Saturday 21st November 2009 - Two-nil... and it's your turn to muck it up
It's not often that we commoners get to feel like royalty. We have never opened a village fete, had breakfast brought to us on a silver tray by some bloke in fancy dress or flown to a social engagement by helicopter at the tax-payers' expense, and I really can't remember the last time I trooped the colour.
The days of a police-led motorcade through an opponent's town seemed to be over once United lost their League status in 2005. But after the shenanigans at the Abbey in September, the local constabulary deemed it necessary to greet the away travel coaches on the edge of town with a gaggle of motorbike cops who led them, blue lights flashing, on a long, roundabout route through the streets of Luton to Kenilworth Road, blocking off roads, taking us through red lights and even forcing other traffic to pull over to allow the coaches to pass down the middle of the road. It was hard to resist a regal wave to the many citizens who stopped to gawp as we flashed unstoppably through town.
All that royal treatment soon faded from the memory, however, once we reached the ramshackle charms of Kenilworth Road... or rather, the away turnstiles, set into a row of terraced houses, leading to a rickety iron staircase which took us over the neighbours' gardens and into the echoey charms of the away end.
I do not know if there are regulations in existence which stipulate a minimum amount of leg room for spectators at sporting events. Apparently there aren't, as the seats which are bolted onto the former away terrace can only be occupied in comfort by dwarves; anyone of any height would have to sit with their knees spread and halfway up to their chin just to fit into the minuscule space available. Thankfully we were allowed to stand throughout the match.
Ironically the only seats with any leg room were down the front, and such is the layout that this row is actually situated below the level of the pitch. The rest of the ground has remained unchanged since the 1980s when it became notorious for its plastic pitch, compulsory membership scheme (both now gone) and the row of chalet-like corporate boxes which still line one side of the ground as if someone had opened a doors and windows dealership on the site.
The rest of the venue at least resembles a football ground, with a proliferation of quaint wooden bench seats and a family stand named after Luton legend and a fine ex-U's player, too, the late great David Preece.
One good thing about the away end is its splendid acoustics, and with both sets of supporters engendering a local derby-style atmosphere (Kenilworth Road is less than two miles further from the Abbey than London Road), the teams were afforded a raucous welcome as the overcast skies began to unload a steady torrent of power-drizzle like an overactive shower attachment.
After last week's defeat to Kettering, Lee Phillips and Andy Parkinson were introduced into the United side in place of Danny Crow and Courtney Pitt, and although Dan Gleeson had warmed up with his colleagues, Rory McAuley remained in situ at right-back, Gleeson not yet fit enough to return.
Luton, now under the management of Richard Money with some chap called Brabin as chief scout, no doubt chomping at the bit to get into his new job, fielded a team from which there were only five survivors from the starting line-up which won 4-3 at the Abbey after being 2-0 down with ten men eight weeks ago, but former U Freddie Murray remained at left-back.
United got off to a decent, pacy start and had the first shot within a couple of minutes, Jai Reason making a good run from deep to latch onto Anthony Tonkin's through ball, but he slid his shot narrowly wide under pressure.
The visitors almost went behind, however, shortly afterwards when Kevin Nicholls arrowed an inswinging corner into a crowded box, Danny Potter could get nowhere near it and Claude Gnakpa's goalbound header was blocked by the back of his team-mate Shane Blackett, Brian Saah completing the clearance.
Potter caught a Keith Keane header on 7 and United held firm after another corner-created goalmouth scramble four minutes later, while first yellow card of the day came on 16 for a horrendous lunge by Keane on McAuley for which some less tolerant refs might have considered a straight red. Paul Carden followed him into the book a minute later for a block on Gnakpa.
A tight, hard-fought encounter ensued, littered with offsides and while United enjoyed plenty of possession, there was precious little penetration into the final third. Both wingers were fairly anonymous, Parkinson spending far too much time drifting into the centre rather than providing an outlet out wide, and there were too many hopeful channel balls played over the top from deep which did not carry sufficient quality to give supply-starved strikers Phillips and Holroyd any chance of breaking through.
Luton's passing was of slightly better quality but they seemed equally unable to create anything of note for their forwards, and a rather turgid contest trundled slowly on with little goalmouth action and about as much excitement as the damp, miserable weather.
Gnakpa, who many will recall was very lucky to avoid a second yellow at the Abbey in September, courted controversy again on 36 when he dived unconvincingly to ground under challenge from Tonkin just outside the box; ref Naylor was not fooled but generously contented himself with a quick chat rather than the yellow card the Frenchman deserved.
