HATTERS KEEP THEIR HEADS AND REEL IN ROVERS
Jones delight after double blow
NATHAN JONES praised his Luton side after they came back from the double blow of losing captain Scott Cuthbert to a neck injury and conceding a goal to beat Doncaster.
Play was suspended for nearly ten minutes before Cuthbert was carried off. The Luton skipper suffered the injury in failing to clear a cross that led to his Doncaster Rovers counterpart James Coppinger’s opener.
“Hopefully it’s not as bad as we think,” said Jones. “Obviously with a neck injury you have to take some precaution. They have to keep you straight and immobilised.
“That’s why it took a little bit of time, so I hope it looks worse than it was and we can get some news after his visit in the hospital.”
Jones felt his team were the better side overall despite Danny Hylton’s sending off, the striker shown a second yellow card for throwing an object off the pitch in frustration deep into injury-time.
“It’s a lack of discipline, but I don’t want to make a big deal of it because he’s been in credit with his performance and his attitude and his goals,” said Jones.
“It is a big game and a big result for us. They’ve got some big players but we showed good character after the setbacks of conceding a goal and losing our captain. We deserved to get the victory and we
have set ourselves on the right track for the rest of the season.”
Doncaster Rovers boss Darren Ferguson was left to rue missed chances as his side lost the lead despite a dominant performance in the opening 30 minutes.
Coppinger put them in front minutes after having another goal disallowed for offside, but Doncaster’s performance dipped and the game slipped away from them.
“I am disappointed because we were just not ruthless enough,” said Ferguson. “They were gone if we had got our second goal. After two minutes we should’ve been two up. “We should have been out of sight after 30 minutes and that’s what has disappointed me. We should’ve turned the screw but we didn’t. “Credit to Luton, but their goals were poor. We haven’t been battered by a better team and we must show more ruthlessness.” Ferguson conceded the long break in play for Cuthbert’s injury was a frustrating but piv- otal part in the game. “It seemed an eternity at a time when we were in complete control,” he said. “The break helped them a lot more than it did us.”
Doncaster missed scoring one of the quickest goals of the season when John Marquis’ header met Frazer Richardson’s cross but missed the open goal inside the first minute.
A minute later, Luton’s defence still had not woken up and were fortunate when Andy Williams sent a header over the bar.
Coppinger finally gave Rovers the lead when Scott Cuthbert’s header landed in the midfielder’s path and he drobve it home.
After the break for Cuthbert’s injury, fortune turned Luton’s way when Olly Lee’s low driven cross found Cameron McGeehan to give the hosts the equaliser.
And the Hatters got the lead after some brilliant play in midfield from McGeehan found Hylton, whose back-heel split open the defence and allowed Jack Marriott to slot home past the keeper just before half-time.
Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu’s performance earned his side a penalty with ten minutes left on the clock after a dazzling run past the defence, and gave McGeehan the chance to score his second of the game from the spot.