Cornick laments the 'sloppy goals' conceded by Luton during Brighton defeat

Town attacker Harry Cornick felt that his side paid the price for conceding some ‘sloppy goals’ during Saturday’s 3-1 pre-season friendly defeat against Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.

The visitors made their class show with three good finishes, but Luton boss Nathan Jones wasn’t happy with the defending for the Seagulls’ second and third efforts, with Enock Mwepu left unmarked to sweep past Simon Sluga and then Percy Tau beating both Dan Potts and Gabe Osho with ease to slot into the bottom corner.

Cornick echoed the thoughts of his manager, saying: “It was a good test.

"Obviously they’re a great side, they’ve got great players so it was going to be a tough game, we knew that coming into it, as they’ve got quality all over the pitch.

“I thought we battled well, created chances but it wasn’t our day.

“We didn’t take our chances, a few sloppy goals for them and it looks like an easy game for them, but I thought we were right at it for the ninety really.”

Although Cornick went on to score Luton’s only goal of the game, he had a glorious chance before the deadlock was broken, shooting straight at keeper Robert Sanchez from close range following Elijah Adebayo’s powerful run and pass.

He continued: “He’s done well there Elijah, usually he shoots, so he’s learned to pass!

“It was a great cutback from him, but I didn’t catch it as well as I wanted.

“The keeper’s made a save, it was a good save, it would have been a great start to the game, scoring that but them scoring straight after was a bit of a sucker blow.

“We created enough chances to win the game, I’ve had a couple of chances, a few others did, but it wasn’t our day in front of goal.

“They scored three which I don’t think they really deserved, a few sloppy errors for the goals, but 3-1 I think complements them too much.”

After Cornick failed to convert his opportunity, ex-Luton loanee Aaron Connolly showed how it was done, racing on to Adam Lallana's perfect through ball to confidently beat Sluga and find the net.

The Luton forward added: “That’s what it’s like at the very top, you give them one chance and they’ll score.

"Aaron’s a great player, when he was training with us every day, he’s a class act, so I’m happy for him doing well here and he deserves that.

"He’ll probably go on to have a great career, so you’ve got to take your chances otherwise you will get caught out against the best sides."