Caledonia Dreaming or Ian38018 Sporting Travels: Kenilworth Road

Friday 1 September 2023

Kenilworth Road

Luton Town 3-2 Gillingham

29th August 2023

Given Luton Town FC's recent rise to the rarefied heights of The Premier League, and their ground Kenilworth Road's (very) modest capacity of under 12,000, I guessed my only option for getting into the place would be for a cup tie against a lower league side.

So, I was more than delighted when the second round draw for the EFL (Carabao) Cup brought Gillingham Town to visit.

Luton has this neat little "Busway" which looks as if it was built
on an former rail line. There is stop just outside the football ground.

The corner of Oak Road and Maple road, looking up towards the exterior of the Main Stand.

The entrance to the Kenilworth Stand

Gillingham fans awaiting the opening of the Oak Stand

This frankly unsafe looking alleyway is Beech Hill Path, by which the
(newly developed) Bobbers Stand may be accessed.

The path really would benefit from a touch of TLC.

This match had been deemed a "Test Event" for the recently redeveloped Bobbers Stand, the club having had to postpone their scheduled opening Premier League fixture ten days earlier. I have no idea what the Bobbers Stand looked like previously, but the re-developed version is a singular sight indeed. For behind maybe 10 rows of pitch-side seating is what looks for all the world like a single tier of glass greenhouses, which I took to be corporate hospitality boxes.

That the club chose to spend whatever on installing these cash cows, rather than upgrading those backless seats in front of the Main Stand, says much about where most clubs' priorities (are compelled to) lie these days.

The rest of the ground looks as if it has barely changed in decades, with the David Preece Stand (named for a former player) a real squeeze.

A real throwback to a bygone age.....and I loved it all.

Kenilworth Road - Luton Town FC

There is no getting away from the fact, there really is some
pretty basic seating at the ground.

And things are VERY snug in the Preece Stand.....

.....and the sightlines are not always the best.

Part of the recently re-developed Bobbers Stand.
I assume, rather like Ninian Park's old Bob Bank, Luton's Bobbers Stand was so
called because once upon a time it cost a bob (one shilling or 5p) to get in.

Holes in the roof from when the old (presumably Premier
League non-compliant) floodlights were removed.

The hospitality glass houses (no throwing of stones) atop the new Bobbers Stand.

Before the match I did wonder just how seriously Luton would be taking this Carabao Cup tie, given their opening home Premier League match with West Ham United was just three days hence.

The presence of reserve goalkeeper Tim Krul in the line-up initially made me think the answer was "not very". And true enough, only three of the Hatters' XI which had started the previous league match with Chelsea were retained (Ryan Giles, Amari'i Bell and club captain Tom Lockyer), with the last named being replaced at half-time. Marquee signing Ross Barkley found himself starting on the bench.

Gillingham for their part made six changes from their previous outing, so clearly they also viewed the business, to an extent, as just a glorified training session.

All of which may, or may not, have contributed to the fact this really was a very entertaining encounter, with five quality goals thrown in.

Jacob BROWN grabbed the first in just 90 seconds with a crisp shot across the bows of visiting 'keeper Glenn Morris. A training-ground worked free-kick between Luke Berry and Alfie DOUGHTY, resulted in the latter curling the ball into the top corner to double the home side's lead, in the 28th minute. 2-0 the score remained at the break, and Gillingham for all their honest endeavour had barely troubled their hosts.

But that all changed when ten minutes into the second half, the Route One approach brought dividends for the visitors. A clearance by Gill's keeper Glenn Morris was headed on by Macauley Bonne into the path of the sprightly Jayden Clarke. The former Spurs youth player then sold Mads Anderson a delightful dummy before scoring past Krul. After the match, the media seemed to be raving about Doughty's long-range "screamer", but I enjoyed this one far more. Indeed, had to stop myself applauding the goal, sitting as I was cheek-by-jowl with (at that point) irate Hatters' fans.

Gillingham then enjoyed their best spell of the match against a clearly rattled home defence. Tim Krul was called upon to make a fine stop from Ashley Nadesan, after the latter had bullied Amari'i Bell off the ball. Then, from the resultant corner, Gills' Macauley Bonne hoofed a great opportunity skywards, when hitting the target looked far easier.

At this point Luton manager Rob Edwards clearly decided it was time to introduce Ross Barkley into proceedings. And whilst I am not suggesting the former Everton man single-handedly turned the tide back in his side's favour, he did win possession in midfield to set up the move which led to Luton's third, not long after coming on. A long ball into the Gill's box was headed by visiting defender Sadrach Ogie into the path of a grateful Cauley WOODROW, whose powerful but controlled finish was in sharp contrast to Bonne's wild slash at the other end, a few minutes earlier.

Gillingham did pull another goal back in the 88th minute when Tom NICHOLS guided a cross from Cheye Alexander past Krul via a post, but the scoring ended there with the home lads being rewarded with a third round tie at Exeter.