Luton defeated by impressive Bedford Athletic

Luton failed to cause an upset against Bedford Athletic in their East Midlands Cup semi-final tie on the weekend as they lost 17 – 29.
The Newlands Road side put in a performance to be proud of but it was not enough to defeat the Midlands 1 East league leaders Athletic.
The first half remained quiet for a while as both teams seemed to be trying to suss each other out, with Luton looking like the most dangerous team throughout.
In the 20th minute, the first real chance came as Thomas Mahendran’s grubber kick was ushered into touch in a very dangerous position. Luton then set up a catch and drive which was grounded over the line by Steve Allen to make it 5 – 0.
Not long after, against the run of play, Steve Smith broke through the Luton defence and looked sure to score a try, but it was Mahendran who delivered the try-saving tackle.
oLuton maintained their pressure but didn’t make their chances count. Attacking from deep, Bedford's Steve Smith got over this time with James Mortimer kicking the extras, just before he scored a penalty to make it 5 – 10.
With very little time to go in the first half, Luton forged ahead with a second Allen try, making it 12 – 10 at the break.
The second half didn’t start well for the home side after Bedford Athletic managed to get over straight from the get-go through Rob Watkins, with Mortimer converting.
More misery came for Luton as they conceded two consecutive tries, the first from Smith and the second from Liam Walsh, making it 12 – 29 at the hour mark.
In the 65th minute, Luton managed to get over through Alex Dola-Lami following constant pressure from the home side, but it was the final chance of the game, meaning Bedford Athletic were through to the final of the EM Cup.
Luton’s number 8 Stephen Allen blamed a lack of concentration for their loss against Bedford Athletic.
He said: “I thought we played really well, I think at times we just struggled at the breakdown, they were a lot quicker than us but we looked really dangerous when the ball went wide.
“We just have to pull ourselves together, get back to training on Tuesday, work on things, try and win a few games on the bounce and just go from there.
“The first 40 minutes, we were really in the game and come 60 minutes, whether it’s fitness or concentration, we just seem to fall off really.
“It’s been the same all year for us really but it’s something we definitely need to work on.”