As we approach the second leg of our playoff semi final against The Hatters we spoke to ‘Luton Town Exile’ for a preview of tonight’s massive game.
So, 2-1 in the first leg, how are you feeling heading into the match at Kenilworth Road?
We are feeling confident that we can get the result we need to get to Wembley. Saturday was only our second defeat in 21 Championship games, the last one being to Burnley. Even that defeat was harsh on us. We played very well that day but a 'harsh' handball penalty beat us in the end. We can go toe to toe with the best in the league. We didn't show our best on Saturday and a lot of fans were disappointed/concerned about the way we played, particularly second half. We gave the ball away a lot, committed a lot of fouls, didn't get our wing backs forward enough, and were generally not ourselves. Our best player, Nakamba, was very out of sorts. I actually think the Peterborough Sheffield Wednesday result the day before spooked us. It looked like we were trying to avoid getting blown away first leg. We know we have what it takes to win though and the management and players seem very very confident that Tuesday will be a different game altogether. We'll take that
Do you think Luton are fortunate to not be 3-1 down after quite a dominating second half from Sunderland?
We do. We could easily have lost the game by more and the gut feeling is we probably got away with one at your place. We could and should have been down to ten men and while our manager was right when he said that you didn't cut us open at will or often at all, the way that second half went no-one at this end would have been surprised if 3-1 had been the final score. So, yes, we probably were a bit fortunate.
Zero wins out in the last seven games in the EFL Playoffs for Luton, why is that? Pressure of being on the big stage or are opponents just getting the better of you?
Thanks for reminding us about that! We actually think we've been very very unlucky in playoff situations in the past. That probably sounds slightly farfetched but we'd argue that it’s true. We lost a playoff pre-non league when we were probably over-achieving. We lost a tight PO semi to York in our first year of non-league (a cup final for them!) and then lost two non-league PO finals, one on penalties (our centre-forward fluffed a panenka in the shoot out) and one to an offside winner. You think Sunderland has suffered recently and you probably have but those two final defeats were desperate. We then threw a 2-0 L2 PO semi first leg lead away to Blackpool a few years back (a former striker of ours scored a hat trick to beat us 3-2) and then contrived to let a 3-1 lead slip in the home leg conceding a comical last second own goal to draw 3-3 and go out. You couldn't make this stuff up. We were very unlucky last year in the Championship playoffs against Huddersfield and should have gone through. Admittedly we didn't win the home leg (1-1) but we dominated the second leg at their place, missed several very good chances and then lost to a slightly fortuitous far post toe poke. So, I don't think we've been overawed or been beaten by the pressure of the situation in those previous PO appearances. We've been naive and have made mistakes at times but overall we have not had the rub of the green. Hopefully, things might even themselves out a bit this year.
It’s the third time this season Luton have gone one up against us and failed to keep their lead intact. What needs to be done on Tuesday for you guys to keep the Sunderland forwards quiet?
It didn't go unnoticed that we let a lead slip on Saturday! We actually 'lost' 27 points from winning positions over the course of this season in the Championship ('30' if you count Saturday). That's an amazing statistic when you think about it. I think part of the reason for that is a failure to capitalise in games and get the second goal and a subsequent dropping off of our press later in the game. It remains a concern primarily because we've done it so often. In terms of keeping your forward players quiet, I think there is a genuine belief that you won't get as much room at our place as you did on Saturday and that will make things easier for us to keep you in check. We need to be touch tight all night to Clarke, Diallo, and Roberts in particular and not give them an inch. We have the players to do that on the night. We also need to dominate central midfielder better than we did on Saturday and bypass him and Pritchard by using our wingbacks more (we didn't utilise them Saturday because we were too scared to allow ourselves to be opened up). We need to pin Roberts in using our wing backs. The one thing we are afraid of is the ball over the top or through our back three/wingbacks. We are prone to getting cut open in that way occasionally. That is our biggest fear.
How well do you think Sunderland managed the height discrepancy? Will it overpower us on Tuesday?
We think you did well on Saturday at the back. We like O'Nien as a warrior and he did well. What we would say, however, is that, on Saturday, we didn't use our front two anywhere near as often as we usually do or in the way we normally do. They had virtually nothing to play with. In addition we only hit 2 or 3 diagonals into the full back positions for Morris and Adebayo to go and compete for/win. We normally do that 20 times a game and we get a lot of possession and a lot of territory in opponents' final thirds by doing that. I think tomorrow will see us really using the front two a lot more in this way and that will be your biggest test height wise.
What can we expect from Luton on Tuesday?
You can expect us to really go for it in the first 30-35 minutes. We will press you hard and high and will really test you. We will put it forward whenever we can and we will utilise Doughty and Drameh as much as possible down the outside and will try to get behind you. Roberts will be tested defensively if he plays left wing back again. Morris and Adebayo will make your back two or back three's lives a misery. We have swept teams away like this before (we beat Coventry 5-0 last year and went 3 up against Swansea in half an hour, only to draw 3-3! We haven't done that recently, though. We have players that were beaten at this stage last year and (like you) players who will put it all on the line for the prize on offer. It certainly won't be for the faint-hearted.
Time for your second leg prediction, what will the score be and who will get the goals, if any?
We think you'll score so we will have to score two or three to go through. We are capable of doing that. We think we'll win 3-1 in normal time. If you score first, the mountain will be much higher but we think we have what it takes to prevail. Morris will score a couple and Adebayo will get the other. Clarke or Diallo will score for you.
It’s half time in the other play off fixture too, with Boro and Coventry drawing 0-0 at the Coventry Building Society Arena. Who do you think will go through to the final?
That is a very tough one to call and we think the game will be very tight. Both sides have the ability to score goals from more than a couple of sources and both sides have very talented footballers in the middle of the park. If Howson plays for Boro, they will have more of a chance. Based on Sunday's game, Boro will get more chances against Coventry's defence than Coventry will against Boro's. On that basis, we think Boro will prevail, particularly bearing in mind Akpom's form. Boro to win 2-1 on the day.
