Luton Town v Mansfield Town - Blue Square Premier

Eric 'Lutonious' Morecambe

Tuesday 11th August 2009, Blue Square Premier League
Kenilworth Road, Luton

Luton Town (1) 4
Mansfield Town (1) 1

Admission £18 Programme £3 Attendance 7295 (inc. 542 from Mansfield)

Note* It is 'forbidden' to take actual match photographs from the stands at Luton, probably just as well given how many pillars there are blocking the view in the visitors end.

£18 for a restricted view seat and £3 for a programme, welcome to the 'relatively inexpensive' world of Non League Football.

"It's going to be intriguing to see how they adapt to their new environs." Said I of Luton Town shortly before heading south down the M1.
On tonight's showing I'd say they are adapting very well and if they can maintain this level of performance they won't be far away from going straight back up to the Football League at the end of the season.

Probably already against the run of play, Mansfield took the lead on 18 minutes, the ball was flicked on into the danger zone from a left wing free kick and Garner made no mistake from close range.
Luton had plenty of chances, most of them off target long range efforts, but in spite of them having the lions share of the game, they still hadn't found a way through in the first half, until the 38th minute anyway, then things changed ... Marriott in the Stags goal should really have held onto a catchable cross but didn't and from the resultant corner the ball was flicked across the face of goal and George Pilkington was at the back post to clinically finish. Game on!

Half Time 1-1 .... to Luton! ;-)

Only a blinkered and biased big fibber could deny that Luton had dominated the first half, even though the Stags looked threatening on the counter attack.
The second half carried on pretty much in the same vein.
I doubt if Mansfield Town will face opposition as good as Luton were tonight again this season.

On 66 minutes Luton were in front, it had been coming for a while now.
Once again the chance came from a corner and was hit home, once again, by George Pilkington, from 12 yards out.

View from the rear of the visitors end, where the back gardens on Oak Road and entrance staircases into the stand merge together is an aesthetically beautiful way.

The Stags weathered a Luton storm and it was still on the cards that despite being under the cosh for long spells, if they could just hold out a bit longer, there was a slim chance they might nick an equaliser. But that hope was dashed after 81 minutes when Hall crossed the ball for Newton at the far post but Kyle Perry managed to intercept the cross and head the ball powerfully ... into his own net.
3-1, it was now all over now bar the shouting.

A minute later, Perry, still looking gutted about his 'goal', was brought down by Callum Reynolds. It was Reynold's second booking and off he went. "Cheerio! Cheerio! Cheerio!"

Another minute later Asa Hall scored for Luton, but the linesman flagged for offside and the Referee disallowed that one (did you see what I did there? People are wont to sat 'the Linesman disallowed the goal' when in fact it is always the Referee who makes the final decision. Pedantic bugger aren't I?)

Maybe by ruling out the fourth goal, the Referee had spared Mansfield any further woes? Err, not quite!

On 87 minutes Gardner fouled Murray and the Referee decided it warranted a straight red card, so it was now a ten aside game.
To alleviate any confusion here, please note, the Stags fielded a Garner and a Gardner tonight ... on this occasion it isn't my lousy spelling and diction that is to blame ... for a change.

In the very last minute Perry found himself in his own box again ... and this time he upended Claude Gnapka to top off a night he'll want to forget in a hurry.
Craddock belted the penalty kick home and within moments the final whistle sounded and we could all shuffle off and endure three into one lane sections and 50mph speed restrictions (and average speed cameras) on the M1 Northbound home.

Luton miscellanea (space filling bit):
There are people who think Lorraine Chase made the ghastly pop record 'Luton Airport' (based on her 'career' launching catchphrase) but it wasn't her, it was a group named Cats UK.
Contrary to rumours that the lead singer from Sweet (Brian Connolly) had a sex change and tried relaunching his career as the Cats UK singer ... he didn't!
It isn't true, it's just a vicious lie, so lets nip that in the bud now.