Hooray for Henry’s first Hatters start
LTFC v Hendon Charlie Henry
PASS and move Luton were simply too good for Kidderminster on Tuesday night according to returning Town star Charlie Henry, writes Mark Wood.
The 25-year-old midfielder was making his first start for the Hatters after a freak ligament injury had sidelined him for over a year.
The former Newport County winger was a revelation in central midfield as Town triumphed 2-1 to progress into the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy.
Buzzing Henry said: “When we got hold of the ball I didn’t think they could live with us when we started passing and moving.
“The conditions weren’t too good, the pitch wasn’t great, it’s freezing cold. It’s one of them we could have turned up and we could half put it to the back of our minds and not tried as hard.
“But we gave a real professional performance and worked our socks off.”
It marked a remarkable turnaround for Henry who feared his career could have been over after he sustained the injury right after signing for the Hatters in November 2010.
He said: “Being out for over a year, it was touch and go I might have to hang my boots up, it was such a bad injury. But I’ve come back and I’ve come back stronger, willing to prove a point.
“I owe the club and the fans, because they brought me into the club, and I just want to pay them back with 110 per cent workrate and hopefully to get them promoted.
A two-month loan spell at League Two Aldershot has aided Henry’s recovery and he’s just enjoying the chance to finally turn out for Luton.
He said: “It’s great to be back playing for Luton. I went on loan for two months and it’s great to be back playing.
“I enjoyed it. The first few games I was on the bench and coming on but I started the last three and did really well.
“I feel my fitness is back up and I’m just raring to go. Not playing for a year almost killed me, but I’m back into the swing of things and I just want to play football. I want to get my head down and work hard.”
There was a worrying moment when Henry picked up a knock in the first half, but he played through the pain and confirmed there was nothing to worry about.
He said: “The injury’s been fine. I got a kick in the first half and I’ve got a big bruise, but that was fine and I played through it.
“It didn’t half hurt. But I wanted to play on. I had a couple of pain killers at half time and carried on.
“It’s stiffened up now but it will be fine, it’s just a knock.”
He’s hoping that both the supporters and his boss were impressed by his display in the middle of the park, despite missing a couple of great opportunities to notch his first Town goal.
Henry added: “The gaffer said he thinks I will do well in there. Not a free role, but me and JP (Kissock) just to get on the ball.
“I thought we did that, I felt I worked hard and got on the ball quite a lot. The front three, they started off the hard work and we worked all over the pitch.
“Hopefully they (the supporters) might have been a bit impressed.
“It was a hard-fought victory, a good professional performance from the lads.
They had a few chances but we could have had more.
“I had a couple of chances. A good one in the first half, a good one in the second half, but hopefully it (a goal) will come.
“Because it’s so cold out there, the ball seemed as if it was light, but it was rock solid and you couldn’t catch hold of the ball well.
“The main result was that we won and are in the next round.
“It would have been nice to get on the scoresheet but it was a good result.”
For all the latest Luton Town FC news, reports, stats, player profiles, live match updates, prediction table and a complete fixture list, visit our Hatters Microsite.
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Weather for Bedford
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
