An injury ravaged Bournemouth side couldn't beat Barrow of the Blue Square North either, with the League One strugglers falling behind after 20 minutes to a Kevin Rapley goal. Jem Karacan, on loan from Reading, equalised before half-time, but Bournemouth were unable to find a winner, so they had to settle for a replay at Dean Court. Ex-Hatter Paul Telfer was in action for Bournemouth at Barrow, whilst David Bayliss was an unused sub for the home side. The biggest shock came at Nene Park, where Blue Square Premier side Rushden saw off League Two Macclesfield thanks to two goals from Simeon Jackson that saw the only Football League giant-killing on Saturday.
Sunday was a better day for non-league teams, as Forest Green Rovers earned a replay against Rotherham United, although they will feel aggrieved about not winning the tie. Stuart Fleetwood scored twice early on to put Forest Green 2-0 up, but Stephen Brogan and Chris O'Grady rescued Rotherham and gave them a replay at Millmoor. Yeovil were not so lucky, however, and after Marcus Stewart opened the scoring for the Glovers, a Torquay team inspired by former Luton man Danny Stevens, came back to win 4-1, with Stevens netting twice.
With the exception of Bournemouth and Yeovil, League One sides escaped the first round of the League Cup relatively embarrassment free. High flying Swansea went behind against Ryman Premier League Billericay before going on to win 2-1, and similarly Altrincham took the lead at home to Millwall before Millwall came back to win 2-1 after a harsh penalty and sending-off for Chris Lane. Ahmet Brkovic played for Millwall, despite being on loan from Luton and now being cup-tied, and he seemed to play quite well for the Lions, where he is being GIVEN A PROPER CHANCE TO IMPRESS.
Elsewhere in matches involving League One sides, two late goals from Luke Beckett saved Huddersfield's blushes against Accrington Stanley, and ensured a 3-2 win for the Terriers. Malvin Kamara scored Huddersfield's other goal. Michael Ricketts ensured a happy return to Bescot Stadium for Luton's opponents next week Walsall, with the opening goal against League Two Shrewsbury. Ishmel Demontagnac scored the other goal to see Walsall into the Second Round with a 2-0 win. Christian Roberts and Billy Paynter scored second half goals to give Swindon a 2-1 win at League Two Wycombe, and there were also 2-1 wins for Southend and Crewe, both at home, against Rochdale and Franchise respectively. Lee Sinnott started his reign at Port Vale with a comfortable Vale victory over Morecambe, with goals from George Pilkington and Callum Willock after a defensive mix-up. Hartlepool comfortably saw off Gainsborough Trinity with a 6-0 win away from home. However, things were not so smooth for other League One teams.
Gillingham were also the victims of a cup upset. After taking the lead at Barnet through David Graham, two second-half Barnet goals proved enough to see the Hertfordshire team into the second round of the cup, whilst Northampton had to settle for a replay at Sixfields Stadium after being held at Darlington, Colin Larkin equalising in the first half for the Cobblers. In the all League One affairs, Cheltenham drew 1-1 with Brighton, Bristol Rovers earned a home replay against Orient, and Oldham and Doncaster ended 2-2. Tranmere earned a good away win against League Two side Chesterfield, but high-flying Carlisle struggled at home to Grimsby, with a late Zigor Aranalde penalty saving their blushes and earning Carlisle a replay at Blundell Park. If Luton progress, their future opponents are still unclear after a 1-1 draw at Sincil Bank between Lincoln City and Nottingham Forest. Leeds also struggled at League Two Hereford, having to settle for a replay at Elland Road, with Dennis Wise blaming fatigue as the factor behind the draw, also calling Leeds mighty along the way. So mighty that they have Tresor Kandol up front.
Of course, none of this really concerned Luton fans (except Brkovic playing for Millwall maybe) at the end of the day, because a poor result put our chances of qualifying for the Second Round of the FA Cup in major doubt. An awful first half showing (apparently) saw Luton trail 1-0 at the break before Calvin Andrew equalised late on. Calvin was playing on his own up front for much of the match after an injury to Paul Furlong after five minutes, despite Blackwell saying that Calvin wasn't really suited to playing up front on his own. We also had a right-footed player at left-back, despite a fully fit left-back being available, and as soon as we had two strikers on the pitch (with Talbot replacing Edwards) we actually scored through young Calvin. Our reliance on Furlong is worrying enough anyway without things being made worse with an injury. There is also the question of how wise it is to play 4-5-1 when we are at home against a team a division below us. We may be short on strikers, with just Andrew fully fit, and doubts over Furlong and Talbot's current fitness, but there are still players that can play up front. Dean Morgan can fill in, remember him? Ryan Charles is also performing well for the youth team apparently, why not give him a go? And there is that player who is out on loan that is more than capable of scoring goals, but apparently he has had his chance.
So to summarise, a few questions to be put to Kevin Blackwell:
1) Why do we persist in playing one striker up front with Edwards occasionally supporting? First of all, Edwards has many plus points as a player, but shooting doesn't appear to be one of them, as he misses a lot of chances, and secondly, our strikers are not Thierry Henry, Fernando Torres or Adriano. Furlong and Andrew are both very hard working players, but neither has any real pace, and Calvin cannot hold the ball up very well, so both players definitely need some support. Playing one striker at home is completely ridiculous.
2) Why was Paul Furlong rushed back to fitness for a Cup match? It would be disappointing if we lost in the Cup, of course, but isn't it more important to ensure Furlong is ready for Walsall next week, rather than risking his fitness in a game such as yesterday's? Also, playing an unfit striker on their own up front isn't really a wise move.
3) When was it exactly that you gave Ahmet Brkovic a chance? Was it last season when he was injured? Or maybe you gave him a chance to dye his hair, and he dyed it in the wrong colour. Apparently, he has had a chance the same as everyone else. The same chance as Sol Davis, maybe? The same chance as Lewis Emanuel? The same chance as Marlon has had, who at least deserves a place on the bench. Please clarify what you have said about him being given a chance, because you will need to do some explaining if you get rid of him, which looks on the cards as you let him play for Millwall in the cup. Of course, that doesn't matter now, as we'll probably be going out of the FA Cup anyway.
4) Not necessarily about yesterday's performance, but why don't you try to let the team play football rather than hoofing it long to the lone striker every match (at least in most matches I've seen us in recently)? I believe that most fans are staying away because of this style of football - they don't want to pay silly money to watch ugly football, although obviously the running of the club is a major concern as well. If you want the support of the fans back, then try playing some football.
5) Why not put a keeper on the bench once in a while? There must be someone who is a proper goalkeeper who can go on the bench at the club, what will we do if Brill gets injured or sent off, as he did in one pre-season friendly? On that occasion, we didn't even have another goalkeeper in the country, if I remember correctly. Anyway, a keeper on the bench will probably be more useful than Don Hutchinson.
By Peter Bulkeley (a Black Country Hatter who isn't looking forward to losing to Walsall next week).