Coca-Cola League Two

Luton Town 3 Aldershot Town 1

A controversial 78th-minute red card for Ricky Newman opened the door for Luton Town to snatch two late goals and condemn Aldershot to a 3-1 defeat on Saturday.

Until the sending off, the Shots had looked the more likely team to go on and win the match, but Newman’s dismissal swung the game in the Hatters’ favour.

Former Premiership referee Phil Dowd issued a straight red to Newman for a challenge on Rossi Jarvis, a harsh decision  against the verteran defender who looked to have played the ball and was unfortunate to even give away a foul.

Luton played a long ball forward, it bounced between Newman and Jarvis midway inside the Shots’ half. Newman booted the ball clear before Jarvis could get to it and as  Jarvis turned his back Newman’s follow through caught him in the back.

Shots’ boss Gary Waddock refused to criticise the referee’s decision but admitted that it turned the game in Mick Harford’s side’s favour.

“I don’t want to comment on the sending off until I have seen the video but it did change the course of the game,” he said. “We lost a key player and we had to change everything around.

“Rhys [Day] had to come on and he has been stop-start this season due to injuries. Our losing a player lifted their crowd and they took advantage of it.”

In fairness, the home side had dominated most of the first-half and it was something of a surprise that they went into the interval with just a single goal lead. It almost goes without saying that Nikki Bull and Anthony Charles played their part in keeping the Shots in the game.

As quick as Aldershot had left the blocks against Darlington last week, Luton were even quicker and they laid siege to the Shots’ goal.

There were plenty of chances and near-misses — the closest to a goal was a sixth minute power drive from Jarvis. The 25-yard shot was heading exocet-like for the top right-hand corner before Bull appeared from nowhere with an outstretched left arm to fingertip the ball for a corner.

There was one brief respite from the onslaught when a Louie Soares shot was parried by Luton keeper Conrad Logan and an incoming Charles could only redirect the ball against the left-hand upright.

Back came Luton and a frenzied spell of pressure was rewarded on 17 minutes when the home team took a deserved lead. Jarvis played a ball into the box from wide on the right and Michael Spillane slid in to poke the ball home from eight yards.

At this point there was the possibility that Luton might run riot. However, a bizarre incident on 19 minutes prompted an eight-minute delay which took the heat out of the game.

A fiercely hit but wildly inaccurate Kevin Keane free-kick hit the roof of the stand behind Bull’s goal and broke part of an advertising hoarding. With a long wooden strut hanging by a thread, referee Dowd, prompted by a steward (and Bull who was sensibly trying to take the heat out of the game), decided there could be no play until the timber was removed. Eventually a large man and his ladder appeared to remedy the situation.

What that farcical delay achieved was to take the sting from what had been relentless Luton pressure. Indeed, the introduction of Kirk Hudson for Scott Donnelly on 35 minutes saw the Shots begin to make an impact on the match as Hudson’s pace and direct running caused panic among Luton defenders.

The youngster’s 12-yard strike needed a smart save from Logan to prevent the Shots drawing level.

Both sides had chances during the nine minutes of added time. Luton came closest when a Sam Parkin header was cleared off the line by Charles while the Shots’ best effort was a Hudson lob that went over the bar.

Talking about the first half, Waddock said: “We didn’t play well in the first half. They put us under pressure and we couldn’t stop the crosses into the box.

“We were forced to make a tactical substitution to deal with that. I said to the players at half-time that the game should have been finished and if it hadn’t been for Bully then we would have been out of it.”

The second-half was a totally different game, with the Shots dictating matters from the off, literally, as Lewis Chalmers shot from the kick-off.

It took just six minutes for Aldershot to find an equaliser. Louie Soares took possession on the right side of his own half and played a long ball over the top for John Grant.

The striker outpaced Spillane before slotting the ball over the top of the onrushing ’keeper from the edge of the box to open his account for the season, much to the delight of the 810 travelling Shots’ fans.

Waddock added: “We had opportunities to have gone on and won the game. I was pleased for Granty who worked hard and got the goal that he wanted. We were on the front foot and got in behind them.”

Just two minutes after the goal, Shots were on the move again and were five on two as Soares broke down the middle. He played the ball outside to Junior Osborne, whose 20-yard strike was tipped over for a corner.

Although he has yet to feature in this report, one man who was making life difficult for Luton’s defenders all afternoon was Marvin Morgan, with his footwork, heading ability and physical presence.

However, on 63 minutes it was substitute Scott Davies who came closest to another Aldershot goal, his 25-yard left-foot volley fizzing narrowly wide of the left-hand post.

At this stage the home fans were showing their anxiety as Luton could not get a sniff of the ball. And then came the sending off. In response, Waddock took off Morgan and brought on Day.

The Shots still got forward but the Luton players and fans sensed they had been given a second chance.

Luton pressed forward and just as everyone was convinced a draw would prevail, an 89th minute Claude Gnapka cross from the right was headed home at the near post by Asa Hall.

Four minutes into stoppage time a neat move between Gnapka and Parkin ended with a crisply-struck 16-yard Chris Martin volley beating Bull to give Luton a flattering 3-1 victory, recording their first home success of the season and sending the Shots away empty-handed.

The Shots return to action on Saturday when they entertain Gillingham at the EBB Stadium.

Luton: Logan, Keane, Pilkington (Watson 83), Spillane, Emanuel, Gnakpa, Hall, Jarvis (Plummer 79), Pugh (Charles 59), Parkin, Martin. Subs not used: Brill, Roper.

Aldershot: Bull, Osborne (Davies 61), Straker, Charles, Newman, Soares, Chalmers, Donnelly (Hudson 35), Harding, Grant, Morgan (Day 80). Subs not used: Howell, Hylton.