Luton leave it late to fashion Final finish

Luton’s fitness and power proved too much for a determined Bedford side that struggled to keep up with the pace of Luton’s play which saw them tire late into the second half.

The hosts started the game better of the two sides as they looked to spread the ball out wide to create room for themselves and were awarded in the third minute when James Mortimer gave Bedford the lead with a penalty after Luton were penalised for not rolling away.

Luton were their own worst enemy in the first 20 minutes as they gifted Bedford with territory and possession through conceding silly penalties in both attack and defence, but the hosts were unable to take advantage and it was Luton who were next on the score sheet.

Some good hands created room for Tom Wilmore to break down the right edge before feeding Adam Harris who headed for the corner before finding Karl Roddell who held off the cover defence to score in the corner.

The visitors continued to be penalised for infringements around the ruck and were sent down to 14 men in the 27th minute when Steve Ellis was sin-binned for not releasing, and Bedford made full advantage of the extra man as they scored 10 points whilst Ellis was in the bin.

Mortimer added another successful penalty after Luton were penalised for hands in the ruck before Tom Orton spun his way over to score after a period of sustained pressure, to take the score to 11-5 at the half time break.

Luton had a strong wind behind their backs in the second half but were further behind nine minutes later, when Mortimer added another successful penalty after the visitors were penalised in front of their own sticks.
Luton sprung into life in the 50th minute when a change in the halves saw Chris Talanoa switch from wing to fly half and Rob Smith making his debut at scrum half. This saw an injection of pace and structure be inserted into Luton’s attack.

The visitors had a period of sustained pressure on Bedford’s line as they came close to scoring on numerous occasions but the defence held firm until the 56th minute when Michael Weston powered his way over as the host’s defence started to tire, Talanoa successful with the extras to close the gap to two points.

Luton were in again four minutes later when another powerful break by Weston down centre field before feeding Smith who held off the cover defence to register his first try for the club, Talanoa adding the extras to give Luton a 19-14 lead with 20 minutes to play.

Bedford began to tire as they continued to be pinned inside their own half on a deteriorating pitch and it proved pivotal in the 63rd minute when Jack Elston pushed through some weak defence to break 30 meters down field and on the next play Weston powered his way through some tired defence to score out wide.

Luton continued to pile on the pressure but were unable to add to their score as Bedford ran out of steam and were unable to cause any real problems for the visitors defence in the final quarter of the match which resulted in Luton running out 24-14 winners.

Luton Team: Sam Pacey, Ben Murphy, Jack Elborn (Mark Tindall 45), Pat Nelly, Karl Roddell (Tom Albone 45), Adam Harris, Michael Weston, Jack Elston, Tom Mahendran (Rob Smith 50), Rik Hobbs (Dave Brennan 40), Chris Davis (Brandon Lewsey 65), Steve Ellis, Jake Hobbs, Chris Talanoa, Tom Wilmore.
T: Roddell, Weston (2), Smith. C: Talanoa (2)

Bedford Athletic Team: Liam Walsh, Chris Eliot, Ryan Taylor (Jake Bolton 56), Ben Middleton, Neil Thomas, Ben Reed (James Cassell 36), Rob Watkins (Sam Hughes-brand 40), Ben Beogent, Tom Orton, James Mortimer, Luke Lewitt (Neil Paterson 70), Dan Simpson, Ben Johnson, Tom Mills (Tom Rees 57), Will Affleck.
T: Orton. P: Mortimer (3)

Referee: Andrew Beckett

Luton Man of Match: Michael Weston. His strong defence and running was too strong for a tiring defence and also crossed twice to give Luton a unassailable lead.