Luton tough it out to beat Barking

Both sides were victorious in their previous fixtures as Luton got back to winning ways, seeing off Woodford 39-0 and Barking battered Ipswich 64-14.

Captain Tom Mahendran returned to the squad after missing last week’s game and making his full match debut was 25 year old Romanian
Alex Comanescu. Among many injuries, the home side were without Tom Albone who is expected to be out for the next 6-8 weeks after dislocating his finger.

The game’s early of action saw Barking’s number 8 Ryan Keates pick up a yellow card and Luton made their man advantage count by scoring the first try in the 3rd minute. Rick Hobbs followed up Sam Pacey’s try, scoring a long-range conversion.

Barking wasted no time hitting back. In the 8th minute their quick and decisive passes were rewarded when Thomas Bateman scored a try but kicker Benjamin Lloyd missed his conversion. The away side went further ahead through fly half Aaron Higgins with Lloyd extending their lead to 7-12 with a successful conversion.

However crowd favourite Tesh Edwards used his pace to skip past the scrambling Barking backline. Hobbs’ kicking proved to be much better than in previous weeks and from a difficult angle restored the home side’s advantage. 14-12 Luton.

In the 23rd minute Luton’s Craig South’s tenacity resulted in triumph. Fending off two players he powered his way to the try line. Hobbs’ successful conversion then saw the home side gain a comfortable advantage.

With 7minutes left in the first half, fullback Scott Aspinall was sent to the sin bin for foul play and No8 Garry Jahn gave way to debutant Sean Meddeman, after he received a blow to the head.

Luton took a 21-12 lead going into the break.

Aspinall returned to the field without any further scores . In the 52nd minute Luton were awarded a penalty for an offside offence and Rick Hobbs made no mistake. Sloppy passing saw Barking waste potential opportunities, before new recruitment Thomas Bateman again rose to the occasion to score his second try but Lloyd’s conversion kick struck against the post, keeping the score 24-17.

Try scorer South was substituted for Ryan Sheppard in the 63rd minute. Not long after Chris Davies accelerated to the try line and was complemented by a successful conversion kick by Mahendran. The East London side however were determined not to go down without a fight and managed to narrow the deficit when No 8 Keates bundled over the try line and Lloyd stepped up to score the conversion.

As the match reached its conclusions tempers flared and a touchline brawl quickly engulfed all thirty players. After the referee restored order Luton held on to win 31-24

Captain Tom Mahendran commended the team’s performance:

“I’m over the moon. We fought so hard. This was probably our best performance all season.

Speaking on new signing Alex Comenescu, Mahendran said.

“He adds a lot of pace and power in the centre which is exactly what we needed going forward. I’m really glad he has decided to join us.”

Forwards Coach Darren Moore insists Luton should have no issues playing away to the Old Priorians next week and also hailed the team’s performance:

“I’m really pleased with the effort the boys put in today. Our line out was better and considering all the injuries we have, the backs that played in the midfield showed some real go forward.

“It was a fantastic effort from all 18 boys. We were very competitive.”

Match photography from Ian Nancollas Photography

Match Reporter
Farhan Daw