Everyone’s got a plan until they shoot themselves in the foot and Luton pulled the trigger in the 11th minute of a disastrous derby day, from which they could not recover.
Mads Andersen – a replacement for the injured Kal Naismith among three changes – tried to shield a ball back to Thomas Kaminski, but Mamadou Doumbia somehow got to the ball first and the goalkeeper brought him down. Tom Dele-Bashiru netted from the spot and from that moment on the Hatters were hammered.
Despite five straight defeats at Vicarage Road leading into the derby, the Hornets were faster, sharper, more skilful first to everything and carried more threat in a chastening first half. It was a complete role reversal from the derby at Kenilworth Road in October and not the type of performance that inspires hope that Luton can rescue themselves from relegation.
Then, on 23 minutes, the Championship’s leading chance creator Giorgi Chakvetadze was allowed to waltz from the halfway without a white shirt near him until last man Amari’i Bell threw an unconvincing leg at him – another feature of the first 45 mintues where tackling seemed taboo – which he easily slalomed to cut back from the byline for Eco Kayembe to tap-in.
That set the tone for a horror show half where Town players failed to lay a glove on their rivals, or a single shot on target.
Luton boss Matt Bloomfield said: “Obviously, it’s a very disappointing goal to give away, the penalty situation. I felt like we had under control and for that to result in a penalty is tough.
“We gave that away. Then the second goal, again, loose from us. and it 2-0 down it rocked us understandably. I think the boys looked like they were rocked a little bit.”
Before the inevitable Hatters gaffes, Jeremy Ngakia could’ve been judged the last man when he scythed down Lasse Nordås after the Norwegian had turned Kevin Keben, but referee Andrew Kitchen waved only a yellow card.
Luton, however, waved a white flag and at half time, boss Bloomfield hauled of Andersen, Nordås and Marvelous Nakamba, replacing them with Jacob Brown, Shandon Baptiste and Christ Makosso, for his debut. Baptiste would last until the 73rd minute when his fragile body gave out again and the substitute was replaced by Josh Bowler. But they did fare better, just not good enough.
Bloomfield said: “We made changes at half time and gave ourselves a foothold and grew back into the game. If we turn one of those opportunities into a goal, then you never know what happens from there. But, we didn’t. And, obviously it’s a disappointing away defeat for us.”
Watford’s relentless attacking subsided in the second period – though the hosts probably took their foot off the gas too – and that probably should have a goal for Isiah Jones. Carlton Morris got to the byline and picked the wing back out but, unmarked, he volleyed very wide. The speedster was comfortably Town’s standout player on a bad afternoon but that was the best they could create.
The hosts, on the other hand, still forged opportunities for Imran Louza, who was wayward, and Chakvetadze who forced a save from Kaminski.
Despite any improvements, after the interval, Town still drew a fifth blank in Bloomfield’s eight games in charge, while a ninth defeat in 12 Championship games was sealed with that howler for the penalty at the start of a very long afternoon.
Results elsewhere, yesterday, saw Town slip five points from safety and, asked if he remains confident that his basement boys can beat relegation, Bloomfield said: “Absolutely. Of course. If not, what’s the point? We have to believe in that. And I do believe in that. And the boys are fighting. We saw second half the they were still fighting.”
However, the home fans delighted in reminding him and his men that, “Luton get battered everywhere they go.” For that reason, this could be the last derby for a while.
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