Lacklustre Harriers fail to get out of gear

In and around the stadium it appeared a lot busier than usual. Perhaps this had something to do with it being a weekend full of international fixtures. Whatever the case it made for a terrific atmosphere. People were still queuing outside the ticket office at 2:45pm.

I never did find out if that small army of Luton fans made it to the match on time or not but around another 900 Hatters supporters certainly did. I haven’t seen the South stand that populated for a long time. The snack bar at that end of the ground must have done some good business!

In order to get a good vantage point for the game I took my seat high up in the Cowshed. As the two teams were emerging from the tunnel a thought suddenly struck me, what happened to the ‘Thunderbirds’ sound track that used to accompany the players as they made their way out onto the pitch? I miss the novelty ‘Five, four, three, two, one..’ countdown.

In the build up to the game, Harriers were dealt a big blow with the news that Danny Lewis faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after a scan revealed significant damage to the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Dean Lyness again deputised between the sticks following his impressive performance against Kettering last week.

Unfortunately, the injury theme continued to run throughout the match as Steve Burr was forced to replace both central defender Luke Jones and skipper Mike Williams during the first-half.

Williams had visibly been struggling with a hip problem in the early stages and it came to a head when Amari Morgan-Smith got the better of him on the left before crossing to Robbie Willmott who tapped into the empty net.

It was a first period in which little went right for the home side. The aptly named James Dance bore most of the brunt from the Harriers faithful when he took a ‘tumble’ on the halfway line during the opening exchanges. After losing the ball, Dance fell to the floor and then performed what can only be described as a pirouette, something I’m sure the judges on Strictly Come Dancing would have been impressed by.

However, this did little to disguise a lacklustre first-half display from the Harriers who were fortunate to be only one goal down at the interval.

The introduction of Marc Williams on the hour mark provided Burr’s men with a little more spark as they went in search of an equaliser although clear-cut chances were few and far between. Mark Tyler in goal for the Hatters was barely called upon to make a save.

As the game wore on it became increasingly scrappy. At times it resembled something more like a tennis match with the ball spending the majority of the time going back and forth in the air.

The killer blow came with just under ten minutes to go when Morgan-Smith again crossed for Willmott who rose unmarked to head home his and Luton’s second goal.

Harriers did eventually make an impression on the scoreboard but it was too little, too late. Tom Sharpe converted from close range with what was ironically their first real shot on target in the whole match.

It was one of those performances that needs to be forgotten quickly. Harriers never really got out of first gear against a well-organised Luton side who showed more desire than their counterparts in every department. The old gentleman next to me summed it up when he commented that he couldn’t remember a Harriers player being first to the second ball all match. I have to say I agreed with him.

Let’s hope the injuries to Jones and Mike Williams are not too serious. One look at the squad lists on the back of the match day programme on Saturday showed a massive difference between the two clubs. Harriers had 24 players in their squad whilst Luton had a total of 35.

Burr has already ruled them both out of Tuesday evening’s encounter with AFC Telford but the performances of Michael Briscoe and Scott Phelan proved themselves as more than adequate deputies. Callum Gittings also did well filling in at left-back.

All eyes now turn to the local derby in midweek for what is sure to be an enthralling match. Three-points would do very nicely.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here