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Hatters capitulate late on
Diamonds punish Town for their poor finishing
Blue Square Premier
Luton Town 0 (0) Rushden & Diamonds 2 (0)
A catastrophic slip from Town captain Kevin Nicholls and an opportunistic strike in injury time handed play-off-chasing Rushden & Diamonds all three valuable points at Kenilworth Road today.
Town paid the price for not making the most of their first half dominance and then produced a woeful second half show.
Lee Tomlin put the Diamonds ahead late on after Nicholls had slipped at the crucial moment on the halfway line and substitute Mark Byrne made sure of victory for the visitors when he lobbed home Rushden's second in injury time.
The Richard Money era at Kenilworth Road may have begun today, but he left it to first team coach Alan Neilson to pick the team. And he made four changes to the team that beat Grays Athletic 3-0 in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Callum Reynolds and Shane Blackett were left out of the squad entirely, while Andy Burgess and Ryan Charles dropped to the bench. In came Ed Asafu-Adjaye at right-back, captain Nicholls and Rossi Jarvis into midfield and Tom Craddock in attack.
Diamonds may have started like the clappers but it was Town who had the first effort on goal after six minutes. Adam Newton delivered the early cross and a slip in the Rushden defence allowed George Pilkington to control at the far post, but he could only manage a tame effort straight at former Luton keeper Nathan Abbey.
Seconds later and Town should have been ahead. Nicholls' first-time pass was perfect for Craddock's angled run and, as he closed in on goal, he had only Abbey to beat. The out-of-form striker looked to beat Abbey at his own post, but he could only curl his effort against the right-hand upright when he should have scored.
Luton continued to press and had another great opportunity on 12 minutes. Newton showed some great hustle in the middle of the park before releasing the overlapping Craddock, but the young striker could only fire first-time at Abbey who beat away his effort, with Newton having his follow-up blocked.
Rushden looked dangerous on the counter but it was the Hatters who were enjoying the better of proceedings.
Ironically, Craddock did finally find the net on 16 minutes only to see it cruelly ruled out by the linesman's flag. Asafu-Adjaye started a lovely move from the back, which saw Newton and Kevin Gallen involved before Craddock unleashed a delicious half-volley that dipped viciously over Abbey, only to see it ruled out because Gallen was offside in the build-up.
Diamonds briefly threatened at the other end, Asafu-Adjaye doing well to head away Aaron O'Connor's dangerous cross and Craig Farrell hitting a weak shot on the turn straight at Mark Tyler.
Craddock was again at the heart of things for Luton midway through the half. The lively striker chased after Newton's through ball and gave Abbey little chance to clear his lines. Abbey's attempted clearance cannoned off the young striker straight into Gallen's path, but the veteran striker's lob from 30 yards drifted just over the unguarded net.
The visitors were certainly causing Luton problems when they decided to attack rather than time waste. Former Town triallist Paul Terry sent a tame header at Tyler while Tomlin blazed wastefully over after Neil Cousins' deep cross had found him in plenty of space at the far post.
With half time drawing near, Luton began to turn the screw. Alan White had a header cleared off the line by Terry before his bulldozing run forward created space for Craddock, whose low shot was pushed away by Abbey.
Abbey's constant time-wasting was censured by weak referee A Bennett late in the half, but his incessant whistling meant there was no flow to the game.
Having been booked for handball, a miserable half for Craddock was capped off in the paltry two minutes of injury time when he had a second goal chalked out for offside.
Abbey pulled of a blinding save low to his right to repel Asafu-Adjaye's venomous effort and, although Craddock was on hand to net the rebound, the linesman ruled it out as he celebrated at the Kenilworth Road end.
Diamonds made a good start to the second half and could have taken the lead with little more than a minute on the clock. Farrell created the chance but O'Connor's low drive was well held by Tyler.
The visitors had made by far the better start to the second half an incisive move from a throw-in, taken in the wrong position, allowed Max Porter to burst through, but he could only curve his effort well over.
A searing run by O'Connor cut through the Hatters on the hour, but he could only drive straight at Tyler. He then got the better of Pilkington moments later, but was again off target with his effort.
Luton had completely lost their way in the second half and, having already brought on Andy Burgess against his former club, Town added Claude Gnakpa to the mix in a bid to change the tide.
Gnakpa almost made an instant impact but his heavily deflected effort was scrambled round the post by Abbey.
The game finally began to open up in the closing stages and Rushden twice went close with 12 minutes left. Substitute Byrne's effort wasn't held by Tyler and Pilkington could only clear as far as Tomlin who thumped just wide.
And an horrific mistake by Nicholls handed the visitors the breakthrough with just six minutes left.
Indecision going forward saw the Hatters turn from attack to defence in an instant and, when Nicholls slipped on the halfway line, Tomlin seized on the error. The midfielder outpaced Town's desperately retreating defence and kept his cool to roll home into the bottom right-hand corner.
Luton, who struggled for the entirety of the second half, almost grabbed a share of the spoils with a minute left when Gnakpa's deep cross was headed back across goal by Craddock, but Burgess' stooping header went just wide.
And Rushden rubbed salt in the wound in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Porter's long ball over the top released Byrne and he coolly lobbed home past the stranded Tyler.
Hatters: Mark Tyler, Ed Asafu-Adjaye, Alan White (Freddie Murray 75), George Pilkington, Adam Newton, Kevin Nicholls (C), Tom Craddock, Asa Hall (Andy Burgess 61), Jake Howells, Rossi Jarvis (Claude Gnakpa 71), Kevin Gallen. Substitutes not used: Shane Gore, Ryan Charles.
Diamonds: Nathan Abbey, Curtis Osano, Kurt Robinson, Max Porter, Jamie Stuart (C, Mark Byrne 57), Aaron O'Connor (Cliff Akurang 78), Craig Farrell, Lee Tomlin (Matt Pattison 86), Neil Cousins, Michael Corcoran, Paul Terry. Substitutes not used: Dale Roberts, Danny Mills.
Referee: A Bennett.
Assistant referees: D Eaton and R Corp.
Fourth official: R Hulme.
Bookings: Tom Craddock 38; Neil Cousins 56; Lee Tomlin 83.
Attendance: 7,101 (Rushden 402).
Star Hatter: Ed Asafu-Adjaye. Performed in both halves – more than some of the others.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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