Matt Bloomfield still believes Luton have the fight to escape relegation despite a 2-0 defeat at Watford which left them five points adrift of safety at the bottom of the Championship table.
Tom Dele-Bashiru’s early penalty and a tap-in from Edo Kayembe turned out to be enough to inflict a ninth defeat in 12 league matches upon the Hatters.
Bloomfield, who replaced Rob Edwards as manager on January 14, insists the squad he has inherited is still good enough to save itself.
“We have to believe in that and I do believe in that,” he said. “We saw in the second half that the boys are still fighting.
“We were rocked in the first half, that was obvious, but the boys kept playing.
“They didn’t go under but, unfortunately, weren’t able to find the goal that would have got us back in the game.
“We have to keep working and keep improving. Generally we are doing alright between the two boxes but games are won or lost in the penalty boxes and it’s not going our way.
“It has hurt us. We have to eradicate the errors at one end and start taking our chances at the other.”
Bloomfield has so far overseen three draws and five defeats in his eight games in charge, with the Hatters seemingly on course to for back-to-back relegations from the Premier League to League One.
Luton have won just once away from home all season and Bloomfield had a message to the fans.
“Thank you for your support, sorry we didn’t give you something to cheer. They are following us in their numbers and the away record this season hasn’t been good enough.”
Watford moved to within three points of the play-offs with a win that ended a sequence of five home defeats.
Goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski was adjudged to have fouled Hornets striker Mamadou Doumbia for an 11th-minute penalty and Kayembe’s 23rd-minute second came from a superb run into the box from the impressive Giorgi Chakvetadze.
Manager Tom Cleverley was delighted his players rose to the occasion, having lost the reverse fixture 3-0 in October.
“Today was comfortably our best first-half performance of the season,” he said.
“We rose to the challenge and guided the game the way we wanted it to be played. The players absolutely nailed the game plan and deserve all the credit.
“I want the players to enjoy these moments and have more of them. We were by no means obsessed about any sort of revenge.”
Cleverley insisted his side would have gone on to win even if the penalty had not been given.
“I’ve not seen it back, it looked like the goalkeeper got there late and brought him down but I don’t think the decision for the penalty would have had an impact on the result today”.
Cleverley praised Doumbia, the 19-year-old forward who has yet to score a senior goal, for winning it.
“Mamadou is a pleasure to work with,” he said. “His movement is great, he chases lost causes, and he did everything but score, which will come.”
[(Gangwon FC) Strength]: 1. Last season in the Korean FA Cup, Gangwon FC were eliminated in the Round of 16. This season, the team have made a breakthrough so far and have advanced to the semi-finals. In this second leg, they will play at home and have a strong desire to win.2. Lee Ji Ho, a forward of Gangwon FC, has had limited playing time this season. However, he has maintained high offensive e...
[(Everton F.C.) Strength]: 1. On August 24th, in the 2nd round of the Premier League, Everton F.C. secured a comfortable 2-0 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., with Jack Grealish providing two assists and putting in an impressive performance.2. Everton F.C. kept unbeaten in the last 3 Premier League home games with 2 wins and 1 draw, showing excellent performances.3. Everton F.C. h...
[(Nagoya Grampus) Strength]: 1. Nagoya Grampus are on a 2-game losing streak. They are motivated to win this home game to boost their morale.2. Soichiro Mori scored a goal and made an assist in the last game, showing outstanding form.3. Nagoya Grampus secured a 3-game winning streak in their last 3 encounters between both sides, giving them a better mentality.[(Nagoya Grampus) Neutral]: 1. Nagoya ...
[(Grimsby Town F.C.) Strength]: 1. Grimsby Town F.C. player Jaze Kabia scored in the last game, with reliable form.2. Grimsby Town F.C. drew 1-1 against Accrington Stanley in the last game, but they still kept unbeaten among all events in the new season, being in stable form.3. Grimsby Town F.C.'s home performance was outstanding. They won all the last 3 home games.4. Grimsby Town F.C. have a good...
[(FC Machida Zelvia) Strength]: 1. FC Machida Zelvia are undoubtedly motivated to win this home game to qualify for the semi-finals.2. Yuki Soma scored 10 goals and made 6 assists across all competitions this season, being important on the team's offense.3. FC Machida Zelvia drew 0-0 with Yokohama F. Marinos in the last game. They were unbeaten with 11 wins and 1 draw in the last 12 games, showing...
[(Reading F.C.) Strength]: 1. Reading F.C. are playing in the EFL League One this season and are on a 3-game winless run lately. They need to return to winning ways, indicating full motivation in this game.2. Lewis Wing scored a goal and made an assist in the last game, helping the team tie with Wycombe Wanderers F.C.3. Reading F.C. won the last 2 games in AH, revealing recent performances in line...
[(Sheffield Wed) Strength]: 1. Sheffield Wed have a rather impressive track record in the EFL Cup. In the first round of this season, they defeated Bolton Wanderers F.C., another team from the EFL Championship, and have posted 3 wins and 2 draws in their last 5 EFL Cup games.2. Sheffield Wed lost only 1 of the last 5 games in AH with stable performances. They ended all the last 4 games with OVER.[...
[(Eintracht Braunschweig) Strength]: 1. As a 2. Bundesliga side, Eintracht Braunschweig have made a solid start to the new season. Having been eliminated in the first round of the DFB-Pokal in each of the past two seasons, the team will undoubtedly be eager to achieve a better performance when they compete in the tournament again this season. Therefore, they will be full of determination when faci...
[(Sturm Graz) Strength]: 1. Sturm Graz suffered a crushing defeat in the first leg on the road. In this home match, they have to go all out to attack, with full motivation to win.2. Sturm Graz midfielder Otar Kiteishvili scored 4 goals in three league games this season, performing excellently in the league. As the starting forward of the team, his performance in this match is worth keeping an eye ...
[(Burnley) Strength]: 1. Burnley's key midfielder Josh Cullen not only opened the scoring for the team in the last game but also provided an assist, emerging as the biggest contributor to the victory with an outstanding individual performance.2. Burnley claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over Sunderland in their last game, securing their first victory of the new Premier League season and boosting the t...
- 1 Ruben Amorim gives cryptic response when asked about Andre Onana returning to starting XI for Fulham clash after Altay Bayindir blunder handed Arsenal victory
- 2 'Victory Bodes Well for Future' – Gasperini Delighted with Roma’s Opening Day Win
- 3 TIPS - Eintracht Frankfurt VS Werder Bremen
- 4 Transfer rumors, news: Arsenal could turn to Lyon's Fofana
- 5 Antony’s Man United Exit Hopes Rest on Fresh Real Betis Bid Within 'Next 24 Hours'
- 6 TIPS - Cerezo Osaka VS Vissel Kobe
- 7 TIPS - Gamba Osaka VS Yokohama FC
- 8 TIPS - Schalke 04 VS VfL Bochum
- 9 TIPS - Sunderland A.F.C. VS Huddersfield Town A.F.C.
- 10 TIPS - Olympique de Marseille VS Paris FC