Positives
Chris Martin - Martin picked up the man of the match award at this game and the Port Vale game, but his performance was definitely better today than on Saturday, not least because he scored. After looking lively on the opening day, he was even better on Saturday, causing some problems for the Notts County defence, and he just needed to be given the service, and you feel he could have been the key to a few goals for Luton. The way he took his goal was also reassuring as well. He had a lot of work to do when he got the ball, and his finish was excellent. After last week, I wasn't convinced that he wouldn't turn out to be another Talbot, or even worse, another Feeney, who ran around but never scored, but his finish in particular has reassured me that he will score more than Feeney. Mind you, I could score more than Feeney.
Dean Brill - Maybe the young keeper didn't have a lot to do, but Dean Brill didn't really make any mistakes today. He dealt with everything that he needed to, and there wasn't a time when he looked exposed or under real danger. After his shaky performance on the opening day, he has only let one goal in, and that was from the penalty spot, so hopefully he has gained his confidence back that Blackwell helped to destroy last season when playing him injured. He may have been more determined with the loan signing of Conrad Logan, anyhow Brill's performance was very good. His shot stopping ability has never been in doubt, if he can stop making so many mistakes he will be an excellent keeper for us.
Defence in general - A lot of the defenders that Luton have had in recent seasons have been very ropey, so it was good to see this defence cope with nearly everything that Notts County had to throw at us. Despite having a lot of possession, particularly in the first half, County didn't really look like scoring during the match, except for the penalty of course. It wasn't a flawless performance from the defence by any means, but any mistakes that Pilkington and Spillane made, they made up for pretty quickly with some excellent blocks. The centre-back pairing looked very good; Spillane gave the ball straight back to County a few times, but both performed very solidly at the back. Defending at set-pieces was also good, except for the Parkin incident obviously. Sol Davis in particular impressed me, after performing poorly against Port Vale, he played well on Saturday, and a solid Sol will be an excellent asset in this division.
Attendance - We may not have had as many people inside the ground as the opening day, but an attendance of 6085 in League Two is very good, with at least 5500 being Luton fans. Out of all the home sides on Saturday, only Bradford in League Two had more in the ground, and I understand that is partly due to them having the facilities to offer cheaper tickets, due to their ground holding much more than ours. The turnout was excellent, and we also had a better turnout than the matches at Hartlepool, Leyton Orient, Northampton and Oldham in League One. It is good to see the fans supporting the team at a time like this, so keep coming to the matches when you can and supporting the team. Thanks to the Notts County fans who made the trip as well.
Negatives
Silly mistake for the goal - After going ahead, we were pegged back fairly quickly after a needless handball from a corner by Sam Parkin. As I've already said, it wasn't a game where Notts County looked particularly threatening on goal, but just like the first match against Port Vale, individual mistakes have cost us again here. I'm sure that Parkin has learned from his mistake, but I can't help thinking that it will be someone else that makes the mistake next game, and then someone else the game after, and at the moment, I can't see us shaking off this unwanted habit. In general, Parkin had a reasonable game, despite not scoring, but his error has overshadowed his efforts in the rest of the game. Two clean sheets in three games shows that things are improving, but can we learn to cut out the individual errors?
Gnakpa in his own half - Claude Gnakpa definitely looked good going forward again, and unlike the last right-back we had, he can look dangerous going forward and cause problems. However, although he is better than the last right-back, there were still some problems for him. Most of the Notts County attacks came down his side after he had ventured forward. He also missed a lot of tackles and didn't look totally convincing in defence. Out of the four defenders, he was definitely the weak link in the defence, which is a shame, as he was lively and could be a big threat this season going forward. Maybe once the team gels and get used to each other's style of play, other players will cover for Gnakpa when he goes forward; he has proved he has the ability to succeed at this level so I'm not worried about Gnakpa struggling. Although I'll never be able to spell his name properly.
Creativity - Although the performances of Chris Martin and Parkin (except the handball!) were good, they didn't really have many chances to score. Parkin had a late header, which was probably more difficult than it looked, and Martin's only real chance was his goal, which he finished excellently. Other than that, we didn't really create any good chances, which is worrying. Parkin is an excellent finisher, and if he is given the service then he will score goals, certainly at this level, but unfortunately there was no real threat down the wings. Gnakpa going forward was more dangerous than Jarvis, and Emanuel was very quiet on the left. Asa Hall put a good pass through for Martin's goal though, and once again, when the team gels, then maybe we will be able to create some good passing moves that lead to chances being created. Unfortunately, we needed the second goal, and didn't really look like getting it in the second half. There wasn't much threat from corners either.
Atmosphere in the Kenilworth Road end - At a time when the team needs the best support possible from the fans, a good atmosphere is crucial to our success in my opinion. The last time we were in this division, travelling Luton fans created an excellent atmosphere at League Two grounds across the country, and we picked up a lot of away wins as a result. This season, the home atmosphere in most of the ground is slightly worrying. I've only been a Luton fan for about 14 years, so I am too young to be able to remember a chant from the Kenny Road end. The efforts of the fans in G Block are excellent, why can't this be replicated behind the goal? The attendance is good for the level we are at, let's all get behind the team as best we can! In the words of Delia Smith, let's be having you.
Note: These are just the opinions of one Luton fan. If you have any objections, or think there were other more important positives or negatives, then the messageboard is always open for discussion. I also realise that it is still early days in the season, and things can change quickly, and although I may sound very negative, I also realise that we are a lot better than last season already, and unlike a lot of games last season, I can't wait until the next league game at Exeter.