Boss Bloomfield pleased with Hatters’ reaction to adversity in Southend victory
Boss Matt Bloomfield was pleased with how Luton Town dealt with the adversity of losing three players through injury during the course of the 2-0 pre-season win at Southend United on Tuesday night.
The Hatters returned from Roots Hall with the win thanks a 40th-minute strike from Cauley Woodrow and then a clincher 10 minutes from time through Lasse Nordas.
It was a fifth straight pre-season victory for Luton, but they were given a stern test by National League side Southend, with Bloomfield admitting the home side's physical and aggressive approach was tough to deal with.
The Hatters lost Teden Megi with an ankle injury after just nine minutes, and then Mads Anderson and Joe Johnson were withdran either side of half-time, with Anderson suffering an eye injury and Joe Johnson feeling his hamstring.
It was a far from ideal situation for Luton, but Bloomfield was pleased with his players.
"We are going to have to go through adversity this year, because no football season is plain sailing," said the Hatters boss.
"There is going to be plenty of adversity ahead, and it is not the adversity that is the challenge it is how you react to it.
"So I think the boys stuck together, and the fact we had people filling in different positions was good to see. It was nice to see the boys put in a stressful position and see how they reacted to that.
"It wasn't nice that the injuries led us there, but there is going to be adversity and we have to make sure we stand up and be counted."
On the game itself, Bloomfield added: "I felt the physicality of the first 10 minutes was tough for us, and we needed to stand up to that challenge firmer and stronger.
"Southend came out of traps, put it in behind us and played up to the front two really well.
"Once we got a foothold in the game we played some nice stuff, although the game was a little bitty and kept stopping with the ref blowing his whistle every 30 seconds or so.
"There were a lot of unforced errors in the game, but we played some lovely stuff and could have scored a few more goals which would have been lovely, but there were some really encouraging signs."
Luton are back in action on Saturday when they host Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur at Kenilworth Road.