Luton Ladies 1s go two for two in a fantastic start to the new season

Another successful Saturday for Luton Town Ladies 1st XI, in which their first home game of the season saw them come away with another 3 points after a decisive 3-2 win over Rickmansworth 1s.

It was another warm morning, however the heat wasn't the only issue the 1s had to contend with - overnight, their squad had gone from 15 down to 12 after three ladies had to pull out due to COVID! Despite knowing that the game was going to be somewhat more difficult than expected as a result, the ladies didn't let this phase them and instead focussed on the task at hand.

The first 10 minutes of the game saw the visitors dominating possession, and a well-placed ball to an unmarked attacker in Luton's D led to them going 1-0 up not long after the starting whistle. However, the 1s continued on with their attack, gaining more possession and control as they settled into the game, and it wasn't long before centre-mid Ashley Masukusa slotted the ball behind the keeper and into the net - her first goal for the club! Luton Town continued to dominate for the rest of the half, with several promising attacks in the opposition's circle, however weren't able to find the goal and went into the half-time break all square at 1-1.

Coming into the second half, Luton continued to control the game, with frustrations from the Rickmansworth team becoming clearer as they repeatedly struggled to get the ball through Luton's press and into the other half of the pitch. More consistent attacks followed and, not satisfied with just scoring the one goal, Masukusa sent the ball home in a brilliant finish through the keeper's legs to take Luton 2-1 up not long after the restart.

Luton's dominance continued until a loose ball was collected by a Rickmansworth attacker and sent towards Luton's 23m area at speed. Despite their best efforts, Town's defenders were unable to prevent the visitors from getting a shot off and the ball found the back of the goal, taking the scoreline to 2-2 with around 15 minutes left to play.

As the Luton team began to tire, Rickmansworth were able to keep up their attack, however a series of fantastic saves from goalkeeper Tammy Clark kept Luton in the running to leave with some points, and a resurgence of energy with 5 minutes to go saw the ball back into Rickmansworth's D. A furious battle resulted in a short corner being awarded, with Chelsea Wright's strike deflecting off of a foot to give the girls another go. This time, Wright's strike was saved by the Rickmansworth goalkeeper, however Masukusa was in the perfect position to pick up the rebound. Slotting the ball behind the keeper, we all thought it had gone in until a Rickmansworth defender managed to pick it off the goal-line. Once again, Masukusa was in position to pick up the clearance and this time managed to send the ball home, bagging a hattrick for herself and taking Luton 3-2 up with two minutes left on the clock.

Victory was in sight for the 1s and, knowing this, they did all they could to simply maintain possession and prevent an opportunity for Rickmansworth to score. This almost came undone after the visitors found themselves in Luton's D with one minute left, however a fantastic clearance from Charlotte McKinnon secured the win for Luton as the final whistle sounded.

The player of the match award went to Masukusa not only for her hattrick, but for her fantastic work and commitment in the midfield throughout the match.

Next week sees Luton travelling to Harpenden at 10:30am, where the ladies will be looking for their third consecutive win of the season.