Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity was to continuously do the same thing but expect a different result.
Town must have broken the insane-o-meter by now. Once again they came up shy with an attempt to defend a narrow lead, courtesy of Elijah Adebayo.
This time, George Evans broke Hatters’ hearts with a header that found the net in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
“It’s the same feeling as Blackburn away, to be honest. I feel sick, really. They didn’t deserve that,” said Luton boss Nathan Jones, who also citied that famous quote from the E=mc2 genius as a reason for freshening up his side with five changes after a 3-0 defeat at Stoke.
“When you take the lead, we should’ve seen the game out. Where they got six from I don’t know because there were no injuries in the game. It was just subs, but their staff kept on to them (officials).
“But every time we’re 1-0 down, it’s four minutes, never mind what people do. I just felt he (referee Graham Scott) bowed a little bit, buckled a little bit, played six and that’s what cost us.
“But, at the end of the day, you’ve got to win headers in your box. When Matt Smith comes on you know what he’s going to do. You know that they’re going to go direct.
“When there’s 95 minutes down, they get a throw-in and you just want someone to say, ‘right, I’m going to win this in the box. I’m going to get my head on it, clear it and then the game’s done. Three points’. We didn’t have anyone to do that.”
For much of this encounter, against yet another of the league’s more physical, direct and not very pleasant to watch sides, Luton were in complete control of the game. It was one where the battle had to be won as much as the game of football, which sporadically threatened to break out whenever the classy Joe Morrell had the ball at his feet.
It was the Wales international who almost put Nathan Jones’ men ahead on 15 minutes when his long-range strike tested Bartosz Bialkowski in the visiting goal. Jordan Clark also brought a save out of him in the opening period as Town went in the happier of the two sides at the break.
Luton picked up where they left off in the second half with Tom Ince forcing Bialowski to tip over a shot from the edge of the box that was top bin bound. The resulting corner was recycled on the right hand side before Ryan Tunnicliffe, one of five changes to the starting XI, crossed for another new arrival into the side, Elijah Adebayo, to slot home his first for the club.
Jones said: “Elijah was fantastic tonight and I’m really delight for him on his (full) debut to get a goal as well. It just would’ve been nice if we saw out the game because it would’ve been a fairytale.”
The January signing almost doubled his tally a few minutes later when Jordan Clark picked him out with precision, only for the striker to head over when he should have hit the target.
The manager added: “We’ve got to be clinical. I don’t think Matt Smith’s heading that over.”
The perennial menace to the Town’s defence was brought off the Millwall bench as the minutes ticked down, having watched on as the home defence got deeper and deeper into their own half, only stopping their retreat as the snazzy sponsors’ boards threatened to hold them up.
Six minutes of added time was signalled, at which point Town keeper Simon Sluga had been a virtual spectator, with the exception of a fine stop from a tricky Mason Bennett run and palming a Jed Wallace free kick around the post.
It looked like Luton had managed their way to victory well but with seconds left disaster struck as a Shaun Williams cross was headed on by the aforementioned Smith and Evans couldn’t believe his luck as he outjumped James Collins at the back stick to head in.
Jones added: “If we did the basics better at times, we’re in such a comfortable (league) position, a great position and we’re looking at utopia, not in a position where, OK, we’re clear of everyone (at the bottom), but we should be in a better position. And that’s just doing the basics and that’s where we’ve got to improve.”
The fixture list will say it is another point on the board for Luton but this is two points dropped, and each time it happens fears of being dragged into a Championship relegation battle grow ever stronger.
And were that to happen, that would be insanity.
PLAYER RATINGS:
Simon Sluga: 6
Bailed out Sonny Bradley being caught on the ball in the first half. Largely untested throughout the contest but his defence would have expected their goalkeeper to come and claim a loopy ball in his own six yard box deep into injury time, which Millwall scored from.
Martin Cranie: 6
Much better on the ball than Saturday and thankfully no stray passes such as the one which contributed to the third Stoke goal. Solid without being spectacular.
Sonny Bradley: 6
Made an excellent block to deny Millwall in the first half but was caught on the ball by Tom Bradshaw soon after and fortunate his keeper bailed him out of trouble. Out-jumped by Matt Smith in the lead up to the equaliser.
Dan Potts: 7
Very solid in the air and faced a lot of aerial bombardment in the game. Brought the ball away from his own goal well and generally looked comfortable in possession. Continues to look the part in the left centre-back role.
Kal Naismith: 6.5
Quiet for a lot of the game but got forward to provide Tom Ince with his chance in the second half and was involved in the move which the opening goal came from. Lost Mahlon Romeo a few times, so has defensive improvements to make.
