Luton manager Rob Edwards admitted his side need to find a “killer edge” as he rued a host of missed chances on their way to penalty shootout heartbreak at QPR in the Carabao Cup.
It means that the Hatters are still searching for their first win of the season and, though academy graduate Zack Nelson scored a stunner to cancel out Havertton Santos’ opener, they could not make their dominance count which forced the tie to spot-kicks, where Cauley Woodrow’s effort was saved by Joe Walsh and Tahith Chong hit the crossbar.
There were some positives as midfielder Marvelous Nakamba completed his first 45 minutes since a series knee injury in December, while Mads Andersen and Reece Burke also featured after their lengthy spells out injured.
But there was no spot for Chiedozie Ogbene, with the attacker expected to complete a reported £8million move to Premier League new boys Ipswich Town.
That won’t help Luton in the attacking department, with only three goals scored in four games this season, and at Loftus Road, Town’s front three of Carlton Morris, Elijah Adebayo and Chong were all denied by Walsh in normal time.
“We created loads of chances, got into good areas, we just need to find that ruthless killer edge that will come. But, yeah, it’s horrible to lose and go out in that way because we should’ve won the game, I think, comfortably in 90 minutes,” Edwards told the BBC.
“There were some good saves, some good blocks, poor finishing as well in one or two elements, but it sort of tells a story – we score a worldie, and Zack, it’s an amazing goal for him, we don’t want to be relying on that kind of thing.
“I’ve got to try and look at the bigger picture. It was very good. There was a lot of good stuff. We had to treat it, not literally, but almost like a pre-season game with three of the lads only able to get 45 minutes. Everyone came through unscathed, which was good. The plan was always to look after Carlton and Clicker (Jordan Clark) as well, with the turnaround being so tight in a few days’ time.
“That was good. People playing minutes and getting through it was good. Performance, young Zack I thought was amazing. So, yeah, good things, but, again, people want to hear me talking about a win ultimately, and that’s what we’ve got to try to find.
“Last year was obviously difficult to try and do that and then people become sick of me saying we’ve played well, because that was some of the stuff we were saying last season. It’s really evident hear at the moment that we’ve got to find that win and I think that will give everyone that confidence and belief again.
“We’re going the right way about it. You can see that with your eyes tonight. We didn’t see a team that was disjointed or not running, or not trying, or not creating chances. We saw that, but unfortunately we lose on penalties.”
