Luton Town bowed out of the Carabao Cup at the first-round stage with a 1-0 defeat at Coventry, though boss aMatt Bloomfield was quick to laud the contributions of a crop of youthful Hatters.
The Town manager completely changed his side from the weekend’s League One win at Peterborough, handing a debut to 17-year-old Christian Chigozie after the three-match ban handed to Christ Makosso for violent conduct in Saturday’s 2-0 victory.
And the 11 changes – including full debuts for 20-year-old loan signing Gideon Kodua, the former West Ham youth cup-winning captain, and left wing back Cohen Bramall – put in a promising first-half performance, which just lacked the cutting edge at the top of the pitch, as they managed nine of their 13 shots in the first period, but only managed one on target.
On his 100th appearance for City, Ellis Simms struck the only goal of the night on 57 minutes, giving Championship Coventry the edge where, despite Town’s first half endeavours, the hosts created the better chances. The striker’s simple tap-in after a strong Raphael Borges run and a through-ball from Haji Wright, was the first goal Luton have conceded this season.
And in an attempt to avoid a first defeat, Bloomfield reacted quickly, making substitutions which included appearances for homegrown players Josh Phillips, 18, and Zack Nelson, 20, alongside 18-year-old summer signing Jake Richards from Exeter.
On the strength of what he saw, Bloomfield was fulsome in his praise, saying: “I thought it was a very good performance. At times I thought we played some real good football. We looked threatening. I think we just lacked that last little bit in the final third of the pitch. A couple of real good chances, and I thought there were some really admirable performances put in there.”
He reserved particular praise for Chigozie, adding: “Obviously we lost Christ this morning, so, I’m really, really proud of him and really, really pleased that he was able to put in that performance… he’s put in a good solid display tonight.”
Bloomfield continued: “He spent some time with us in pre-season and he’s never let us down, always impressed. I love his character and his attitude. He just comes in and gets on with his work. I’m really, really pleased for him, really proud, and it’s a really big, big moment for our football club.”
Kodua’s creative influence also caught the manager’s eye. He said: “We felt like tonight was an ideal opportunity. I thought Gideon first off was fantastic. Maybe ran out of juice a little bit second half. He’s a dribbler, he’s a creator, not reached anywhere near his ceiling yet. He’s another project for us, a real resilient character. He can help give us that dribbling ability in the final third of the pitch.”
Despite the loss against a team expected to push for promotion to the Premier League this season, Bloomfield was keen to stress the broader benefits of the night.
“I really feel like I learned a lot tonight,” he told the BBC, adding: “There was lots to like about our performance, especially first half. I thought we showed some really promising moments. I’m really bitterly disappointed for the boys that we’ve come away, losing the game.”
With promotion back to the Championship the main priority this term for Town, Bloomfield highlighted the challenges of integrating a new squad and using the tie to manage the fitness of some of his fringe players.
“Some players missed chunks of pre-season through injury or illness, some we signed late. We felt tonight was an ideal opportunity. We believe that we’re going to get better game by game, week by week. We’re still missing a lot of players through injury. The lads have been a pleasure to work with, we know there’s a big expectation on us, we’re just going about our business the way we see fit.”
