Luton lose to North Walsham after match is abandoned in 79th minute

Luton’s losing streak reached double figures for the second time this season after losing 12 -7 to North Walsham Vikings.
The Lutonians remain stuck to the bottom of the London One North league table but relegation is already confirmed so the loss isn’t a huge blow for them.
Luton almost took the lead in the first minute as Rick Hobbs dummied a pass and made a great dash for the line but his pass to Tyler Chant was intercepted.
Not much happened for a little while after the aforementioned chance as both teams were edging into each other’s halves and turning possession over as soon as they got into the 22. Alex Dola-Lami seemed to be causing the away side some problems but it was not enough to make a difference to the score.
It was the 22nd minute that the deadlock was finally broken. Thomas Mahendran made a great run past a couple of players to begin an array of passes that eventually made their way out wide to Christopher Davies who scored the try. Hobbs kicked the extras to make it 7 – 0 to the home side.
North Walsham did not let Luton’s try get them down and they began to up the tempo and push into Luton’s 22. It was only a matter of time before they got over and that is exactly what they did after Will Hodgson barged his way through the Luton defence to score a try in the 37th minute, with Matt Hodgson converting to make it all square.
The second half was as eventful as the first, frustrating both sides as tempers began to flare. North Walsham were still edging into the Luton half and at the hour mark, Mahendran and Vikings prop Aki Downing were sent to the sin bin after a bit of a scuffle.
With both teams down a player, the game should have opened up. However, it turned into a game of successive line-outs until both players were allowed back onto the pitch. In the 76th minute, the Vikings got over again, this time through Chris Kent, the conversion not even reaching the posts.
Conceding a late try seemed to knock Luton’s confidence as the away side continued to pressure and were awarded a penalty in the 79th minute. Jake Duffield’s kick hit the upright and Charlie Bennett was tackled high in the air as he rebounded. This led to a huge brawl under the posts, forcing the referee to abandon the game with the score 7 – 12.
Luton assistant manager Steve Evans believes Luton could have been much better against North Walsham. He said: “I think it was lack of discipline of equal measures on both sides.
“In comparison to the last few weeks, I don’t think we’ve been as strong as we have been. That being said, I think we flattered North Walsham and I don’t think they were the team we played in the reverse fixture so we could’ve walked away with a win today which is really disappointing.
“It was a fairly balanced team on both sides but I think Luton were the stronger side in regards to the state of play and the technique showed. It was our lack of discipline and maybe some lack of being able to stay quiet that cost us the game today.”