In this Luton Town weekly round-up, there’s news of the Hatters’ pre-season friendlies, including two at their training camp in Slovenia. In another development, Luton Town’s ticket office was affected by the global CrowdStrike IT outage on Friday, along with other clubs like Manchester United. The issue at Kenilworth Road was soon resolved.
Luton Town Weekly Round-Up: Mixed Results for The Hatters in Pre-Season
Carlton Morris Continues Pre-Season Scoring Streak
The Hatters lost their second pre-season friendly 2-1 to Danish top-flight side AGF Aarhus at the Brache. Luton had stiff opposition, though Carlton Morris equalised for the Town on the stroke of half-time.
Read More: Five Luton Town Players To Watch Next Season
A notable inclusion in the Hatters starting line-up was Tom Holmes at centre-back. After signing from Reading earlier in the year, Holmes was loaned back to the Royals for the rest of the 2023-24 season. Town youngster Zack Nelson was given a start in midfield, whilst another youngster, Joe Johnson, played as one of three centre-backs rather than in his accustomed left-back role.
A Win and a Defeat in Slovenia
The Hatters travelled to Slovenia for their pre-season training camp this week, where they played two friendlies underneath a beautiful mountainous backdrop. Morris scored his third goal in as many pre-season games after a quarter of an hour, as Luton defeated Ukrainian top-flight side Rukh Lviv 1-0. There was, however, one downside for Town boss Rob Edwards. During Tuesday’s match, Japanese international defender Daiki Hashioka was forced off with a calf injury.
Baptiste and Walters Make Hatters Debuts, Nelson Shines
On Saturday, the Town met Göztepe, newly promoted to the Turkish Süper Lig, in their second friendly in Slovenia. New signings Shandon Baptiste and Reuell Walters made their debuts for the club in a game that was to end in a 3-2 defeat for the Hatters.
Read More: Luton Town Squad: How The Hatters Look Ahead of Next Season
Luton’s accomplished opponents had gone 3-0 up shortly after half-time, but it was a different story in the last twenty minutes. The Town pulled two goals back through a brace from youngster Zack Nelson, who was on as a second-half substitute. A great save by Göztepe’s goalkeeper denied Nelson a hat-trick and the Hatters a very late equaliser. The game will have been a steep learning curve for the Luton youngsters who featured, but Edwards should be encouraged by his side’s fighting spirit.
Town Youngsters Held at Hitchin
The Hatters under-21 team were also in action recently, as they drew 1-1 with Southern League side and neighbours Hitchin Town, on Tuesday. A second-half penalty from Canadian Bim Pepple levelled things up after the home side had led at the break at Top Field.
