Luton striker Nordas remains confident of breaking his duck for the Hatters
Attacker is yet to score in a Town shirt
Luton forward Lasse Nordas isn’t overly worried about his goal drought as he remains convinced he will start to become a regular on the scoresheet for the Hatters in the not too distant future.
The 23-year-old hasn’t found the net in his 14 outings for Luton since arriving in the January transfer window from Eliteserien club Tromsø, snapped up following a season in which he bagged 12 goals in 30 appearances, when Town were a Championship side. After struggling to win a place under new boss Matt Bloomfield though, the attacker was restricted to just two starts, but didn’t begin a league game after February’s 2-0 defeat at local rivals Watford in which he was substituted at half time.
With the club now plying their trade in League One following last season’s relegation, the former Norwegian U21 international hadn’t featured in the squad for the Hatters’ first two third tier games, with Bloomfield preferring to select Cauley Woodrow on the bench instead, before starting in the Carabao Cup first round exit at Coventry City.
That has led to him getting his opportunity in the league, named in the squad against Bradford City and Wigan Athletic, coming on in both matches, as he was denied an equaliser at Valley Parade by Sam Walker’s save during the 2-1 defeat, then hitting the post from 20 yards in last Tuesday night’s 1-0 victory over the Latics.
It was enough to earn Nordas a first league start of the campaign at the weekend as he looked to get at the Bluebirds defence from the first whistle, quickly winning a free kick after a powerful burst forward, and then causing a number of problems, only to see strike partner Nahki Wells off target. Nordas, like a number of his team-mates, couldn’t beat inspired visiting stopper Nathan Trott, with one first half effort parried away, also shooting against the Bermudan’s legs in the second period when sent away by Gideon Kodua.
Firing wide in the latter stages too, it meant Town surrendered their unbeaten home record this term, as Nordas’s quest to get off the mark continued, but the former Bodø/Glimt attacker doesn't expect his search for a goal to go on too much longer, as he told the club’s official website: “I wouldn’t think so. For me I always focus on getting the chances because that's the hardest part. The goalie had some saves, I did the right thing in a few of them and most days they will go in, sometimes they don’t and if I can create chances and do the right thing then 100 percent it will come.
"I'm not too worried about that but it’s really disappointing to not give the fans the points and the goals they want. For me I feel like I’m playing my best football here these last few weeks. It’s been fun to play and a bit tougher start to the season for me personally, but I feel like I have done pretty decent the first three, four games. I’m still developing and trying to do my best. I always want to score goals for the club, I’m trying to create chances, that’s the first priority for me. I'm doing so and the goals will come, 100 percent.”
It wasn’t just Nordas who couldn’t find the net on Saturday, as Wells had two great opportunities, rolling one wide and then shooting straight at Trott with another. The on-loan FC Copenhagen stopper made a terrific save from George Saville’s half volley, plus Mark McGuinness’s downward header, as Town wasted a host of other openings, Christ Makosso putting the best one off target after a corner caused havoc.
A frustrated Nordas added: “Going into the game I felt good, first half I felt good and then when we had three, four big chances in a row, you almost go like ‘wow, we need to score,’ because you never know what can happen in the game. We’re disappointed but it’s a good team and we're matching them, so I think if we keep on working we’ll get better and better."