Bloomfield pleased that Hatters showed the ‘attacking intent’ he asked for against Latics
Bloomfield pleased that Hatters showed the ‘attacking intent’ he asked for against Latics.
Town return to winning ways at Kenilworth Road.
Luton manager Matt Bloomfield was pleased that his players were able to demonstrate more of the ‘attacking intent’ he is trying to instill in them during last night’s 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic at Kenilworth Road.
After only five shots on target in the first three league games of the season, and a 2-1 defeat at Bradford City on Saturday in which they didn’t seriously threaten until the final 15 minutes, Town opened the scoring with just nine minutes on the clock, with George Saville volleying home Liam Walsh’s left wing cross for his first goal for the club.
Town also had Jordan Clark’s close range effort saved by home stopper Sam Tickle in the first half, as after the break, the Wigan keeper repelled two fierce Milli Alli drives from range, while substitute Lasse Nordas also hit the base of the post’ Will Aimson making a vital goal-line clearance as well to deny the Norwegian his maiden goal in a Luton shirt.
It meant the Hatters, who were able to play Cohen Bramall and Gideon Kodua as genuine wingbacks and go with two upfront, Alli alongside Jerry Yates in the first half, Nordas taking over in the second, as Alli dropped into the left wingback role, had just under 65 percent possession, with 13 shots, four of which were on target.
Bloomfield said afterwards, “It’s really important that we showed more attacking intent, as well as the win.”
“We went over it in great detail with the boys yesterday; they’re a fantastic group, genuinely honest, honest with themselves, and a genuine pleasure to work with.
We were all extremely disappointed after Saturday’s game, and rightfully so, so I felt it was critical that we demonstrated a lot more attacking intent in front of the lights at home. We felt like we could push Milli slightly higher.
George has some attacking instincts; he’s used them in the past; now he plays slightly deeper, so he doesn’t get as many opportunities.” Despite Luton’s improved efforts in the final third, victory was by no means all their own.
Wigan had three decent attempts of their own in the first half, and Town’s summer signing Josh Keeley had to make smart saves from Paul Mullin and Callum Wright, his best when palming away Jason Kerr’s attempt, while Aimson was denied by the woodwork twice himself.
They all came in a first half that was far more open than the Hatters would have preferred, but they were able to snuff out the visitors’ threats after the break until the final minute of stoppage time, when Tickle went forward for a corner, putting his effort wide of the target with what proved to be the final kick of the game.
Bloomfield went on to say, “I just felt like the biggest threat against us in the first half was giveaways and transitional moments, which almost cost us a couple of times.”
We had more possession in the second half but did not score a second or third. We hit the post, had one cleared off the line, Milli had a couple of long-range shots and got into the box a few times but couldn’t find the right moment.
I believe we needed to end the game at levels two and three to prevent what almost happened at the end, so there is still plenty for us to work on.
“It’s difficult, isn’t it, because when you’re up 1-0, you don’t want to sit back and watch the game end; you want to score the second and third goals.
We’ve talked a lot with the boys over the last 24 to 48 hours about trying to get goals at home.
We want to be that team. I didn’t think it was the shape; rather, it was the giveaways that made us more open to transitional moments, which they did quite well at.
“We wanted to commit and put some bodies forward, which we did, but you run the risk of being slightly open defensively, so we have to strike a balance.
It’s just a shame we didn’t have enough time to end the game and calm everyone down. At 1-0, you are only one moment away from conceding, which I am glad did not happen because I believe it would have been unjust.
We felt really confident in our shape and our second-half performance, but it would have been nice to get the second.”
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