In fact Tonkin was next into the book for a foolish lunge at Ed Asafu-Adjaye on 39. Gnakpa then aroused further ire amongst the amber faithful when he flattened Potter with a hint of elbow in jumping for a Nicholls free-kick. This time the man in black did not even speak to the Luton man.
A minute from half-time Reason galloped forward to blast over the bar, and United went into the interval having enjoyed plenty of possession but also having failed to force even one save from home keeper Kevin Pilkington. We would all have settled for a draw before the game, but just a little entertainment along the way would also have been nice.
The visitors got off to a lively start after the break, and having forced a corner two minutes in, Willmott's flag-kick seemed to be curling in at the far post until tipped away by Pilkington. A save, at last! After the ensuing second corner Phillips eventually saw his shot blocked clear.
The hosts threatened to break clear on 52 but Tom Craddock just overran the ball and was foiled by Potter, while up the other end Holroyd shanked a shot wide a minute later. On 56 a foul on Phillips presented a free-kick opportunity in the left channel, but with a host of Cambridge blue shirts waiting in the box, Willmott went directly for goal and smacked a useless shot into the stand.
Just after the hour the deadlock was finally broken in a fashion about as welcome to the amber army as Thierry Henry in an Irish theme pub. Willmott fouled Gnakpa out on the right, Nicholls arced the free-kick into the area, and there was the villainous Gnakpa to ram home from close in: 1-0.
Luton were now in the ascendant, Craddock firing another Nicholls free-kick wide five minutes later, while United struggled to respond, Phillips almost sending Holroyd through until Blackett's interception. The atmosphere continued to build, fuelled in part by the puerile wind-up antics of a few people in the corporate boxes nearest the away end who were really old enough to know better.
On 71 McAuley got into a tangle and presented the ball to Adam Newton, but he dragged his shot wide of the near post, then Willmott was next to see yellow for a foul on Asafu-Adjaye. Change was needed, and on 75 Danny Crow and Courtney Pitt replaced Phillips and Parkinson, Willmott switching to the right flank.
United began to press, but were undone on the break with ten minutes to go. Newton send Craddock away down the middle with only Tonkin to beat, and he crashed a superb swerving 25-yard thunderbolt past the helpless Potter. 2-0.
Now the U's had to find some real urgency in their game for the first time today, and remarkably, within ninety seconds they had reduced the deficit. A sloppy crossfield ball from Nicholls was seized upon by Willmott, whipping it off Murray's toes, advancing on goal and seeing his excellent shot palmed into the air by Pilkington, but Crow was following up and he was perfectly placed to head home into the empty net. 2-1!
Within a minute the drama had heightened again. Reason dribbled into the box, Murray challenged and appeared to make contact with first the ball and then the player, but the ref generously awarded a penalty. Holroyd stepped up but seemed to be put off by Pilkington's jumping sideways back and forth along the line, and he tapped a feeble spot-kick straight at the keeper for his first ever penalty miss for United.
Still United took the game to their hosts, but they were almost caught on the break again on 85 when Nicholls saw his shot deflected over the bar by Reason. Nervy Luton then introduced an extra defender, Jake Howells, for Newton as the U's continued to press, now looking better balanced with two proper wingers on the flanks.
On 87 Willmott cut inside but blazed disappointingly over with his left foot, and with three added minutes indicated and the roar from the crowd at fever pitch, there was still time for one final act in this late-blossoming drama.
United were awarded a free-kick near halfway, Carden loaded it into the packed box, and as George Pilkington rose to meet it, the ball skidded off the top of his head, past his bewildered namesake in goal and appeared to be going straight in until it cannoned agonisingly off the inside of the post and spun across goal, just evading the inrushing Holroyd.
Just past the far post Crow arrived and some neat footwork drew a clumsy foul from Asafu-Adjaye: stonewall penalty. In an atmosphere of near hysteria, Crow coolly rose to the occasion by stepping up to slot the spot-kick neatly into the corner to leave Pilkington helpless: 2-2!
There was hardly any time left for further action, which was just as well for Luton as they were mentally on the ropes and tails-up United might well have sneaked a winner given a few more minutes. So honour was satisfied, and the U's faithful rose to acclaim an epic comeback and a draw that felt like a victory.