Jordan Clark: 7
Utilised slightly out of position in the right wing-back role. Almost opened the scoring as he chested down Joe Morrell’s cross and hit the target only to see his effort saved. He was involved in the goal and setting up another chance for Elijah Adebajo. Impressive once again.
Joe Morrell: 7.5
The fans have been crying out to see him and he didn’t disappoint. Tidy on the ball and prepared to let fly from long range too. Surprisingly replaced by Glen Rea on 64 minutes.
Keirnan Dewsbury-Hall: 6
Quiet game for the on loan superstar who is unlikely to shine in a game where the midfield is bypassed as often as it was. Tried to get Luton moving forward but things he tried for once didn’t come off. Replaced by Luke Berry on 84 minutes.
Ryan Tunnicliffe: 7
Energetic display against his former club on his return to the side. Provided the cross for the first goal and regularly got forward to assist with the attacking. Replaced by Harry Cornick on 83 minutes.
Tom Ince: 7.5
You can tell he has star quality in him as even on a bumpy pitch his passing and touch in general was very crisp. Nearly opened the scoring early in the second half. Replaced by Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu on 75 minutes.
Elijah Adebayo: 8
Should have been the match-winner with his first goal since arriving from Walsall earlier in the month. Had a chance for a second but pressed the ball well and was a handful for a very strong Millwall defence throughout. Replaced by James Collins on 83 minutes.
SUBSTITUTES:
Glen Rea: 6
Came on for Joe Morrell, seemingly for his height, but didn’t win a lot in the air. Distribution still extremely questionable.
Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu: 6
Wasn’t really able to stamp his mark on the game as the Town had declared by the time he came into the fray.
Harry Cornick: N/A
Not on long enough for a rating.
James Collins: N/A
Not on long enough for a rating
Luke Berry: N/A
Not on long enough for a rating
UNUSED SUBS: James Shea, Danny Hylton, George Moncur, James Bree
Two points thrown away. If either Cornick or Pelly had taken the opportunity – one from a free kick – to cross the ball into the Millwall box instead of fiddling about in the corner to waste time, it might have been 2-0. And even if we hadn’t scored that second, the flow of the game would have been different and Millwall might not have got their equalizer. No good banging on about the added six minutes, NJ. Our tactics were the problem.
Great to see Adebayo start and get his first goal. Pity he couldn’t get above the ball to head down for a second. Impressed by Ince too. Why, however, did NJ feel it necessary to bring on the old guard – Rea, Collins, Cornick and Pelly? I can’t really why a fit young man like Adebayo, buoyed up by his first goal, needed replacing and, if Ince was played out, Danny would have been a better attacking option than Pelly. Also, if changes had to be made, Moncur must wonder if he has a better chance of winning the lottery than actually getting on the field again on anything like a regular basis.
Moan, moan, moan, I know – but you’ve got to get it out of your system! And the moaners sometimes get it right. I just hope NJ doesn’t backtrack on Saturday and revert to the tried and tested – and essentially limited – Collins and Cornick combo. It wasn’t the original line-up which lost us two points last night, it was the substitutions and the negative, time-wasting strategy.
Adebayo great start for him! Very hopeful for him still not finished article, ince class gives us extra in final third can run at defences,
The subs to replace tired legs yes but personally wrong as they not learned from last 2 games we played poorly with mistakes!
I’ll focus on the performances of Elijah, morell, tunicliffe all played well and deserve a run in the squad! Collins is showing he doesn’t wish to play for club. Nathan Jones must learn to attack is best form of defence! Gutted yes but we dust ourselves off and go again
Firstly, yay Adebayo! He looks like a great find. And Sluga, Clarke and Tunny all had great games. And Ince looks useful. Even Naismith did 2 things right in attack (nothing in defence though).
Hopefully this is the final (unnecessary) reminder to NJ that football is played over 90+ minutes, not 70 minutes. His tactics are what cost 2 points. Scoring first does not mean game over, job done, run the clock down – unless that first goal comes just before the final whistle. The team stopped attacking properly on 70 minutes and got what they deserved.
The game was crying out for Cornick and Moncur to come on and for Luton to use them for quick counter attacking, turning the defenders with balls in behind. Yes Cornick came on, but the subs seemed to be just about giving tired legs a break rather than having a cohesive attacking plan that could have closed the game out. In attack it became try and get it into the corner and waste time rather than try to score a second. In defence it wasn’t about win the ball back and retain possession and transition to attack. It became, get the ball away from the goal, hope time runs out.
NJ needs to stop fearing defeat, relegation or whatever it is that is holding him and the team back. Embrace positivity and try to win games in every minute and the results will come back and we will climb. Continuing this fear will drag the team further down.