Academy

Under-18s defeated by Bromley

Despite taking the lead inside the first minute the Town youngsters go down to the Ravens

Joe Deeney

The Town Under-18s slipped to their first defeat in the Youth Alliance since the opening day after going 2-1 down against Bromley on Saturday morning.

Joe Deeney’s side got off to the perfect start by going ahead after just 34 seconds. Matthew Takawira sped down the right flank and unselfishly cut the ball back for Tate Xavier-Jones to finish superbly from the edge of the box.

Ahead, the Hatters went on to dominate, creating several chances and winning the ball high up the pitch.

However, for all their dominance, the Town youngsters could not punish Bromley and a minute before half-time the visitors were level when their centre-half nodded home following a corner.

Bromley almost snatched the lead in first-half stoppage time but they did find the net just four minutes after the restart. After conceding possession high up the pitch the Town were backpedalling as the host attacked. Charlie Booth made an excellent save to deny one effort but the hosts regained the ball and Booth could do nothing about an excellent strike.

It was all the Town after that but the home side defended superbly to keep the Hatters at bay as they chased an equaliser.

Despite the pressure, Deeney’s side could not find a way through the Bromley backline and the Ravens held on to secure all three points.

A frustrated Deeney told lutontown.co.uk afterwards: “We couldn’t have got off to a better start but after not taking our chances you always felt, watching from the sidelines, that we were going to get punished and so it proved.

“Credit to Bromley, they put bodies on the line and defended for their lives at times but we couldn’t find an equaliser.

“My message to the lads afterwards was that the basics need to be outstanding. For large parts of the game we did that really well: our ball speed, minimum touches, forward progress, closing down, one-versus-ones were all excellent. If anything I think the lads felt the game had become too easy.

“That meant we allowed Bromley back in the match and they managed the game well to take the points.

“There’s loads of lessons for our players and hopefully they’ve been humbled a bit by that. All the stats – regains, chances – pointed to a good performance but, and I know it’s a cliché, it’s what happens in both boxes that matters the most and where games are decided. Bromley did that and we didn’t.

“There were positives but, when you lose, it’s important to focus on the areas in which we need to improve.”

Next up for the Hatters Under-18s in the Youth Alliance in a home fixture against Gillingham at The Brache on 9th November (kick-off 10.30am).

Town: Booth, Harvey, Fox, Chigozie, Emery, Roberts-Edema, Ioannides, Stitt, Takawira, Trustram, Xavier-Jones.

Subs: Coyne, Shepherd, Asamoah, Odegah, Hincapie-Alfonso.

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