Shrewsbury Town lose out 3-0 to Luton Town
Town: Steve Arnold, Mat Sadler, Greg Docherty, Tyrese Campbell (Stefan Payne, 63), Fejiri Okenabirhie, James Bolton, Romain Vincelot (Shaun Whalley, 55), Luke Waterfall, Scott Golbourne, Ollie Norburn (Josh Laurent, 75), Anthony Grant.
Subs: Jonathan Mitchell, Ro-Shaun Williams, Aaron Amadi-Holloway, Ryan Sears, Josh Laurent, Stefan Payne.
Luton: James Shae, James Justin, Alan McCormack (Dan Potts, 77), Sonny Bradley, Matty Pearson, Jack Stacey, Luke Berry (George Moncur, 83) Andrew Shinnie, Pelly Ruddock-Mpanzu, James Collins, Kazenga Lualua (Danny Hylton, 69).
Subs: Harry Isted, Dan Potts, Danny Hylton, Alex Baptist, George Moncur, Jason Cummings, Alan Sheehan.
Referee: Graham Salisbury
Assistants: Alan Clayton and Will Smith
Fourth official: Darren Wilding
Attendance: 6859 (1334)
A disappointing afternoon for Town came to an end with Luton Town taking all three points after an impressive 0-3 win.
Former Town frontman James Collins helped his side to all three points with two goals against his former team.
Team News: Sam Ricketts made a number changes to his starting line-up to face the Hatters this afternoon. Tyrese Campbell, Romain Vincelot and Scott Golbourn were all awarded starts and new boys Ro-Shaun Williams and Stefan Payne both started on the bench.
First Half:
Town came into this match looking to take the game to the visitors and Sam Ricketts’ men did just that. The first 10 minutes fell in Town’s favour and the Shrews looked a threat going forward – with the pace of Tyrese Campbell and Fejiri Okenabirhie.
Town had a real good chance to take the lead after the 20-minute mark through Greg Docherty. After the ball was poorly cleared from the box, the midfielder latched onto the ball but saw his first-time effort rise above the bar.
Campbell nearly opened his account for Town with a back heel effort at goal. Ollie Norburn smartly found the striker in the box but Campbell had a man in-between him and the goal. He did well to strike the ball towards the net, only to see it deflected away.
Very much against the run of play the Hatters managed to snatch the lead. James Collins got onto the end of a cross just six yards from the net and calmly slotted the ball away– giving the visitors a one goal lead in the 30th minute.
The Hatters goal swung the balance of the game and encouraged the visitors to be more attacking minded. They were pushing Town all the way and were relentless in their efforts.
Town were still trying to be positive but Luton were proving hard to breakdown. Their compact midfield and defence nullified most of Town’s attacks and made space in the final third a rarity.
The half came to an end with Luton taking the one goal advantage into the break. A competitive half saw Town have a positive start with the visitors growing into the fixture as the minutes went on.
Second Half:
The half started in the worst possible fashion for Town. A fairly standard cross from Matty Pearson caught out Steve Arnold and the ball squeezed in-between the keeper and the bar to double the Hatters lead.
Luton were doing a good job of frustrating Town, especially in the middle of the park. The Hatters still kept their midfield tight and were doing well to win the majority of their individual duals.
Town were still working hard and the introduction of Shaun Whalley and Stefan Payne definitely helped Town’s cause. Whalley pressured the Luton back line repeatedly but nothing was falling for Town.
Collins added a third for Luton just before the 70th minute mark. Kazenga Lualua did well to find the striker in the box and Collins managed to poke the ball past Arnold despite pressure from Luke Waterfall.
Payne was given a yellow card in the 73rd minute for a foul near the Tow box.
In the 82nd minute Town had a chance to shorten the visitor’s lead with a free kick on the edge of the box. Okenabirhie couldn’t create the same quality as his last effort and his shot went over the bar.
A disappointing afternoon for Town came to an end with Luton Town taking all three points after an impressive 0-3 win.