Hatters held to a dour stalemate at Coventry

Luton ground out a hard-fought point in what was an instantly forgettable and dour clash at Coventry City this evening.

After back-to-back defeats on the road, the clean sheet will be welcomed by Town manager Nathan Jones, but bar a 10-minute spell prior to the break, his side never really looked like scoring, as they failed to find the net away from Kenilworth Road for a third successive match.

The Hatters made four changes to the side from the 2-0 defeat at Swansea, with Sonny Bradley in for the first time following the death of his father recently.

Also in came Harry Cornick, Joe Morrell and Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, with Matty Pearson suspended, George Moncur and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall dropping to the bench, James Bree missing out completely.

Town lined up with the back three that boss Nathan Jones had wanted to start with at Swansea, while Harry Cornick and James Collins were more of a traditional front two.

Cornick couldn't quite sort his feet out as a half-chance went begging, but Town comfortably avoided conceding the early goal they had in both previous away games at Swansea and Cardiff, to give themselves a chance of gaining a foothold.

Home midfielder Callum O'Hare tried his luck from 20 yards, seeing an effort deflect behind, as the Sky Blues forced two corners in quick succession.

Town then gave the ball away midway through the half when trying to play their way out of defence, striker Tyler Walker released in the area, crashing an effort against the outside of the post and behind.

O'Hare then put another effort over after escaping the attentions of Luton's back-line, as did Luke Berry for Town from outside the box.

The Hatters had their best chance on 35 minutes, Jordan Clark's cross nodded down by Berry as James Collins could only half volley high into the stands from 10 yards.

Town then started to dominate proceedings, with a number of crosses from the right hand side causing trouble and Mpanzu beginning to dictate things in the middle of the park.

Cornick stood up an inviting ball which saw Collins mistime his jump, unable to direct an effort on target, while the recalled attacker went for goal himself from 25 yards, Ben Wilson gathering easily.

From a deep Berry free kick, Dan Potts went over claiming he was pushed, only to see nothing given by official Andy Woolmer, with the resulting corner deflecting narrowly behind for another.

After the break, City settled quicker, Hamer's long range shot confidently gathered by Shea, with Max Biamou then glancing Frankaty Dabo's the wrong side of the post.

Clark's ambitious volley was never going to test Wilson on the hour mark, as although Town had the odd foray forward, they never seriously looked like creating anything of a clear-cut nature.

In the final seconds of normal time, Mpanzu, who was the most impressive attacking threat on the night, sent in an excellent cross that just flicked off the head of a home defender and dropped past the post for what was almost an undeserved winner.

Five minutes of stoppage time followed, but there could have been double or triple that and neither side would have scored as it was no surprise to anyone at St Andrew's that the spoils were ultimately shared.

Sky Blues: Ben Wilson, Leo Ostigard, Kyle McFadzean, Liam Kelly ©, Max Biamou, Callum O'Hare (Jordan Shipley 77), Dom Hyam, Tyler Walker (Amadou Bakayoko 89), Sam McCallum, Fankaty Dabo, Gustavo Hamer.

Subs not used: Lee Camp, Jamie Allen, Wesley Jobello, Ben Sheaf, Josh Pask, Ryan Giles,, Julien Dacosta.

Hatters: James Shea, Dan Potts, Glen Rea, Tom Lockyer, Sonny Bradley ©, Luke Berry (Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall 71), Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, Joe Morrell, Harry Cornick (Sam Nombe 85), Jordan Clark, James Collins.

Subs not used: Harry Isted, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Elliot Lee, George Moncur, Brendan Galloway, Kazenga LuaLua, Sam Beckwith.

Booked: Berry 28, O'Hare 37, Hamer 41, Kelly 46, Potts 80.

Referee: Andy Woolmer.