Town boss thrilled after dominant play-off display

HATTERS boss Paul Buckle was left purring with his side’s performance as they produced a dominant display to defeat Wrexham 2-0 and earn a convincing play-off semi-final first leg lead last night, writes Mike Simmonds.

Wrexham had finished 17 points clear of Town, and had also won both league encounters, but unlike previous games, the Red Dragons were never allowed to settle and dictate play by a home side now full of confidence.

Buckle said: “ We did ever so well to play our football on that pitch, we tried to play our football on the floor.

“It’s not always easy when you’re playing against a team as direct as they are, to actually win it and then get it down and play and not be sucked into what they’re trying to do, but I thought we did that very well.”

After catching the Welsh side cold in the first half, Town had to keep their wits about them in the second period as Wrexham tried to fight back.

Led by skipper George Pilkington and Keith Keane though, Hatters produced a tremendous defensive display. Shots were blocked, crosses cleared as every single Luton player put their body on the line, ensuring Town kept their sixth successive clean sheet.

Buckle continued: “We were expecting them (Wrexham) to get a rocket at half time because I don’t think a team this season has done that to them.

“So we knew we’d have to withstand some sort of pressure. It came from the virtue of long balls which we knew and had prepared for.

“We stood up strong, and a sixth clean sheet against a team who are right at the top of the table is a tribute to (Mark) Tyler, the back four, and the midfield too.

“I think Robbie Willmott in the first 30 seconds, shutting their goalie down, really shows where we want to be.”

Hatters goals when they came were courtesy of some brilliant link-up play by strikers Stuart Fleetwood and Andre Gray.

For the first, Fleetwood twinkle toed his way past Neil Ashton on the byline before crossing for Gray to slam home his sixth in 10 games.

Buckle said: “We spoke about the quality of our attacks, we didn’t want the boys just to lump the ball in. We wanted them to try and work the ball.

“You don’t want anyone else in that position as Fleetwood is at his best in tight areas. He pushed it, went through, picked out Gray and it was a great finish. No nonsense and it really mirrored where we were in our play.”

Fleetwood’s goal soon afterwards came after a lovely ball from Alex Lawless, an instinctive backheel by Gray, before the forward raced clear to coolly beat the erratic Joslain Mayebi.

Buckle added: “It was a fantastic goal, a really good move. We practiced on not hopeful attacks, let’s try and sit in a little bit and when we break really mean it.

“We really went for their throats.”

The one slightly frustrating note for Town was that the tie could have been well and truly put to bed as they created a host of chances in the second half, but saw Robbie Willmott shoot straight at Mayebi from close range, while Nat Percival-Knight cleared off the line late on too.

Buckle added: “I don’t want to talk about disappointment. I don’t want to blame anyone for missing chances. I said to them, the main thing is creating them.

“We’ve created a lot of chances against a good side. We stood up to the challenge, played some great football, I’m very proud of the football we played and would have taken 2-0 before the game.”

To vote for the Luton News player of the season award, and for all the latest Hatters news, reports, stats, player profiles, live match updates, prediction table and a complete fixture list, visit our Hatters Microsite.

Related topics: