Player Ratings: Plymouth Argyle 3-1 Luton Town

Luton Town failed to make it three wins in a row on Friday night, as they fell to a 3-1 defeat on the south coast, at the hands of Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle.

Rob Edwards’ side were once again lacklustre, as Plymouth eased to victory under the lights, with Thomas Kaminski’s heroics in goal the only thing preventing further embarrassment on the night. The Hatters simply could not get going, and unlike the previous two games, were unable to come away with all three points in spite of a poor performance. The Town were so poor in both boxes, calamitous at the back for all three Plymouth goals, as well as toothless in attack.

The home side were ahead after just eight minutes, when Rami Hajal fired into the top corner from the edge of the box, and the Luton defending left a lot to be desired with the Hatters failing to clear their lines. The Town responded well enough to the early goal but were unable to produce anything in the final third, striker Elijah Adebayo the main culprit as he spurned chance after chance.

The game looked to be wrapped up when Ibrahim Cissoko fired past Kaminski with 20 minutes to go, but new signing Victor Moses gave the Hatters a glimpse when his left-footed finish found the net just two minutes later. However, despite having a goal ruled out for a tight offside call, Luton were unable to find the equaliser, and Sissoko put the game out of reach in stoppage time to send the Hatters home pointless.

Player Ratings

Kaminski - 6

Was one of the only Town players who could hold their heads up high, keeping the Hatters in the game with a number of top-class stops. With little protection in front of him, the Belgian cannot really be faulted for any of the three goals.

Walters - 4

Struggled to make any sort of impact going forward, and struggled against the electric Sissoko in the second period. Was forced out to left centre back in the second half due to injuries.

Burke - 4

It was a difficult day for each of the centre backs, and Burke made the mistake leading to the opening goal. The Town are seemingly having real trouble with three centre backs currently, and it will be interesting to see if Rob Edwards makes a formation switch for Tuesday evening.

McGuinness - 5

Probably the best of the centre backs, but by no means a completely solid performance from the summer signing. He seems imperious in the air but struggles in a foot race with a quick attacker, and has been exposed at times this season.

Mengi - 5

The defender pulled up in the first half and could face a spell on the sidelines. Not what Rob Edwards needed.

Doughty - 5

Showed his quality to pick out Moses for the goal, but made little other impact going forward apart from that. Struggled with his set pieces once again, with too many of the Town’s 15 corners being overhit.

Krauß- 4

As expected, the German worked hard in midfield, but was booked early on which limited his impact. Struggled to really make any difference in forward areas as the Town were overrun in the centre of the park.

Clark - 3

It was a horrible evening for Clark, a rare off day for a player who is normally so consistent. He gave the ball away far too much, and was bypassed by Plymouth counter attacks. The midfield seemed to be screaming out for Nakamba and Hatters fans will hope the defensive midfielder is fit for Tuesday evening.

Chong - 4

Once again didn’t really seem to be involved in the game, before taking a nasty blow to the head just before the half time whistle.

Nelson - 4

Tried his best, and had some moments of promise in the first half, but like the rest of the Town side seemed to be missing that final pass too often. With Jacob Brown back in the fold he could struggle to find himself in the starting XI over the next couple of weeks.

Adebayo - 3

It just all seems to be going wrong at the moment for Adebayo. He was the starman last season, but he looks worlds away from that player currently, devoid of all confidence. He missed multiple chances again on Friday night as the wait for a first goal of the season continues, but the most worrying thing was his hesitance to pull the trigger. Must be taken out the firing line by Edwards.

Subs

Andersen - 5

Came on for the injured Mengi in the first half, but only lasted 15 minutes as his horrific injury luck continues. Has barely featured since he arrived and could face yet another spell on the sidelines.

Brown - 5

Finally back from a long term injury, and there will hopefully be a lot more to come from the energetic winger in the coming games.

Moses - 6

A bright spark in a dismal display, Moses opened his account for the Hatters with a smart left-footed finish. The winger constantly looks to beat his man and must be in line for a start in midweek.

Woodrow - 5

Came on while the Hatters chased the game, but made very little impact.

Taylor - 6

Came on to big cheers once again, and thought he had found the equaliser, only for his celebrations to be cut short by the linesman’s flag. With Morris injured and Adebayo bang out of form, the diminutive striker will be knocking on Edwards’ door.