Luton cruised to victory in the FA Cup fourth round at the Abbey Stadium on Saturday evening. Here are our 5 takeaways from the 3-0 win over Cambridge United.
- Solid Steer offers a safe alternative to Shea
Nathan Jones handed out two debuts for the trip to the League One side with one of those coming between the sticks where on loan Aston Villa stopper Jed Steer was in goal for Luton for the first time since his deadline day arrival and it was a good solid main start for the keeper. He and Dan Potts got themselves in an early tangle but once he got his hands on the ball Steer grew into the game and made a fine save to preserve the clean sheet in the last 10 minutes. Whether he has done enough to displace the impressive James Shea remains to be seen but if he has then the signs are he isn’t going to let the Town down.
2. Osho impresses once again
Much has been made about who the best free transfer ever has been. Jordan Clark has been the selection of the gaffer for a while, with Kal Naismith throwing his hat into the ring. Gabriel Osho has launched himself into the conversation with another storming performance. After two impressive showings at centre-back, his man of the match display, this time came in the heart of a very inexperienced and youthful midfield, which even by Jones’ admission was a bit of a gamble. It soon proved to be anything but courtesy of a foot perfect display from the former Reading utility man, who is becoming quite the addition to the Town ranks.
3. Thorpe provides a glimpse of the future
Luton fans have had to wait a while but they finally got a first look at Elliot Thorpe in senior action in the FA Cup tie, when he was selected from the start. The former Spurs trainee made a positive impression in the game too, which was no mean effort when you consider he was filling the boots of Allan Campbell and Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu in the heart of the Town engine room. Thorpe used the ball nicely and got himself in space regularly. A very encouraging debut was capped with his first assist in a Luton shirt when his free-kick was headed home by Reece Burke in the first half. Thorpe was eventually replaced by Danny Hylton just after the hour but he had done more than enough in the time he was on the pitch to suggest he could grow into a more regular position in time.
4. Jerome rolled back the years
With Elijah Adebayo seeing his minutes managed to avoid him picking up significant injury, the onus is on Cameron Jerome to lead the line in his absence and he produced a wonderful display at Cambridge. Jerome was regularly an out ball for defenders or midfielders in tight situations and put himself about against a home defence which was able to keep the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin and Newcastle United at bay in the previous round. The highlight of Jerome’s fine showing was an assist for the second goal which was fired home by Carlos Mendes-Gomes.
5. Exciting attacker took his chance to shine
Carlos Mendes-Gomes was selected in a three man midfield for the Town and having seen game time hard to come by recently, the former Morecambe attacker took full advantage of his opportunity in this game. Mendes-Gomes was enjoying himself from an early stage, carrying the ball into dangerous areas and displaying some nice touches throughout the game. He then joined Reece Burke in opening his Hatters account when he burst into the box and converted Jerome’s pass past Dimitar Mitov in the home goal. We spoke in midweek of the elevation in attacking options available to Jones. On this evidence we can add Mendes-Gomes to the collection.
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