By Tom Caldon
Luton
Town 0-0 Grimsby Town
Skrill Football Conference | Saturday 7th September 2013
Partly due to a late afternoon kick off in front of
the BT Sport cameras, both Luton and Grimsby went into the game at Kenilworth
Road sitting in the bottom half of the embryonic Skrill Premier table. Amongst the uncertainty of the mysterious
absence of manager Rob Scott, the quality and concentration of the Grimsby
players would be tested against an improving Luton team.
Luton manager John Still made no changes to the side
that won 2-0 away at Kidderminster in their previous fixture. Andy Parry played in an anchoring midfield
role alongside Jonathan Smith. Also, Paul Benson made his home debut in a
centre-forward role.
Meanwhile, Grimsby manager Paul Hurst made two changes to the
side that lost 2-1 at home to Nuneaton. On-loan full-back Alan Goodall replaced
the suspended Aswad Thomas after Thomas received a red card against in the previous fixture.
Also, in midfield Andi Thanoj made way for former York City captain Scott
Kerr.
Luton dominated the opening stages. If a grounded pass
to the perpetually moving Luke Guttridge was unavailable, Luton played the ball
into Benson who would shield it from opposing defenders and
distribute into wide areas with efficiency.
Thirteen minutes in, Jake Howells ignited a premeditated
corner routine by wedging the ball deep into the Grimsby
penalty area. Luton’s main aerial threat of Steve McNulty accelerated towards
the front post and was followed closely by opposite number Shaun Pearson, thus
vacating space at the far post for the unmarked Paul Benson. Unfortunately for
Luton, Howells’ delivery had too much pace for the ex-Dagenham and Redbridge
striker, who stretched to head wide of Grimsby keeper James McKeown’s right-hand post.
With half an hour gone, Grimsby retorted through the
potent strength of Lenell John-Lewis who won a free-kick after a mistimed
tackle by Alex Lacey. Thirty yards from
goal, Alex Rodman curled a right footed free-kick of shallow trajectory over
Luton’s defensive wall. Unfortunately for Grimsby, the shot lacked the
cascading dip to trouble Luton keeper Mark Tyler, and the ball flew over the
bar.
After a five minute interlude of Grimsby pressure led
by the trickery of Alex Rodman, Luton regained the ascendancy. After meticulous
passing back and forth across a thirty-yard radius from the Grimsby goal, the
resurgent Ronnie Henry crossed for Luke Guttridge, who despite being the
shortest player on the pitch, used guile and determination to rise above the
defensive brawn of Chris Doig and Shaun Pearson only to head inches past the stem of
McKeown’s right-hand post.
A minute before half time, Doig tackled a
turning Andre Gray. However, the ball ricocheted into the path of Benson on the left side of the
area. Benson nonchalantly chipped over the forward-rushing McKeown, only for
the ball to be cleared by Pearson, who lunged along the goal-line to head
to safety.
At half-time, Luton would feel disappointment in
failing to take the lead. However, an ankle injury to centre-half Alex Lacey
would change the complexion of the game. With no replacement centre-half on the
Hatters’ bench, Still moved midfielder Andy Parry into the
heart of Luton’s backline and introduced Jim Stevenson in midfield for his
Luton Town debut.
Luton briefly continued to threaten Grimsby’s
defensive rear-guard; Benson weaved down the left flank to centre for Jim
Stevenson on the edge of the box. Stevenson’s right-footed shot skimmed inches
wide of McKeown’s left-hand post. However, the Mariners’ centre-half pairing of
Pearson and Doig began to double up on Benson, subsequently quashing his offensive influence on the rest of the game.
Despite the expressive passing of Mariners midfielders
Patrick McLaughlin and Craig Disley, the conspicuous forward presence of John-Lewis often proved most likely to push Parry into an
aerial mistake, as Luton keeper Mark Tyler looked reluctant to claim a
high ball within his own 18-yard box. Eventually, Steve McNulty blocked a
dangerous shot by substitute Scott Neilson.
Ten minutes from time, the visitors made a claim for a late
penalty as Paul Bignot was dragged down by Scott Griffiths after the Grimsby
right-back managed to get goal side of the former Peterborough defender. However,
referee Peter Bankes repudiated Bignot’s appeal.
In the closing stages, substitute Alex Wall’s deflected long
range shot was met comfortably by the secure palms of James McKeown diving to
his left. After a brief end-to-end frenzy, Peter Bankes blew his whistle for
full-time.
Luton Town are developing a diligent defensive
foundation; as this result crowned a fifth clean sheet from their opening seven
games. However, John Still will be disappointed by his team’s lack of
conviction in front of goal. In the second-half, Benson seemed isolated in his centre-forward role
and Still may well experiment with a striking partner alongside the former
Charlton man in their next fixture away at Wrexham on Friday evening.
Despite failing to manufacture a shot on target over
the course of the game, Paul Hurst will be impressed by his team’s second-half
performance. Although Grimsby monopolised possession for large periods of the
second-half, they seemed to lack the speed and erudition of a striker who could
outmanoeuvre defenders and obtain a goal scoring opportunity. However, the
return of Liam Hearn may well result in the proliferation of Grimsby goals,
starting on Saturday in their home fixture against Braintree.
Teams:
Luton
Town
Tyler, Henry, McNulty, Lacey (Stevenson – ’46),
Griffiths, Guttridge (Wall – ’84), Smith, Parry, Howells, Benson, Gray (Whalley
– ’71).
Grimsby
Town
McKeown, Bignot, Pearson, Doig, Goodall, Colbeck (Cook
– ’87), Kerr, Disley (Thanoj – ’88), Rodman (Neilson – ’80), McLaughlin,
John-Lewis.
Referee: Peter Banks
Attendance: 6,131
Photo content belongs to Bedfordshire on Sunday
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