HATTERS RUN SO CLOSE TO A CRASH
LUTON stayed top of the table by earning a point at Crawley, but their four-match winning run could have ended in a defeat which would have turned the formbook upside down.
For Crawley were looking to end their own run of four successive home losses and in achieving that aim they earned a standing ovation from the crowd which booed them off the Broadfield pitch in midweek after they lost to Chesterfield.
And, after making team changes, especially the recall of dominant centre-half Josh Yorwerth, Crawley manager Harry Kewell thought his players might have pocketed all three points.
“We needed to stop the rot at home,” he said. “We all, the players an the staff, discussed how to do it and everyone could see that we are not pushovers.
“The way we played out there, I felt we dominated the game, put in a really good performance and it was just a shame that we couldn’t grab a goal.”
Crawley’s best attempt was a secondhalf lob from striker Panutche Camara, after he spotted Marek Stech off his line, but it just failed to dip under the bar.
And the Portguese speaker from Guinea -Bissau earned plaudits from Kewell for the way he regularly troubled the Luton defence in counter attacks when he was the only player left up field.
“He was excellent,” said Kewell. “It was a big ask of him to take on Luton like that, but he was fearless and aggressive and the only thing he lacked was a goal. He was definitely my man of the match.”
Kewell did accept that Luton had created the best chance of the first half, only for Glenn Morris to race off his line and block the free running Jack Stacey’s shot.
And as half-time approached and Luton earned their first corner, Dan Potts was only just off target with a far post header.
The game was hugely competitive in midfield and referee Trevor Kettle did book five players, four of them from Luton, though none of the offences could be described as dangerous.
And the goalless draw that had looked on the cards all afternoon might have been avoided in the 84th minute.
But Luton sub Elliott Lee’s hammered left-foot shot hit a post, and their manager Nathan Jones accepted that Crawley deserved their point.
He said :“I am happy that the draw has kept us on top of the table but it was different game. It was a fair and even game and it was a fair result.
“We don’t have a God given right to win every game we play and Crawley were a different side than they have been recently.”
Jones was however, disappointed with the Broadfield pitch which he said cramped his team’s usual free running style: “The grass here was as long as an allotment.
“I don’t know why but it wasn’t condusive to the way we normally play.”