Japanese international's debut during Luton's FA Cup exit was a 'silver lining' for Hatters boss

Luton boss Rob Edwards could reflect on at least one ‘silver lining’ from last night’s FA Cup heavy exit at the hands of holders Manchester City, that bring the first outing in a Hatters shirt for Japanese international Daiki Hashioka.

The January transfer window signing from Belgian top flight club Sint-Truiden had made 19 appearances for his former side this term, also winning four caps for his country, but hadn’t been involved in a first team game since January 21 as after moving to Kenilworth Road for an undisclosed fee, he was given time to adapt to life in a new country, having never experienced English football before, also recovering from a hamstring strain as well. Having done so he was named on the bench against the holders, Premier League champions and Champions League winners, thrust into action when replacing Chiedozie Ogbene with his side 5-2 behind and any realistic hopes of a comeback over.

Afforded a fine reception when taking his place on the field, Hashioka looked to make an immediate impact with some driving runs down the right flank from his wingback role, as despite being muscled off the ball by an experienced City back-line, he had a 90.9 percent pass success rate, also making three tackles and two clearances as well in his short time on the field. With Luton suffering from a spate of defensive injuries, Mads Andersen and Dan Potts absent, while Amari’i Bell added to those concerns going off in the first half, Gabe Osho unable to take his place meaning teenager Joe Johnson came on instead, then getting minutes into Hashioka was crucial ahead of a busy schedule that sees Luton face Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, AFC Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest before the next international break.

Speaking afterwards, Edwards said: “It’s a real positive for us, I knew there was a silver lining there. I thought he did really well Hashi. We had a few weeks getting him right, he felt his hamstring quite early on, and he was a little bit tight. The way we play, we needed to get him up to speed quite quickly, so really pleased with getting him a big run-out, that was a big positive for us.”

Writing on Twitter, Hashioka said: “Was able to debut at Luton Town! Working hard to keep moving forward, one step at a time.” Replying on social media, @MegaDarkFlames said: “Looking forward to his starting debut. Looks to be a fantastic Japanese talent.” @Hitesh_78_: “Promising start! Looking forward to seeing him in action.” @TimWheatley18: “Fair play! What a way to get your debut.” @KatLTFC: “Really tough team to debut against. But you did brilliantly. Looking forward to seeing more!” While @FanHubHatter added: “Great to finally see you on the pitch. Can't wait to see more of you.”