Clark on target as Luton bounce back from Terriers loss by beating Blackpool

Luton Town ended a disappointing week on the road with something to smile about on home soil as they gained a morale-boosting victory over Blackpool at Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

The Hatters went into the game having suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats at Plymouth Argyle and Huddersfield Town in the last seven days, which has severely dented, if not almost extinguished their play-off hopes, as they knew anything other than victory wouldn’t have been good enough against an opposition who had lost nine from 13 away from home in the league this term.

With that in mind, boss Jack Wilshere made two changes from Tuesday night’s reverse in West Yorkshire, Shayden Morris and Nahki Wells recalled, with Liam Walsh missing out on the squad, while Jake Richards was dropped to the bench, joined for the first time since November by Izzy Jones. Although the manager had warned to expect some ‘angry’ supporters at Kenilworth Road following their recent efforts, that didn’t ever emerge, with almost an air of indifference emanating around the ground at times in the first period.

Town looked to make the bright start they were after, with Kasey Palmer pulling the strings from a deeper role in midfield, Clark and Wells pressing well, with Gideon Kodua, playing centrally again, using his body well for Morris who shot straight at Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

With Palmer pulling the strings to run the show in midfield, Town were utterly dominant in the opening 15 minutes, keeping the Seasiders penned in their own half, although as has been the story of the season, couldn’t create anything meaningful for their forward players. More excellent play from Palmer led to the Hatters’ next opportunity on 20 minutes as he glided away from his man to find Morris.

Taking his return pass, the Jamaican international delivered an exquisite first time cross to the back post that was met by Cohen Bramall, Peacock-Farrell tipping away and Olly Casey completing the clearance before the lurking Wells could pounce. Teden Mengi then did well to block the dangerous Ashely Fletcher’s attempt away, as Town were keen to keep the 18-goal visiting striker on a tight leash, which they managed to do for the majority of the contest.

The game then became a rather stodgy affair with precious little goalmouth action, as the visitors began to block off Palmer’s passing routes, with both sets of supporters taking great pleasure in their chants over where was the best place in the country to live. Play did start to liven up just after the half hour though, Wells’ effort also straight at the visiting stopper.

Morris then got to the byline and dinked over a delivery that saw Wells nod over at the back post, the forward requiring treatment after landing awkwardly, Luton making it four shots on target in the first period, but again it wasn’t difficult for Peacock-Farrell, Clark’s 25-yarder, when he had players available to his right, straight at him.

After the break, there were two fairly major stoppages as Mengi made a superb sprint back to slide in and clear when Michael Obafemi was away, while he needed prolonged treatment after colliding with an opponent when defending the corner. There was another break in play when Bramall was cleaned out by Casey having latched on to Johnson’s backheel, as he was stretchered off with what looked like a serious ankle injury, Richards coming on, as Town quickly won a free kick, sent over the bar by Palmer.

Midway through the half and Luton did finally begin to show some signs of life in the final third, Richards’ shot prodded into Wells’ path but Peacock-Farrell was off his line quickly to smother, Kodua then slicing ambitiously over the bar. Town demonstrated the extra strength they had on their bench when bringing on Ali Al-Hamadi and Jones for the final 22 minutes in the hope it pepped up their attack and it worked a treat with 71 minutes gone.

Johnson swung over a deep cross from the left which saw Al-Hamadi cause problems, Zac Ashworth’s miscued clearance allowing Clark to take a touch and fire into the net via a slight deflection to give the hosts a deserved lead. Forced out of their defensive outlook, the Seasiders finally started to enjoy some kind of territory as they abandoned their desire to cling on for a point, having their first real attempt on 80 minutes as Tom Bloxham got away on the left, slamming off target.

They then pressed further, as with Mads Andersen off the field having looked like he tweaked his hip, it saw the Tangerines swing in two crosses, Nigel Lonwijk doing well to clear one. Town were starting to ride their luck though, Niall Ennis appearing to be caught by Palmer inside the area, as although referee Martin Woods lifted his whistle to his mouth, there was no shrill sound to follows, Lee Evans’ follow-up deflected a whisker wide.

The three injuries saw an absolutely huge 12 minutes of extra time added, and with nerves beginning to kick in and Town conceding space to the visitors, they had to deal with a number of balls being pumped into their box, but bar Evans’ ambitious volley that few into the scoreboard, the Hatters were able to secure a valuable three points.

Hatters: Josh Keeley, Nigel Lonwijk, Mads Andersen, Teden Mengi, Joe Johnson, Kasey Palmer (George Saville 89), Jordan Clark (C), Gideon Kodua (Kal Naismith 89), Cohen Bramall (Jake Richards 55), Shayden Morris (Izzy Jones 68), Nahki Wells (Ali Al-Hamadi 89). Subs not used: James Shea, Emilio Lawrence.

Seasiders: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, James Husband ©, Olly Casey, Jordan Brown, Lee Evans, Ashley Fletcher, Josh Bowler (Niall Ennis 75), Michael Ihiekwe, Michael Obafemi (Tom Bloxham 62), CJ Hamilton, Zac Ashworth. Subs not used: Franco Ravizzoli, Ryan Finnigan, Theo Upton, Terry Bondo, Spencer Knight. Booked: Naismith 90. Referee: Martin Woods. Attendance: 10,697 (728 Seasiders).