn’t just annoyed with the referee for the penalty incident either, but the way he handled the contest afterwards, allowing the hosts to get away with what he felt was blatant time-wasting in the closing stages.

He added: “It’s difficult because there were two things I was really, really disappointed with tonight.

“One, our tempo after half time, the way we started the second half as we asked them for certain things and then the way the game panned out in terms of the referee managing it.

“I’m not having a go at the referee saying he was this and that, he needed to handle that better than what he did.

“I would have done what Middlesbrough did, Middlesbrough did the professional thing to see out the game and to slow it down as soon as possible, but the referee is in charge of the tempo and that has to be better as it was borderline a joke at times.

“I understand why they did it and I would have done it myself, so I’m not having a go at Middlesbrough in any way, but there needs to be a way of handling it as this is the Championship.

“But I bet since the sending off, I'd be surprised if the ball was in play more than about seven or eight minutes in near enough 35 and that’s unacceptable, that's not right.

“When you go down to 10 men and you’re fighting for your life and every point is so important, you do everything you can.

“You go down easy and if you're then rewarded for it, you keep doing stuff like that and that’s what happened.

“There was no flow in the game and I just felt he could have managed it better in terms of the way it was.

“In the corner, as soon as anyone goes near anyone, people fall over and they get free kicks, it’s very frustrating when that happens as at times no-one’s touched anyone.

“I berate my players and they're saying ‘what more do you want us to do when you're running alongside someone and they just fall over?'

"There were a lot of breaks like that in the game and I felt like the ref could have handled that better.

“I've spoken to him about it, I haven't had a go at him, I’ve had a go at my players for the tempo second half, but there's so much that could have happened.

"As the game just petered out into, I wouldn’t say it was farcical, but it was not a spectacle I would ever wanted to have paid to go and see

“Praise the lord there was no fans here today.”