‘SILLY’ COLLINS SEES RED AS LEADERS FLUFF HUGE CHANCE
LUTON boss Nathan Jones was left frustrated by referee John Brooks and his striker James Collins after seeing his side reduced to ten men then pegged back at Cambridge.
A pulsating derby match at the Abbey Stadium appeared to be going Luton’s way when Collins put the Hatters in front from close range in the first half.
But the striker picked up two bookings in quick succession, the first for deliberate handball and the second for protesting a U’s corner that should have been a goal-kick.
This gave the home side a lift, and sub Jabo Ibehre headed in the equaliser with eight minutes left.
“James was silly getting the first booking, and when you’re on a yellow you don’t get involved in stuff like that,” said Jones.
“I felt the referee could have handled it better but James has gone in with his arms open and apparently if you do that it’s a booking.
“This is a big game and a lot of passion goes into it. The referee made a poor decision, and I felt he could have controlled things better afterwards.
“It changed the game because then it was backs to the wall for us, whereas before we were in charge and cruising. We had a chance to put three points on the board with no-one else playing, and it’s a massive missed opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Cambridge interim boss Joe Dunne was happy with his side’s efforts.
“It was a really good derby with a bit of everything,” he said. “We were unlucky not to nick it at the end, but on the whole balance of play it was probably a fair result.
“We had a dodgy spell 20 minutes in, and the goal came in a good period for them. But we stayed in the game at that point, which was crucial, and it worked in the end.
“Sometimes when teams go down to ten men it’s difficult, but we approached it the right way, used the width and got a reward.”
Cambridge raced out of the blocks, dominating the opening quarter but only having a Gary Deegan effort from 20 yards that
trundled through to Marek Stech to show for their efforts.
The league leaders gradually grew into the game though, especially after the introduction of Luke Gambin, who made an impact on the left after replacing the injured Lawson D’Ath.
It was a positive run from Gambin that created a chance for Olly Lee, with the midfielder racing in to meet a low cutback but seeing his shot clip the post.
But the travelling support were celebrating the opening goal 60 seconds later when Danny Hylton found space 25 yards out, and though his powerful effort was pushed away by David Forde, Collins followed up to score from a narrow angle.
Top-scorer Hylton, making his first start in six weeks following injury, came close to a second when his curling effort from outside the box flew just wide, before on the stroke of half-time Uche Ikpeazu powered down the left, fending off three challenges and pulling the ball back for Jevani Brown, whose shot was bravely blocked by Dan Potts.
After the restart it took a great last-ditch block from Deegan to foil ex-Cambridge man Luke Berry, and Potts should have done better when he headed wide from an Alan Sheehan free-kick.
But the momentum turned after the sending off and Ibehre’s backpost header from a delicious Brad Halliday cross was just reward for a spell of Cambridge pressure.
Ibehre could have had a second moments later after Harrison Dunk’s buccaneering run down the left but he saw his effort blocked by Stech, and Brown and Ikpeazu were unable to force in the rebound.