Odoffin looking to build on his first 90 minutes for Luton since November

Luton defender Hakeem Odoffin is looking to build on his first 90 minutes for the Hatters since late November when managing to achieve that feat once more at Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday night.

The 27-year-old has had a torrid time with injuries since moving to Kenilworth Road on a free transfer from Rotherham United in the summer, as he joined with a non-musculoskeletal issue which kept out him out of action for nearly three months. Back in for the 1-0 victory at Northampton Town on October 25, Odoffin immediately showed what a key figure he could be for the club with a terrific goal-line clearance at the death to secure what has since become an incredibly rare away victory.

He went on feature six times in all competitions before missing another two months due to injury, eventually returning for the 1-1 draw at Port Vale on February 28. The utility player then began the 2-1 Vertu Trophy semi-final win over Plymouth Argyle, and was back in the starting line-up when travelling to the Eco-Power Stadium Stadium in midweek, which also finished in a disappointing 1-1 draw.

One positive was that Odoffin did manage to get through the full game for just the third time since arriving in Bedfordshire, and asked about how it felt to do that, he said: "It’s always difficult when you’re out for that long, but I feel good. It was definitely a bit of a scrap towards the end of the game, but that’s what you want, getting my body conditioned for that as it’s just about being ready. It was a tough onslaught, especially in that second half, they were leaving the ball on us, so you really had to dig deep.

"I’m glad I was able to get through the 90 minutes, I’m sure I’ll be able to use that to put in my bank, get stronger, and then hopefully I can build on those minutes. Being able to get through the 90 minutes is important. I want to build on it, want to build on as many games as I can until the end of the season. Every game is massive, every game’s important, so I’m looking forward to the challenge, but now it’s about recovering, making sure we’re right for whatever the manager ends up choosing for the weekend, just being prepared.”

Despite a second successive 1-1 draw on the road, many felt the outcome in South Yorkshire simply wasn't good enough for the Hatters, who had actually taken the lead during the first half when Kasey Palmer netted with a wonderful strike from the edge of the box, as once an unmarked Brandon Hanlan burst through to equalise on the hour mark, Town were simply clinging for large parts of the second period.

It meant Odoffin and his fellow centre halves of Nigel Lonwijk and Joe Johnson were constantly under the pump during that second 45 minutes, as it was only down to some poor finishing from the hosts, coupled with some last-ditch defending that Luton actually escaped with a point. Asked about his side’s display, which did at least show the Hatters’ desire to leave Doncaster with something for their efforts, especially after blowing a 2-1 lead to lose 3-2 against Reading in the last 10 minutes a few days earlier, Odoffin continued: “We’ve got to take pride in it.

"When you’re up, you want to go on and win the game, but it’s important. I feel like last weekend showed it’s important that when you do concede a goal it’s important to follow that on with not conceding again and leaving with nothing. Even though we were under the cosh a bit, I feel like there were still some chances in the second half that if we put away, we leave here happier, but I was proud of the boys.

"I feel like Nige and JJ did some great defensive efforts, even at the last second, the boys are hanging on, left on the floor at the final whistle, as it means that much to them. They probably knew what they were doing, switching the field position and playing with the wind, it was not allowing us to kick the ball a little bit long, trying to get it in behind them like we were in the first half. We stretched them a little bit more, the ball was getting caught up in the air and then I feel like we probably weren’t dropping on enough second balls and first balls.

"That allowed them to create a bit of pressure on us, but it felt like we defended the box really well at times, and I’m glad that we did what we had to do to not lose the game and take a point on the road. I’m happy that we didn’t capitulate, I’m happy that we didn’t let a goal get our heads down and then we ended up losing the game, but ultimately when you go a goal up, especially away from home, you want to leave with three points.”

What was most disappointing for those in the stands was the manner in which Town’s second half performance gave Doncaster the impetus they needed to not only equalise, but then look the most likely to go on and win it, as the Hatters barely ventured across the halfway line, let alone spend any time in the Rovers’ penalty area, during that second period.

Asked about the struggle to do so, Odoffin said: “Whenever you go up in a game you want to build on that, you want to keep adding goals, stay in the ascendancy. I felt like even though it wasn’t perfect in that first half, we were definitely on the front foot more, we were creating chances, we could have been a little bit more tidy, but to go in at 1-0 up, you’re happy with that and you’re thinking in the second half we can build on this.

"I felt second half there was more directness from them, obvious with the conditions they had the wind on their side so it was about hitting the balls in behind, and it was about trying to deal with that as much as you can. I felt like there was some really good box defending from the boys, even at the end. We’re coming away from home, difficult pitch, difficult conditions, but both teams are playing in the same conditions, but at the end of the day it’s important to not lose the game away from home and then we should use it as a foothold to go on to the weekend and try to get a result.”

Despite Town being stuck in an awful run of form that has ended any realistic efforts of extending their campaign into May, they were still followed by around 650 away supporters at Doncaster, who let their frustrations known when witnessing the lack of attacking intent during the second period, with cries of ‘attack’ greeting their players when they continually kept possession in their own half.

Odoffin wants to give them some long overdue reward when they make the trip to Wycombe Wanderers on Sunday, as he added: “They’re fantastic, it’s as simple as that. We can hear the support behind us and we feel and we mirror their frustration with the results, especially away from home and it doesn’t go amiss. It’s not something that we don’t feel that and personally, and in the changing room, it’s something that hurts and is something that we want to correct.

"So to leave the game and to not lose, it’s ultimately not we wanted as we wanted all three points, especially being in a winning position, but we have to take pride in that and then it’s something we have to build on. It’s on us, there’s no point feeling sorry for ourselves, we have another opportunity on the weekend and it’s about being ready to go and put that right.”