Luton chief thrilled that 'golden' Morris ended his drought with a big goal during Robins triumph
Forward on target for the first time since December 29 during City victory
Hatters boss Matt Bloomfield was both relieved and overjoyed for striker Carlton Morris that he was able to end his barren run by finding the net during Town’s 3-1 win over Bristol City on Easter Monday.
The Luton captain hadn’t been on the scoresheet since a 2-1 loss at Swansea City on December 29, some 18 appearances ago, but despite that personal drought, remained a first team regular since Bloomfield took over in January. Having admitted he was frustrated by the amount of discussion that had gone on about Morris’s place in the side, the Town manager stated after the 1-0 win at Derby County on Good Friday how he hoped the former Norwich youngster went on to score a ‘big goal’ during Luton’s relegation run-in, immediately getting his wish on Monday.
It was a crucial strike too as with 59 minutes gone, and the Robins having swiftly cancelled out Thelo Aasgaard’s opener, Liam Walsh drilled over a corner that saw both Christ Makosso and Teden Mengi involved, Morris then using all his strength to get in front of Ross McCrorie at the back post and hook the ball into the net to make it 2-1. Although he barely celebrated, just looking to the heavens in sheer relief, it allowed Luton to go on and add a third through Izzy Jones, to boost their chances of staying in the second tier this term.
Speaking afterwards, Bloomfield said: “I’m so pleased for Carlton. We’ve discussed him a number of times, he’s been playing through injuries, he’s a real warrior for us, a real leader, and for him to have the goal that put us ahead, I’m so pleased for him, I’m really, really proud of him. The belief has never wavered, it was a big moment for us and that showed his real desire to get at the far post. He had a big flick-on on Friday for Milli’s goal, that doesn’t go unnoticed either, that was a big moment and then he’s had his moment.”
Asked if he had noticed any change in Morris, who has bagged double figures in his first two seasons with the Hatters, during his struggles in finding the net again, Bloomfield continued: “He’s been good as gold, Carlton’s been absolutely golden for us, but he’s human, he’s not a robot. I’m sure he’s been feeling it, I’m sure he has, but he’s been turning out day after day, week after week, game after game, playing through injuries, leading at the top of the pitch, taking the hits and bringing other people into play. It’s maybe a slightly understated celebration, I noticed that also, but I’m sure there’s a lot of relief for him as well.”
Morris himself was just pleased to finally be in the right place at the right time for the first time in almost four months, as speaking to the club’s official website about his goal, he adding: “It's been a while and it’s tough obviously when you’re in that position as a striker and the ball is just not dropping. I’m going front post and it’s going back post, I’m going back post and the ball’s going front post, that’s life, it goes on. You can see I’ve been giving it my all anyway, I’ve been doing everything I can to contribute to the team being as successful as possible, but it was nice to get on the scoresheet. “The main thing though was that we got the three points.”
It had been a similar story to the last few months in the first half against the Robins on Monday, with an isolated Morris having to do plenty of work running the channels to try and create any kind of chance for himself, seeing one cross almost lead to a goal, Cameron Pring’s clearance cannoning off Thelo Aasgaard, forcing Max O’Leary into a wonderful save.
However, after the break, and with Milli Alli playing far closer to him, giving the City defence something else to think about, it allowed the forward to take up some more attacking options, which is what Bloomfield wants to see, adding: “He’s a big player for us and we’ve probably been a little bit too reliant on him in recent weeks since Elijah (Adebayo) got his injury.
"Before that we had them as a pair and it took away the pressure on him and the defender’s attentions, but since Elijah’s been out of the team, maybe it’s been with him being the real focal point, hence why we tried to move Milli alongside him a little bit. It’s something we need to look at before the weekend and decide which way to attack the Coventry game.
“Watching him (Alli) at Exeter, we brought him in to play a different formation. Since Alfie’s (Doughty) injury he’s been great as a left wingback and it was just that discussion that we wanted to get him higher up the pitch. A couple bounced off him first half, but second half he really got into his flow and I thought he was excellent.”