Luton Town’s 2-0 win at Peterborough United on Saturday not only kept their 100 per cent League One record intact, but boss Matt Bloomfield praised his defence after they delivered a second successive clean sheet to open the campaign — something the club has not managed since the mid-2000s.
Goals from Mads Andersen and Jordan Clark secured the points after a first half in which the Hatters were made to work hard, but the manager was quick to highlight the defensive platform that underpinned the result.
New goalkeeper Josh Keeley has had very little to do in his first 180 minutes in a Hatters shirt. At London Road he at least comfortably fielded two efforts, having been a bystander as Town started the campaign with a 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon, where they didn’t concede a single shot on target.
“We want to be really solid as a group and not give too much away, but also we want to play with an attacking instinct as well,” Bloomfield told LTFC+.
“I’m pleased with the work that the defenders have done, and they’re only as good as the boys’ doing their work in front of them. We’ve kept a nice distances in front to back. We’ve been quite compact, which is going to be crucial for us and it’s really important that we protect our defenders.”
The manager has previously singled out goalkeeper Josh Keeley for praise, after they signed him from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer. On his debut against the Dons, he showed his willingness to come off his line to help sweep away any danger and speaking before the trip to London Road, Bloomfield explained the 22-year-old’s role in Luton’s defensive organisation.
“I think for us to keep a correct line, the goalkeeper’s starting position is really crucial. It’s also, how much pressure do we have on the ball and where do we need to keep our line? If there’s lots of pressure on the ball, we can to be aggressive with our line and keep the distances correct from front to back. If there’s no pressure on the ball, then we have to start dropping and respect that the space is in behind us.
“Josh is absolutely part of the unit defensively and in possession he’s shown some really good moments so far and we have to keep working with him. Again, a young player who’s going to get better — hopefully he’s going to have a long future with us at the football club.”
The last time Luton opened a Football League season with back-to-back shutouts and fans present was in 2006–07, when they were still wearing white shirts and 18 months away from the current 2020 Board saving the club from extinction. That campaign began in the Championship with a 2-0 home win over Leicester City and a 1-0 victory away at Sheffield Wednesday, a mirror image of Luton’s two results so far in League One.
Bloomfield will hope that this term proves to be less of a season of contrasts with eyes on promotion back to the Championship, rather than the relegation that the class of 2006/07 suffered.
Nearly two decades on, Bloomfield’s “work in progress” side have, after a summer of change, become more controlled and hard to beat, having conceded the second highest number of goals as they fell through the Championship trap door last term. The blood orange shirts may be a visual sign of change, but the message seems clear — the foundation for success begins with keeping the ball out of their own net.
