Great performance from Luton not enough to end losing streak

Luton were left devastated after losing to Thurrock 18 – 22 in a game that went right down to the wire.
The Newlands Road side were ever so close to ending their losing streak as they conceded a last-minute try in their London One North tie and remain bottom of the table.
The scoring opened up in the sixth minute after the ball was passed out wide to Fraser Kidd, who sprinted past the try line to put Thurrock up 0-5.
The hosts came very close to bringing some points back after Rick Hobbs narrowly missed two penalties, one of which hit the post.
This seemed to lift the team’s spirits as they began to pressure Thurrock, nearly getting over following some extravagant passing between Jonathan Kerr and Thomas Mahendran but the away side held their ground well and managed to clear.
It was the half-hour mark that Luton were awarded another penalty for hands in a ruck and this time Hobbs had no trouble kicking it through the upright to end the first half 3-5.
It seemed Luton had no trouble bringing the momentum from the first half into the second as they had Thurrock on the back foot, scoring a try in the 49th minute after Kerr kicked the ball out wide to Davies who grounded it to put his team ahead 8-5.
Thurrock seemed to get back into the game following that try, and were awarded a penalty for offside which Tim Blundell scored with ease to equalise.
The game was far from finished there, as Robert Povey intercepted a Thurrock pass in the 59th minute and went on a spectacular 50-metre run to place the ball right under the posts, the try scorer kicking the extras too.
However, Thurrock responded well and equalised again in the 63rd minute, getting over through Jarrett Crouch, with Tom Worsfold converting.
The home side went back ahead after receiving a penalty for a high tackle, Robert Povey scoring it to make the score 18-15 with ten minutes to go.
All Luton had to do now was hold onto their lead but this is easier said than done when playing such a strong team and eventually the barrage of attacks allowed Jake Barrand to get over, Blundell converting to end the match 18-22.
After the game, Luton manager Dicky Jones said: “Another crunching defeat right in the last minute. It’s just one of those things, it’s very difficult to take, and we’re very pleased with the boys’ performance in general.
“We did what we said midweek and we said let’s go out there and play exactly the same way as we played against North Walsham, we did, and it showed that we aren’t just a bottom of the league team.
“Nobody has come here and walked over us. Thurrock are third in the league, they’re a very strong side who have a lot of depth in their squad and we gave them a hell of a run.
“It’s just unfortunate that a few decisions didn’t go our way today.”