Hatters wingback Ogbene felt he saw waves of sound during raucous Anfield atmosphere

Luton wingback Chiedozie Ogbene revealed it felt like he could see waves of sound on the pitch at Anfield such was the noise levels created by the Liverpool fans during the Hatters’ 4-1 defeat on Wednesday night.

With Town going to Merseyside looking to spring a major surprise in the Premier League title race, that ambition remained intact at the half-way stage, Ogbene’s goal on 12 minutes putting them ahead and shocking the home faithful. Rather than go into the shells though, the Reds supporters simply got louder and louder in their support of their players, even if there were elements of frustration when the Reds, in particular Harvey Elliot, although Luis Diaz was just as culpable, missed another excellent chance in that opening 45 minutes.

It only took 10 minutes of the second period for the pressure valve to be released though, as with Sambi Lokonga off the pitch due to a hamstring injury, Jurgen Klopp’s men took full advantage, Virgil van Dijk powering a header home from Alex Mac Allister’s corner. Knowing the importance of the three points, the hosts were roared on by a now deafening home crowd of nearly 60,000, scoring again just two minutes later when Luton switched off, Mac Allister crossing for Cody Gakpo to bury his header.

Further goals from Diaz and Elliot followed, but asked what just what is was like playing in a such a cauldron, easily the best away atmosphere Luton have experienced this season bar none, Ogbene said: “It was very loud when they scored the second goal, the third goal, the vocals. Everyone was screaming and I just felt I could see waves of their sounds. It was difficult, but it’s what we all dream of. It’s why Luton Town got promoted to be in this level and we want to stay in this level to test ourselves. We’ve come here, fought very well, just not got the result and hopefully we regain our status for this year, come back here again next year and see what can happen.”

Having done their best to dampen the atmosphere in the first period, Ogbene had hoped they could have had a similar experience during the second 45 minutes. It never looked the case, Liverpool going close on numerous occasions, as the crowd ramped the noise levels up a few more decibels, before they did finally level through their captain. Once parity was restored, they began to run away with the evening, as the wingback knew Klopp’s men had too much, continuing: “We tried to be as positive as possible, tried to continue doing what we were doing in the first half as obviously it worked, but they were just too hot to handle.

“The first half we carried out the tactics very well, the second half they made a few changes, maybe we didn’t rectify it early. The goals that we conceded are due to a lot of our decision making, when to get rid of it, maybe we had a few chances to get rid of it, and I tried to play and they got some momentum from that. It’s very difficult, you try to do the right things, we’re all human, we make mistakes and they get the crowd and the atmosphere going. You’re just trying to break that cycle and change momentum, but the game just got away from us.”

Although it was Luton's joint biggest defeat of the campaign, also beaten 4-1 by Brighton on the opening day and going down 3-0 to Chelsea, they still retain a good chance of staying up, as with 13 games to go, Town are level on points with Everton, but possess a worse goal difference. Even though it was Liverpool, Ogbene knows his side will have to defend better than the 90 minutes they produced at Anfield if they want to keep hold of their top flight status, starting in the FA Cup at home to Manchester City on Tuesday and then when Aston Villa come to Kenilworth Road next Saturday evening. He added: “That’s the way the manager wants us to play, play the Luton way.

"We don’t just sit in a low block and absorb pressure, we still go in behind, still pin teams back and be direct, that’s what we wanted to do, come to Liverpool away and this is why they’re one of the best in the world. They dealt with some of our direct play very well, but overall, the chances that we gave away were self inflicted. We always look at the game back and just make sure we don’t make the same mistakes. I’m sure the manager is disappointed with the four goals in the second half. We can lose, but don't lose by four goals in the second half. Sometimes it's better to happen now than later on in the season when you're fighting to stay up and we make those mistakes.”