Luton Town 0-0 Reading: Player Ratings
Sean grades the Royals after a stalemate in Bedfordshire.
Joe Lumley: 6
Other than a couple of decent early stops, a quiet evening for Lumley. It must be said though, that was more a result of a distinct lack of quality from Luton than anything. Overall had a good command of his box and deserved the clean sheet.
Andy Yiadom: 5
I’ve mentioned it before but Yiadom still seems a way off his best to me. No huge mistakes, but was out-muscled a number of times and didn’t seem as defensively solid and composed as usual.
On the one or two occasions he got forward and was able to put a cross in they were, quite frankly, rubbish. This was all topped off with a silly lunge which resulted in a yellow card - it was unnecessary and lacked some situational awareness.
Tom Holmes: 6
Marshalled the defence well from the middle and deserves credit for leading the team to a clean sheet given he’s the only senior centre back available! A typical Holmes no-thrills performance, although a couple of untimely slips nearly led to danger.
Amadou Mbengue: 7
I am going to ignorantly ignore the blatant penalty he got away with, pulling a Luton attacker to the ground from a corner.
However, other than that Mbengue deserves huge credit tonight - looked solid defensively and not remotely out of place. Maybe not the best player on the pitch but given I believe he was signed as a midfielder, and has since played right wing back, right centre back and tonight left centre back, my man of the match.
Baba Rahman: 6
Did well to get up and down the left flank, but as was a very common theme tonight, failed to produce any end product of any quality. No complaints defensively.
Junior Hoilett: 6
Very similar to his opposing full back. Hoilett did seem to win the ball back well a number of times, but every time he tried to counter it led to nothing. A few nice combinations down the right with Tom Ince, but the decent grade is much more a reflection of his defensive work than going forward.
Jeff Hendrick: 6
A good overall performance from Hendrick, arguably playing out of position as the deepest of the midfield three. Broke up play nicely early on and acted as a safety net for the three centre backs. Hopefully can carry on his Danny Drinkwater-esque revival over the rest of the season.
Ovie Ejaria: 4
Where to start with Ovie Ejaria? Arguably our most technical and creative player, but has he actually played well since Fulham away in September 2021? Was really poor tonight - simply if he had the ball, he lost it seconds later. I’m not sure centre midfield is his strongest position in fairness. Rightly substituted for Fornah in the second half, but worth sticking with Ejaria (albeit perhaps from the bench) as we know what he’s capable of.
Tom Ince: 6
As with possibly every other game this season, Ince Jr looked the most likely to make something happen all evening. Was also slightly suffering from lack-of-quality-itis, but did test the keeper with a couple of strong long-range shots and floated a decent cross for Carroll to attack. Still the first name on the team-sheet and it’s extremely important he stays fit the rest of the season.
Yakou Meite: 5
Lots of running as usual from Meite and forced a decent save in the first half, but probably should’ve done a little better. Didn’t receive any service of quality at all but likewise didn’t look like making anything happen himself. Another one who picked up a silly booking along with Carroll.
Andy Carroll: 5
Carroll must be a defender's nightmare - seems to win everything in the air. However, for all the praise he rightly receives, he missed a couple of decent chances tonight, putting wide free headers either side of the break. The second of which was a big chance - Ince’s floated cross was attacked well by Carroll, but he really should’ve hit the target rather than put his header wide.
Subs
Tyrese Fornah: 5
Came on for the final half an hour and did look lively, although is marked down for a lack of end product like the rest of the team. Cut inside very late on and instead of floating a cross for Carroll or at least hitting the target, blazed his shot miles over the bar.
Shane Long: 5
Only just qualifies for a grade having come on for the last 15 minutes, and in truth didn’t make too much of an impact. Had a half chance late on putting a header wide and perhaps should’ve done better.
Average: 5.53/10
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