Luton Town bowed out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of League One outfit Exeter City on Tuesday evening, with a much changed Hatters side putting in a disappointing display at St James’ Park. Here are our takeaways from the game.
Mengi makes a decent impression
Rob Edwards made 10 changes to the team which held Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend and one of the most anticipated selections was the central defender Teden Mengi, who made his debut for the Hatters on the right side of a three-man defence in Devon.
The Manchester United academy graduate was signed with a fair amount of optimism during the summer transfer window but until now the bench was the closest he had been to action. That changed against the Grecians and the 21-year-old gave an assured performance. He did the defensive part of his game without too much fuss and showed the pace that he has. He was very comfortable and confident on the ball and there were signs of a useful addition to the squad from him, one which will only improve with more game time should some be found for the Mancunian now that the Hatters no longer have this competition to provide an opportunity in. Nevertheless, it looks like a solid acquisition has been made.
Andersen able to stake a claim for Premier League return
Mads Andersen was left out of the starting XI for that draw with Wolves on Saturday in what was just a tactical switch rather than any indictment of the performances of the Danish defender so far this season, but the summer recruit from Barnsley showed that if there is another change in thinking for the trip to Goodison Park this weekend, he is very much in the picture to return.
Andersen was one of the standout performers in League One last season so a commanding display in Devon was no surprise, but on a night where not many of those who started the game did much to force their way into the plans at Everton on Saturday, the same certainly can’t be said of the big defender. Against a hugely physical Everton side where plenty of aerial challenges will be the order of the day, do not be surprised to see Andersen in the starting XI against the Toffees.
Academy star has a bright future
The other interesting name on the team sheet on Tuesday evening was that of Joe Johnson, a player who Rob Edwards has given opportunities to in the past and one who became the youngest footballer to ever appear in the League Cup for the Hatters.
Johnson is ordinarily a left-back but he slotted in on the left side of the three-man central defence at St James’ Park and for the first 45 minutes at least he put in a very assured performance on what was his first competitive start for the club. He was put under a bit more pressure in the second period and taken out of the firing line with 25 minutes to go but there was more than enough to suggest that the teenager has a bright future in the game, much to the delight of supporters, academy directors and first-team staff alike.
Dismal defeat completes a dreadful day
Tuesday wasn’t going to plan long before the Hatters players stepped off their team bus in Devon after news had broken that Albert Sambi Lokonga had picked up an injury which is expected to keep him out of action for a number of months. That is a real blow for all involved as in just two appearances it was obvious that he could generate a number of tactical options for Edwards as well as providing the sort of quality in the middle of the park that Luton need in their quest to stay up.
Attention will now turn to how Luton deal with the absence of the Arsenal loanee, but while Edwards was beginning to contemplate that, a bad day got worse when for the second time in 2023 a side two or more divisions below the Hatters dumped them out of a cup. Worse still, nobody given the opportunity to show they can be the man to fill the boots of the Belgium international really forced their way into the plans, rendering Tuesday as one to be placed low down in the memory bank.