In truth United had not played well, with no penetration, for most of the match. But the last quarter of an hour had at least engendered some hope and proved that there is some spirit in this team that needs to be encouraged and nurtured if they are to build on this hard-won point and progress as we hope they can. And we won't have a police escort on our journey from now on.
Statto Corner
United have never won at Luton in a league game in eight attempts. Their first meeting in September 1978 drew the largest attendance ever for this fixture, 10,801, and the U's gained a 1-1 draw with an Alan Biley penalty. Since then they have drawn another four and lost three, all of course in the Football League before this season.
In the cups, however, United have a 100% winning record at Kenilworth Road. They triumphed 1-0 in the Coca-Coca (League) Cup in August 1993, completing a 2-0 aggregate victory with both goals scored by Steve Claridge. And in the LDV Vans Trophy in December 2002, the U's won 2-1 with a 112th minute golden goal by Luke Guttridge.
Today's attendance of 7,458 was the largest at a regular league match involving United since 8,664 came to the Vetch Field to see them lose 3-0 to Swansea City on 2nd April 2005. Goals came from Lee Trundle (2) and Andy Robinson.
United last came back from two down on 15th August this year, recovering from two Chester goals in the first nineteen minutes to win 4-2 with the help of a Chris Holroyd hat-trick.
Danny Crow is the second U's substitute to score two goals in a match this season. The first was Sam Ives, in the 7-0 hammering of Forest Green at the Abbey on 5th September.
Chris Holroyd recorded his first U's penalty miss today after seven previous successes. Only Steve Massey, in 1985-86, has scored as many spot-kicks as that without ever missing. Danny Crow now has two out of two.
The last United man to miss a penalty was Courtney Pitt at Droylsden on 5th April 2008. After that fifteen spot-kicks were successfully converted before Holroyd's miss, seven by Holroyd himself, four by Lee McEvilly, three by Scott Rendell and one by Danny Crow.
Player Ratings
Potter 7. Nothing he could do about either goal, otherwise solid.
McAuley 6. More good experience, just needs to work on his concentration and tighten up on his covering of players running at him.
Tonkin 7. Assured game apart from the rash tackle which cost him a booking.
Saah 7. A tower of strength throughout.
Hatswell 7. More dogged than a hyperactive St Bernard.
Parkinson 6. Disappointingly anonymous most of the time, and drifts inside far too often to be any use as a wide man.
Carden 7. Never stopped working for the team.
Reason 7. Energetic, although passing was somewhat variable at times.
Willmott 6. Not really suited to playing on the left, and his shooting was wild to put it mildly, and far more effective on the right in the last quarter of an hour.
Phillips 6. Always available and it was not his fault that the service he 'received' was so intermittent, and often downright poor.
Holroyd 6. Also toiled without much of a supply line, and will be unhappy with that penalty miss.
Crow 8. Supersub.
Pitt 6. Competent fill-in on the left.
Match Summary
After eighty drab and rather aimless minutes, United at last exploded into life to smash'n'grab an unlikely draw from the jaws of defeat. I would advise starting to play a little earlier next time.
Man of the Match
Danny Crow. The Fen Tevez at last showed he does know where the goal is with a poacher's strike and the coolest of under-pressure penalties to snatch a draw from off the bench. More of the same, please.
Ref Watch
Naylor 6. Could not argue with most of the bookings, but his leniency towards Gnakpa was inexplicable.
Out of the Mouths of Babes
"I took my Ipswich scarf along to keep me warm. A policeman walked by and said, 'You must not support Ipswich or you will be arrested'." (Peter Doe)
Soundtrack of the Day
Ash 'Joy Kicks Darkness'
Parky's Pick of the Pops
Andy Parkinson lends an ear to the Kenilworth Road sounds. "All right, lads and lasses? I'm a child of the Eighties, me, and when I was warming up it was like I was back playing with me Rubik's Cube again with some of the songs I grew up with like 'Come On Eileen,' 'Pass The Dutchie,' 'Mama Used To Say' and 'Wouldn't It Be Good.' I'd have to say, though, that apart from Dexys they didn't sound as good as they did at the time, like!
"After some heavy rock from Free - that Paul Rodgers can't half sing, eh? - it was back to the present then with Razorlight, U2, Calvin Harrris, the Veronicas and La Roux, all dead catchy, and I do have a soft spot for that Empire Of The Sun song even if they do dress like a New Romantic's bad dream! PPP verdict: 8/10 for the 80s memories, even if I never did solve that ruddy Rubik's Cube!"
Andrew Bennett
Andrew's previous match reports
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