Luton striker Collins produced the 'big game' he needed to against Huddersfield

Boss believes first goal in nine will be a 'weight' off forward's shoulders
Hatters striker James Collins gets forward againstHatters striker James Collins gets forward against
Hatters striker James Collins gets forward against

Town striker James Collins put in the ‘big’ performance that he needed during Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Huddersfield Town at the weekend according to boss Nathan Jones.

The 30-year-old had gone nine matches without a goal, failing to score since netting a hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Preston North End on December 12.

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He ended that run when on target after just 11 minutes of the contest with the Terriers at Kenilworth Road, tapping home from Harry Cornick’s pinpoint cross for a 10th goal of the season.

Collins then went close to a winner late on, denied by keeper Ryan Schofield from Jordan Clark’s low delivery, as he was a threat to the visiting defence throughout.

Speaking afterwards, Jones said: “Harry put it on a plate for him and it was brilliant, he needed that as he hasn't scored for a little while so that will be a weight off him.

“I thought his performance levels were excellent, he held the ball up really well, led the line, was a threat in the box, his set-up play was excellent.

“He needed a big game and he got one today.”

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In Jones’ preparation for the game, he had worked on the Hatters scoring from crosses, knowing it was an area that his side could hurt their opposition.

He added: “Because they’re a possession based side they're very open, we know that, so we wanted to win it (the ball) and be aggressive so that when we did win, we could really counter them.

“They've conceded quite a lot like that without being disrespectful to them, so it was the game-plan for us.

“We’re just disappointed that we haven't quite got the second goal, as if you get the second goal you win the game.

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“They’ll come out even more and you can cause them more problems and that's the problem we've had, just getting the second goal to take us away from teams.

“We played them away from home and it was exactly the same there, we were disappointed then, but we’re really disappointed with the goal as well.”