On Wednesday evening, Kenilworth Road hosted a very lively Championship match between Luton Town and Coventry City, in a match which ended level. This was despite fierce protests from Luton manager Nathan Jones when he felt his side, should have been awarded a penalty.
For Luton Town, they bounced back after a disappointing defeat in their previous league match against Wigan Athletic. The home side led on two separate occasions, curtesy of goals from striker Carlton Morris, however they failed to hang on and in-truth could have ended up on the losing side.
As for Coventry City, they end a five match losing run, which dates back to their Carabao Cup defeat against Bristol City in early August. Swedish international Viktor Gyokeres grabbed the clubs initial equaliser before Brazilian born midfielder Gustavo Hamer scored a stunner to level the scoring once again.
However, what four things did we learn from the game?
-
Coventry create their own issues again
Coventry City have conceded a total of seventeen goals already this season and the vast majority of those, have came through their own initial mistakes. This continued to be the case at Kenilworth Road on the night.
For Luton's opening goal, Skyblues loanee Callum Doyle was beaten too easily on the left-hand-side and failed to prevent a cross. Once the cross went in, Fankaty Dabo made a poor attempt to clear the ball, in fact, he passed it directly to Morris who fired past Ben Wilson from point blank range.
For the second goal, Harry Cornick was given far too much space to slot a pass through to Morris, who took advantage of some poor positional play, to go through and slot past the Skyblues keeper. This put the home side back into the lead as the first-half came to a close.
Coventry manager Mark Robins will once again be left disappointed with his sides basic defensive errors, which if prevented, could have seen a much more positive outcome.
-
Morris at the double
However, on the flip side of that, Luton boss Nathan Jones will be absolutely delighted that his main man has further contributed to his goal tally. This is since his summer move from relegated Barnsley in what was a club record fee.
Morris' brace tonight, means he has now managed to score five goals in his opening ten matches for the club, in all competitions so far this season and in truth, he is only just beginning.
To get more statistical, Luton Town have managed eleven goals in total, meaning their front-man has already scored 45% of the clubs goals.
If he can continue his current goalscoring run, there is no reason why Morris cannot hit the fifteen, maybe even twenty goal mark in the Championship this season.
-
Gyokeres is back amongst the goals
Last season, Coventry striker Viktor Gyokeres hit seventeen goals for his side, making him the first player in almost two decades to score more than fifteen in a single season in the second tier.
However, this season, the Swedish international had only scored once for the club. This was a superb solo effort against Sunderland on the opening day of the Championship season.
From a fans perspective, Coventry City supporters will be filled with joy to see Gyokeres score but also will have a sense of frustration, given he missed two easier chances earlier on in the match.
Those goals may have resulted in a very different outcome for Mark Robins' side, however the fact he is continuously trying to keep himself involved, shows his level of character and the love he has for the club. Therefore, in a period like this for Coventry, that determination is very much needed and hopefully he can build on this in matches to come.
-
Should Luton have had a penalty?
During the second-half, with the scores level at two goals each, Luton Town's players certainly felt like they should have had a penalty. However the appeals were firmly waved away by the referee.
Luton midfielder Jordan Clark danced his way into the penalty area, before trying his luck from an acute angle. Coventry defender Kyle McFadzean slid in to try and block the shot but the ball hit him and went behind for a corner.
The question was whether the ball struck McFadzean's arm or whether it hit his knee, which was also placed in a position which makes it a possibility.
The penalty would have been undeserved as Coventry firmly dominated the second-half, however Luton will continue to ponder the decision and how much of an impact it could have had on the final outcome of the match.
