Luton Town will host Grimsby in the FA Cup fourth-round draw if they can beat Wigan in a third-round replay after a 1-1 stalemate at Kenilworth Road on Saturday. Here are our takeaways from the game.
Watson continues to impress
Rob Edwards promised he wouldn’t make too many changes to the starting XI which won at Huddersfield last Sunday and he was true to his word with just the four switches for the Wigan cup tie.
That meant there was a second start in succession for talented midfielder Louie Watson. After impressing at the John Smith’s Stadium, the 21-year-old showed once again what a fine prospect he is with another assured performance at the heart of the Town engine room.
Watson regularly showed for the ball, whether from a centre-back, a wing-back or one of his midfield partners. What’s more is his team-mates are clearly gaining confidence in the youngster, trusting him with possession when under pressure from a press in order for him to release a man in space and launch attacks. There is no shortage of competition for places in the heart of the Town side but Watson is fully deserving of his place so far.
Osho outstanding on return from ban
The last Town fans saw of Gabe Osho was him trudging off the Kenilworth Road pitch after being dismissed in the Boxing Day win over Norwich City. He returned from his ban in the cup tie with Wigan and played as the central figure in the three-man back line, taking over from Tom Lockyer who got a thoroughly deserved rest.
Osho might have thought he had a point to prove after a second red card of the season on Boxing Day and if he did he certainly proved it with an excellent display, particularly on the ball where his passing, especially in the second half, was top notch.
He regularly played threatening passes through the lines into Cauley Woodrow and Amari’i Bell which set the Town away. Osho did his defensive work well too and should be happy with his evening.
Cornick off the mark for the season
One problem Town have had all season is finding a goalscoring partner for Carlton Morris. Elijah Adebayo has been the man given the task in the league matches under Rob Edwards but is yet to notch and so Harry Cornick was given the chance to shine against Wigan.
Although this wasn’t the best performance of the attacker, it did yield his first goal of the season, one which ultimately earned the Hatters a replay, as he rose to head home a Carlton Morris cross on the stroke of half time.
It has been a stop-start season for the popular attacker so Edwards will be hoping this goal sparks a run of form out of the pace ace, who could have had a second had he not curled wide when sent through prior to scoring.
The more attackers Luton can have in form the better so this goal might mean much more than just keeping the Town in the cup.
More youngsters make their way onto the bench
One of the reasons Rob Edwards was recruited as the Hatters boss when Nathan Jones left for the choppy seas of Southampton is his pedigree as a coach who improves young players and gives them a chance to shine.
We have seen him give Louie Watson two starts while Casey Pettit has been on the bench for all but one of his games in charge, as he was here.
Pettit was joined on the bench by fellow youth team product Jayden Luker, who was also involved in the warm-up at Huddersfield too. One of the things the Hatters pride themselves on is the talent within their academy and getting it through to the first team.
Clearly, that talent is there again in the current crop and it will be interesting to follow their progress and see if and when any youngsters get game time in a match situation.
Winner takes it all?
No not the ABBA track from back in the day but a one-off winner takes all battle anyone? After the draw at Kenilworth Road, Luton will head to the DW Stadium on January 17 to battle it out for a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup before returning to the same venue four days later with three Championship points on the line.
Nobody wants to go to Wigan twice in four days, heck, we doubt Wiganers want to spend two out of four days in Wigan let alone anyone else.
Can’t both clubs make a pact that the Saturday game is for the league points and the spot in the next round of the cup? That is wishful thinking sadly!
