PRICELESS CAMERON A WORK OF ART!
CAMERON McGeehan yet again showed his worth to Luton Town manager Nathan Jones as the freescoring midfielder struck the decisive goal in his side’s win over Barnet.
The Hatters had only won one of their previous six home games in the league and needed a pick-me-up after their disappointing defeat against Colchester on Boxing Day.
McGeehan’s 11th goal of the season went a long way towards lifting the mood at Kenilworth Road, as Town remained seven points off an automatic promotion place and it was a finish that would have alerted any potential suitors.
Jones said: “The thing is, if we’re not looking to sell then the price tag’s irrelevant – the Mona Lisa is priceless, you can put whatever price tag you want on the Mona Lisa but no-one is ever going to sell it.
“If there are people we don’t want to sell, it’s irrelevant.
“Cameron enjoys being here, he’s in a good working environment, he’s very career-driven and he knows that, eventually, he’ll end up where he wants to end up, but we hope that’s with Luton.”
On Luton’s improved performance, Jones added: “We wanted less possession, more penetration, playing in their half a little bit more, so we tried to penetrate quicker than we normally do.” Defender Alan Sheehan produced a moment of brilliance to open the scoring for Luton after 31 minutes by bending a free-kick from 25 yards right in the top corner.
There was controversy in Barnet’s equaliser, as Jake Taylor was given time to cross and Bira Dembele, who looked suspiciously offside, headed the ball home from close range.
The Bees then survived a goalmouth scramble just before half-time, as Glen Rea had a header cleared off the line before Jamie Stephens saved bravely from Danny Hylton.
But the Hatters were back in front four minutes after the restart when McGeehan hooked in for an excellent finish after Sheehan’s free-kick was cleared his way.
Soon it was 3-1, as Alex Gilliead fired a terrific low shot into the bottom corner for his first league goal for Luton since arriving on loan from Newcastle.
And Barnet interim boss Rossi Eames had to try and find the positives.
“The performance was good in places, but the way we’ve played at certain times, that game wasn’t up to our usual standards and there is room for improvements on things,” he said.
“We’ve got to get up again and as coach I’ve got to take full accountability of it and work to improve.
“We could have started the second half a lot better, I thought. The second half is what we’ve got to look at and rectify.
“They’re [three] great finishes and Luton have got some fantastic players, but in the phases leading up the goals, I think we can do better.”