Town U18s need Gothia Cup win to progress after Esbjerg loss

LUTON Town U18s need to beat Brommapojkarna this afternoon and hope other results go their way to reach the Gothia Cup quarter-finals in Sweden.

Hatters had beaten IFK Gothenburg 1-0 on Monday courtesy of Arel Amu’s strike, before losing by the same scoreline to Danish side Esbjerg on Tuesday.

Town’s best chances came in the first half when Jemale McKenzie-Lowe’s shot was blocked, while Charlie Smith fired over from 25 yards.

Town stopper Ben Barnes had to field a few long-range efforts, before Hatters fell behind in the final minute of the half when a corner wasn’t properly cleared.

After the break, Esbjerg almost went 2-0 up but Barnes produced a fine save to turn the ball on to the post and Brett Longden reacted quickest to clear.

Town then stepped up the tempo, delivering a number of crosses into the box with a Zak Stephens header that flew just wide, their best opportunity.

Boss Paul Driver said: “We were very slow out of the blocks against a strong opposition.

“We allowed them too much comfortable possession in midfield although the defence, marshalled well by Zak Stephens, did a good job of denying them any shots on goal.

“Annoyingly, we had nearly made it to half time to regroup when we let them score from a corner through poor marking and not closing the second ball.

“In the second half, we were much better. Arel Amu stopped them getting out from the back and allowed us to got much tighter in midfield and we were the stronger team for the final 25 minutes.

“Now we have to regroup against another very decent outfit”.

Hatters: Barnes, Stanley, Jibodu, Maguraushe, Chabata, Stephens, Rees, Smith (Walters 46), Banton (Amu 46), Allmann, McKenzie-Lowe (Banton).

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.