5 things we learned in 3-2 shock cup exit to Newport County

The Hatters were knocked out of the Caracao Cup by fourth tier opposition for the second season in succession when they went down 3-2 to Newport County at Kenilworth Road on Tuesday evening. Here are our takeaways from the game. 

Wonderful Watson took his chance

On a night where a number of the fringe players were given their opportunity the chance to impress, it was summer signing Louie Watson who caught the eye in the centre of the park. On his Luton debut, the former Derby midfielder did the simple things well, passed with accuracy and without taking too much time on the ball and got about the pitch very well as you have to do to be a member of the Town squad these days. The 21-year-old offered plenty of promise but is competing in a pretty hot position within the Town ranks. 

Makeshift wing-backs also impress

Three other players to impress on the evening were the three men who occupied the wing-back positions in Deon Pereira, Carlos Mendes Gomes and Elliot Thorpe. The former two started the game and although both are wingers by trade they both offered no shortage of skill, flashy touches and killer crosses. The highlight was a 35-yard howitzer which opened the scoring from Mendes Gomes.

He picked up a pass from Watson just inside his own half, took a couple of strides and launched an unstoppable rocket to put Luton 1-0 up. Unfortunately he was clattered into in the build up to the first equaliser and had to go off at half time.

Thorpe was his replacement and he too had a good 45 minutes, sending three crosses into dangerous areas which were begging to be converted. Sadly none were. With these three in hotly contested spots in the Town squad their best hope of football in the near future might be as fill in wing-backs. They all showed they are capable there. 

Another cab off the development rank makes his debut

The second half of the contest was largely uneventful, however it will be memorable for development squad member Josh Williams who made his senior debut as a second half substitute. The wing-back replaced Reece Burke and although the game had got scrappy by then, as both teams made five subs in a short space of time, Williams got up and down the line well, which is an automatic requirement in a Nathan Jones team. He looked efficient on the ball, which suggests he is yet another promising player off the production line. 

Keeper nightmare returns on a miserable night for Macey

It is fair to say it was a poor night at the office for returning goalkeeper Matt Macey. We’ll leave it there!

Positives and negatives on the evening

As always in the first round of the cup, there are positives and negatives depending on the situation a club is in. For Luton, the positive was that 15 squad players got minutes on the pitch in what was a more competitive match than some Carabao Cup first round matches are.

The negative is that those same players are now going to have to strive hard to get more minutes, with reserve football a thing of the past and development matches few and far between. That could be an issue should Nathan Jones need to call on some of those players to cover for injuries in an outrageously busy August.