Cornick: First goal is vital in the Championship

Hatters attacker Harry Cornick felt his side paid the price for not scoring the first goal during their 1-0 derby defeat at Watford on Saturday.

With 33 minutes gone they really should have too, Cornick sending over an inviting cross for striker James Collins, only to see Town’s top scorer crash his shot against the bar from no more than six yards.

The Hornets then went straight down the other end and grabbed the game’s only goal, Joao Pedro meeting Ken Sema’s delivery to beat Simon Sluga via a deflection off Sonny Bradley.

Luton are yet to win on the road after conceding first in the Championship since they returned to the second tier, as Cornick said: “It’s fine margins in this league, scoring first is massive.

“It’s unlucky for Collins, he usually scores them, you can’t really say too much when he’s got a record like he has, he usually puts them away.

"The next one I’m sure he will and then they go down the other end and score, so it’s fine margins and they’ve cost us.

“It was just one of those things, a cross comes in and deflected in, one of those days really.”

Cornick had set Collins up for another great chance during the 2-1 win over Derby County recently, the striker just unable to reach his low delivery.

The attacker already has four goals this season though, and despite not scoring himself, Cornick is happy to play creator along with the likes of Jordan Clark.

He continued: “It’s quite natural really, he’s the number nine for our team, he’s the focal point to be in the box when we cross the ball, so we've got to create chances for him.

"I haven’t had many chances yet to try and open my account, which is a bit annoying for me, but it’s a team game.

"If we can keep creating chances for him, I’m sure he’ll tuck one away next time as he's a top striker.”

Although Town had more possession at Vicarage Road, they only had four attempts during the afternoon, sending none at Ben Foster’s goal.

Visiting keeper Simon Sluga found himself with plenty to do on the day, making sure the margin of defeat wasn’t greater with some top saves.

Cornick added: “I think they defended really well, their system, five at the back, it works well for them.

“We tried to change, tried to adapt to try and get chances, but we didn’t really create much second half and then we ended up going a bit long ball in the last five to try and create something.

“I thought first half we created a few chances, got behind them a lot, which is promising, but second half we didn't create as much.

"We were in the game no matter what, and as long as you’re in the game, you can nick it at any point.

"A draw might have been a fair result, but we come away empty handed.

“His (Sluga's) confidence is building, he’s playing well at the minute, making a lot of good saves.

"The goal, he can't really do much about it, but other than that, he's coming and claiming crosses, his kicking’s been good, I think he’s been brilliant recently.”