Sponsored by
Town net first silverware
Hatters claim Bedfordshire FA Premier Cup
A strong Hatters side steamrollered Arlesey Town 3-1 on Tuesday night to claim the Bedfordshire FA Premier Cup.
Three goals in the space of seven first half minutes from Claude Gnakpa, Dan Walker and Adam Watkins gave Luton a comfortable victory.
Manager on the night, Alan Neilson, said: "It was a strong side with a few plyers like Ed Asafu-Adjaye and Claude who needed a few more minutes before the end of pre-season.
"Before we scored I thought Arlesey had a good shape and were playing quite well, although they weren't causing us too many problems.
"The main thing was getting through with no injuries."
With the Zamaretto Southern League Division One Central side having edged the opening phases of the encounter at the Armadillo Stadium in front of 258 spectators, Gnakpa broke the deadlock when he volleyed past Blues keeper Richard Hayward from just inside the area on 36 minutes.
Five minutes later another volley by Walker, who had been paired with Gnakpa in attack, from a similar distance, made it 2-0.
And the game was all but over two minutes before the break when former Arlesey star Watkins seized on trialist Stefan Bailey's pass.
He waltzed round the home defence and Arlesey's sprawling keeper before clipping the ball home from an acute angle.
Early in the second half Walker saw his angled shot cannon back off Hayward's upright and he repeated the feat shortly afterwards before the Blues finally pulled one back.
A telling 77th minute right wing cross from Stuart Sinclair was headed past Luton custodian Kevin Pilkington by Chris Watters, but it proved to be mere consolation.
Seven players with first team experience figured for the Hatters, and Neilson believes many of them will get their chance in the first team at some point this season.
He said: "The squad is very competitive and we could put two teams out in the Conference. Whoever does well will get a chance eventually."
And Town even had the luxury of sending on in-form youth team duo Jordan Patrick and Liam Toomey late on.
Neilson added: "It's the natural progression. Liam, Jordan and a lot of them train with the development squad at the moment."
Hatters: Kevin Pilkington, Adam Newton, Alan White, Ed Asafu-Adjaye, JJ O'Donnell, Taylor Nathaniel, Godfrey Poku, Stefan Bailey, Adam Watkins, Claude Gnakpa, Dan Walker. Substitutes: Mark Tyler, Jordan Patrick, Liam Toomey, Alex Lacey, Newman Carney.
To comment on this story, click here to follow the Luton News on twitter
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Luton
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
