Luton boss Matt Bloomfield has warned of the danger of making “too big a deal” of his side’s struggles to score goals.
Town drew a blank for a 15th time this term – and eighth under Bloomfield – when they had to settle for a goalless draw against Middlesbrough on Saturday despite creating some glorious chances to not only win, but win handsomely against a side that didn’t register a shot on target.
In a blistering first half, the Hatters were superb in every aspect but hitting the net as they could have been 3-0 up inside 20 minutes. Elijah Adebayo and twice Thelo Aasgaard squandered big chances, with one scooped over the bar from five yards, while Mark McGuinness also headed wide an injury-hit Boro side that arrived at Kenilworth Road without any recognised centre halves.
For striker Adebayo, who couldn’t capitalise on a misplaced backpass and saw Samuel Iling-Junior deny him from close range, it stretched his barren run to 18 games. The 27-year-old is, however, leading the Championship in big chances missed, with 27 compared to nearest contender, Borja Sainz of Norwich, with 18.
“Psychologically, we have to be really careful not to make too big of a deal of it, I think, because if not, it could weigh on the player shoulders. It’s not the right thing, I don’t think,” said boss Bloomfield of his side who have misfired on four of his six home games in charge.
“There’s been a number of home games where we’ve created more than enough chances to win the games. And if we keep doing that football has a habit of paying you back.
“So, we have to just keep believing in what we’re doing and keep creating the chances we work incredibly hard on the training ground about style of play and formation and, tactically, how we want to break down our opposition. And I’m really proud of the way the boys implemented that.”
On the lack of goals at home, where Luton have only scored twice in Bloomfield’s two-month reign, the manager added: “It’s disappointing. I think that, [with the] chance creation, it should be more than that and it could be more than that, but it hasn’t [been], so we have to deal with the reality and the facts tell us that it’s not. But if we keep creating chances like that, the tide has to turn.”
Bloomfield will now have the best part of two weeks to work with his side during the international break to help achieve that before a huge relegation clash at Hull City on March 29, who have begun to pull away from the relegation zone where Luton reside, second from bottom and now effectively five points from safety.
Asked where goalscoring will fit into his thinking between now and then, Bloomfield said: “It’s always a part of the focus, the two ends, with each stopping the goals one end and scoring goals the other end. It’ll always be a focus because it has to be. It’s what the game is all about.
“We’ll absolutely be working on it between now and Hull because we’ve got eight big games when we come back.”
The 41-year-old added: “I think on the evidence that we’re all watching at the moment. I think there’s some real shoots of optimism. We’re talking about the Sheffield United game here [Kenilworth Road], first half, when I think we could have been two or 3-0 up.
“The Plymouth game when we could have won. We’ve gone to Cardiff and got a result. You can see the belief growing amongst the group and we’ve got to keep that chance creation, keep working hard and if we do that then the results have to keep coming.”
Aside from goals, the output against Middlesbrough was comfortably one of the best of the season, particularly in the first half, and Bloomfield said: “I was really proud of the performance. I thought some of the football we played, the chance creation, the way we put pressure on our opposition, top opposition as well for the league, I thought the boys were excellent, especially first half
“It was never going to be easy to replicate that second half because of how dominant we were. But I feel incredibly disappointed that I’m not saying it with three points right now.
“We’re playing against some real top teams here and we’re having a right go and to not take one of them [chances] is obviously incredibly disappointing and frustrating, but I have to go back to the positives of the performance.
“Defensively, another clean sheet, which is fantastic. When we came in, there was a lot of talk about the goals conceded and [we got] another clean sheet. Tactically, again, I thought the boys were excellent. The chance creation, the football, it’s just we should be sat here with [three points and] we’ve talked about that but we’re not.
“I understand the situation and all that. I’m a realist, I understand, but I’m also, incredibly proud of the performance of the players put into that.”
Be the first to comment