Banton shows flashes of promise on his debut as Still loves to give youth a chance

Talented young Luton striker Zane Banton showed plenty of promise as he made his full Hatters debut as a late sub in Tuesday night’s fine 4-0 victory at Woking, writes Mark Wood.
Woking v Luton Town. Photos by  Liam Smith. wk 39.Woking v Luton Town. Photos by  Liam Smith. wk 39.
Woking v Luton Town. Photos by Liam Smith. wk 39.

Having just signed his first pro deal he was introduced for goalscorer Andre Gray and almost capped an amazing evening with a debut goal as he forced a fine save from Sam Beasant.

Boss John Still said: “We think a lot of Zane, it was a good opportunity for him to come on and nearly got a goal.

“As I always say, if I see young players that are bursting to progress I push them. We ended up on the pitch today with (Alex) Lacey, with (Andy) Parry, with Zane Banton, with JJ (O’Donnell), with (Mark) Cullen, add Andre Gray to that, young enthusiastic, ambitious players, I love it.”

The 17-year-old striker drew praise from two-goal forward Mark Cullen who asserted you have to get in the right positions to score goals.

He said: “Fair enough he might have missed the chance, but he got in the position, you’ve got to get in the positions to miss them and he’s a young kid and he’ll take a lot of confidence from just coming on in that game.

“Hopefully he can keep on performing the way he has been in the development games and keep pushing on and it’s good to see.”

It was a memorable night all-round as burgeoning young centre half Alex Lacey also scored his first goal for the club.

And while jokingly ‘devastated’ to no longer be the first team novice, Lacey believes it could become a day that lives long in the memory for many reasons.

He said: “I’m devastated (to no longer be the youngest)! I was saying to Zane, that he can remember his debut because it was the first goal that I’ve scored! But maybe I’ll remember it as Zane’s debut.

“He’s been doing really well and congrats to him for getting his pro deal and coming on and making his debut tonight.

“What a game to make your debut in, a 4-0 win away, it’s doesn’t really get much better than that. I’m very happy for him and very happy for myself!”

And experienced keeper Mark Tyler backed the youngster to have a bright future and hailed the next generation of stars coming through Luton’s ranks.

He added: “He’s going to be a fine young player, I see it day in, day out in training, he’s a great little finisher.

“He had a little chance and the keeper made a good save and hopefully he’ll get a few more minutes on the pitch.

“He’s with us all the time now in training, so he’s definitely one to watch.

“You see the likes of Charlie Smith and Arel Amu as well, the youth team’s great, Drives (Paul Driver) is producing some real young talent.

“Ben Barnes was with is today and he’s a great young keeper and we’ve got Craig (King) as well, so our youth team is looking rosy.”