Luton bounce back to beat Barking

Luton’s head coach Darren Moore summed it up best when he described this latest victory as being “filled with determination, enthusiasm and a real hunger that enabled us get this win”.

In a hard-fought encounter, Luton handed a debut to new centre Max Edwards.

Barking, who prior to the game had won six matches from their last eight, would surely be out for revenge following a narrow defeat (31-24) on match day three earlier this season, at Newlands Road.

However, Luton took heart from recent away performances, as from the kick-off Jack Elston won a turnover, which resulted in a penalty, that Hobbs dispatched to give the away team the first points on the board in the fifth minute.

Both teams started to settle and Barking broke forward in a rare attack in the 15th minute to score a try through Darren Bowles. Fly half Benjamin Lloyd followed up with the conversion kick to give the home team a 7-3 lead.

Then Barking found themselves on the ropes again as Luton won two penalties in succession. The first in the 25th minute was due to repeated fouls by the home team, but Hobbs’s attempt cannoned off the post. A minute later, he got it right, kicking successfully for a 7-6 score line.

In the 32nd minute, Luton debutant, Edwards exited the game with a blood injury, to be replaced by Craig South, who was on the pitch for a minute and a half before seizing the opportunity to burst through a broken Barking defence to score close to the post.

Hobbs put the conversion through the posts, to put Luton ahead at the interval 7-13.

In the 57th minute, Benjamin Lloyd put Barking ahead again by scoring a try and following up with a conversion to make it 14-13.

In the 64th minute, a rush of blood to the head from the home team’s Kane Bennent saw him get sent off for a stamp to the head of a Luton player.

It got worse for the home side in the 70th minute, as Craig South scored his second try, following tenacious play and quick thinking by Tom Mahendren.

Mahendren chased a kick deep in to the Barking half, which was cleared to the touch 5 metres out of the try line. Grabbing the ball and taking a quick line out he found the advancing South who muscled his way over in the corner to score; but Hobbs missed the conversion.

In the final minute, Lloyd scored a penalty for Barking to end the game 17-23.

Following the victory, Darren Moore praised new boy Max Edwards, but was gutted to see him go off injured, as he lamented: “Max showed how good he is in the short time he was on the pitch, with his strong running, especially between the lines; hopefully, we’ll have him back in time for next week”.

This victory makes it two consecutive away wins for Luton RFC, and hopefully the team can maintain this form and who knows, perhaps with a strong finish even use the momentum for a strong cup run too.

Nigel Mustapha
Match Reporter