Luton chief explains just why he made wholesale changes for must-win clash

Luton boss Jack Wilshere has explained just why he made so many changes to a winning side when taking on Reading during what was a crushing 3-2 defeat for the Hatters yesterday.

Following from a morale-boosting 2-1 Vertu Trophy semi-final triumph over Northampton Town on Wednesday night, in which the Hatters dominated their fellow League One side from more or less start to finish, the likes of Liam Walsh and Mads Andersen excelling, then it was hoped it would be more of the same when up against a Royals outfit who were above Town in the table, Wilshere declaring prior to the contest that victory was vital if Town were to have any real crack at reaching the play-offs this season.

However when the teamsheet dropped, there were a whole host of alterations, with Andersen missing out completely, along with Davy van den Berg, while Walsh, Gideon Kodua, James Shea, Hakeem Odoffin and the in-form Nahki Wells, with three goals in four appearances, were all on the bench. It saw Josh Keeley, Nigel Lonwijk, Joe Johnson, Izzy Jones, Kasey Palmer, George Saville and Devante Cole come into the team, and while falling behind to a mistake from Jones and Kal Naismith, it looked like the move would actually work out, Lonwijk scoring for the second time this season against Reading, stretching to turn in Emilio Lawrence’s cross on the stroke of half time.

Saville then made it 2-1 early in the second period, rising highest to nod home Jordan Clark’s corner, as Town looked to be on their way to a much-needed three points, until the final 10 minutes, when two absolutely howlers in defence saw the hosts find the net twice to triumph. With Luton going to Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday, before a game at Wycombe Wanderers next weekend, asked if he made the wholesale changes with one eye on the trip to the Keepmoat Stadium, Wilshere said: “It was a little bit of, because the game was Wednesday, managing some players and not putting them at risk of injury.

"Some of them have just come back, Walshy, Haks, had just come back, so we had to be sensible with them. Mads hurt his foot against Plymouth and then played through a lot of pain on Wednesday and hadn’t quite recovered. We waited until the last moment because we know how important he is for us.

"Nahki again played a lot recently and played 90 on Wednesday, so we had to look after him. Izzy was back, we rested him for Wednesday, because he was ill, but naturally he comes back into the team and he’s a right wingback, and that’s his position, so we wanted to get him back in. Davy hasn’t played many minutes before he got there, so he was one that we had to look after as well.”

The most telling point was probably the withdrawal of midfielder Palmer on 78 minutes, as the Jamaican international was running the show at times in the centre of the pitch, combining some wonderfully incisive passes with a determination to get about the playing surface, throwing himself into some full-blooded challenges that got the home fans off their seats.

Three minutes after he went off along with Lawrence, Kodua and a fit-again Cohen Bramall introduced, the visitors levelled, quickly bagging the winner moments later, as on his decision to remove the on-loan Hull City player, Wilshere added: “That was to try and get momentum back. I thought Kasey was really good, he gave a lot of energy, his pressing out of possession was really good, but then they started to get a little bit more momentum, so we wanted to get a fresher body in there to try and get us up the pitch try and press a little bit higher. Same with Cohen and Cohen naturally can fit into a five if we needed to. We didn’t in the end, but we thought he could maybe help us if we’re going to sit and maybe start to look at counter-attacking them.”