Hatters chief not overly concerned by Luton’s second half display in play-off first leg

Luton boss Rob Edwards wasn’t overly concerned by his side’s second half performance during their 2-1 play-off first leg defeat at Sunderland on Saturday.

The hosts had given themselves a great chance of heading back to Kenilworth Road with an advantage when Elijah Adebayo put them 1-0 up after just 11 minutes, sidefooting into the roof of the net from close range.

However, they were then pegged back by Amad Diallo’s magnificent 25-yard curler just before the break, before turning in a disappointing display following the interval.

Second best all over the pitch, the hosts were able to move in front themselves when Trai Hume headed home Jack Clarke’s cross midway through.

With the likes of Marvelous Nakamba, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu and Jordan Clark struggling to get to grips with their midfield counterparts, Pierre Ekwah, Alex Prichard, Patrick Roberts, Diallo and Clarke the dominant forces, asked if he had been concerned, Edwards said: “No, I’m not, it’s not like us, but I was really pleased with the first half.

“To go up there, with their noise and everything, to quieten them and control a lot of the first half, that gives us a lot of encouragement.

“We know the areas and we’ve gone through it where we can be better and we need to be better, where we think we can hurt them and that’s what we’ve got to try and do.

“Going into the semi-final, we wanted to win it, we wanted to be in the best position possible.

“But at the same time, going away, to the Stadium of Light, you want to be in the tie and we’re in the tie.”

On what he thought had been the reasons behind Luton’s unusually below-par efforts during that second period, Edwards continued: “We didn’t keep the ball well enough and we weren’t quite as aggressive as we normally are.

“We were a little bit more mid-press if you like rather than high and a lot of our transitions, we gave the ball back too quickly and too cheaply, so that was the main reason why.

“In saying that, and we could be a lot better in the second half, they score the goal from a short corner routine.

“They didn’t open us up, for all the really good players that they’ve got, they didn’t create many chances, or any chances from open play, so that will give us a lot of belief as well.”

With 46,000 roaring on the host on Wearside, Luton will now be backed by a smaller, but no less vociferous crowd of around 10,000 in Bedfordshire on Tuesday night.

Asked what he will tell the players ahead of the game, Edwards added: “To be calm, to be ourselves, to do what we’ve done all season long, and try and be good at what we do.

“The message hasn’t changed from us, it’s go and enjoy it, try and enjoy it, and embrace it and attack it, be brave.

“Those are the words and phrases that we use, that will never change while I’m here as manager, just because now this is a bigger game, that doesn’t change.

“We’ll try and be the best version of the team that finished third in the league this year, that’s it.”