Alex Lawless felt frustrated with the entertaining draw away to Billericay following the 3-3 draw which saw plenty of action in both boxes

In a game where the Hatters took the lead on three occasions, Lawless felt that his side could have done more to see out the game following a late goal from Samuel Hincapie-Alfonso.

Speaking after the full-time whistle, Lawless said: “It was frustrating, especially with the way the game finished, to go in front and not manage to see the game out right at the end is really disappointing. We had enough chances at the end to put it out of sight.”

Goals from Archie Shepherd and Dylan Stitt had put Town in front going into half-time, with Alfonso finding a third in the 75th minute which the young side were unable to defend before the final whistle.

On Stitt’s goal, the U21s boss insisted that the coaches on the training ground had nothing to do with the strike that put the Town up 2-1 just before half-time: “It’s nothing to do with us, it isn’t something we’ve worked on – over the years you suggest things but when you have an attacking player like Dylan, it is really pleasing for me to see someone with a bit of an idea.

“He has a bit of a cheeky thought process for things like that; he can see the wall is going to jump and he used his imagination to make a decision and that’s really pleasing in my mind from a development point of view."

Touching on goalkeeper Lucas Thomas, who saved heroically from the penalty spot but also faced challenges from the adverse weather on the artificial surface which resulted in the first two goals for the hosts, Lawless defended his keeper by stating: “It’s unlike Lucas, but from a coaching point of view, I have to look at how we’ve found ourselves in those situations. I have to look at why we allowed them to get through to Lucas in the first place, it is a tough one for him but he’ll bounce back from this rollercoaster.”

Words by: Liam Wilmot