Rob Edwards was left to rue a lack of ruthlessness in both boxes as Luton were routed by a Plymouth Argyle outfit that suffered none of those problems.
To compound a poor performance after back-to-back wins, the Hatters have, in one week, and significantly in this game, been ravaged again by injuries, just when the last remnant of last term’s crisis ending when Jacob Brown came off the bench to make his first appearance since February.
But the withdrawal of Teden Mengi (knee), his replacement Mads Andersen (hamstring) and Tahith Chong (potential concussion), plus the absence of Saturday’s goal hero Carlton Morris with a thigh issue and Amari’i Bell (hamstring), was not the reason they lost to the Pilgrims. Indeed, Edwards admitted: “There’s no excuses.”
Instead, it was more a culmulative performance littered with unforced errors. But despite the basics so frustratingly and frequently deserting them, Luton still managed to forge enough chances to take something from the game, including five times as many corners fruitless than Wayne Rooney’s team.
But they had nothing but a first Hatters goal from Victor Moses to show for it. His was the only ruthless thing Town did all night as the former Chelsea man chested down Alfie Doughty’s cross and lashed low into the corner. But that singular moment of goalmouth quality came when the hosts had already smashed in two crackers.
The accepted wisdom before the season started was that Luton would not face the level of clinical finishing that helped end their stay in the Premier League after one campaign. It might be time to knock that type of thinking on the head because, so far this term, it doesn’t feel like that is remotely true.
Yet, despite Rami Al Hajj and Ibrahim Cissoko’s sublime finishes, Town did not cover themselves in glory in the build-up, failing to clear their lines, or make the kind of remorselessly committed interceptions that Plymouth managed.
And the third goal, a second from Cissoko in injury time, was both bewildering skill that left two Luton defenders twisted inside out, but sprinkled with the kind of fortune – a kindly ricochet after his first shot – that the football gods have rarely bestowed upon Town this season. But perhaps fortune favours the brave.
“In both boxes, we weren’t good enough,” Edwards told the BBC, adding: “I think we got in the final third twice as much as they did, got into their penalty area more than they did, but they had more shots, made Thomas work more than we made their goalkeeper work.
“So, at both ends of the pitch, we weren’t clinical at one end and then didn’t defend well enough the other. It’s not a good recipe at all.”
The Hatters boss added: “The game is summed up, almost by the last goal. We’ve got a great opportunity to do something, work the goalkeeper in their six-yard box and then end up conceding a counter attack and it’s in the back of our net.
“We haven’t defended that well enough and we could’ve been more ruthless at the top end of the pitch. It’s really disappointing result for us.”
Though the increasingly-divisive three-man defence remained, Tom Krauß and Zack Nelson were installed in the starting line-up after impressive substitutes’ cameos at the weekend. And Luton did start well.
But almost with their first attack on eight minutes, Plymouth took a lead they would not relinquish. Town struggled to wrestle back the initiative and, had it not been for goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski could have been further behind at the break, which saw Chong clash heads and eventually walk off despite a stretcher being summoned. He did not re-emerge and very little changed for the Hatters in the second period, with Cissoko doubling the lead on 69 minutes.
Moses quickly gave the visitors a glimmer hope by returning the deficit to one goal, but was then adjudged to be offside when substitute Joe Taylor thought he equalised. That should’ve signalled a kitchen sink approach with the Hatters pressing for an equaliser, but Cissoko killed them off on a counter.
His clinical finishing was in stark contrast to that of Luton striker Elijah Adebayo, who had three good chances, but failed to hit the target with any. His search for a first strike this season will stretches to an eighth game, if he gets the nod for Tuesday’s visit of Oxford United. It was at that stage last term that the striker was removed from duty after a glaring miss against Tottenham.
Plymouth, with the greatest respect, aren’t Spurs, but the name of the opponent seems to do little to alter the fact that, despite two prior victories seemingly papering over the cracks, Town are struggling.
“I don’t want us to sound like a broken record,” Edwards said, adding: “I know I’ve said they were better than us in those two areas of the pitch, which are the most important areas, I’ve said that, and that’s really frustrating. But there wasn’t loads wrong either.
“The lads were trying to do the things that we’ve asked of them, so they should still be going in with a degree of confidence and belief. It’s down to us, in a difficult moment, to turn things around. We’ve got another opportunity on Tuesday to do that.”
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