Lawrence begins a fourth game in succession after Etihad loan move
Luton boss Jack Wilshere insists that Manchester City loanee Emilio Lawrence needs to ‘learn quickly’ and start making ‘better decisions’ if he is going to really help the Hatters in the final third of the pitch during his time at Kenilworth Road.
The 20-year-old, who agreed a deal to head to Bedfordshire from the Etihad until the end of the season earlier this month, started his fourth game in succession on Saturday as after having struggled on his first outing, the 2-1 win over Stevenage, there were signs of gradual improvement from the Scotland U21 international in the Vertu Trophy clash with Swindon Town that followed, as he showcased his pace, dribbling skills and close control to win a penalty for the hosts in the first half.
That carried on when Town drew 2-2 against Lincoln City last weekend, Lawrence leading some threatening charges for the hosts during the first period as well, not afraid to go for goal either, having two shots saved by visiting keeper George Wickens and slicing another off target, before making way early in the second period.
Emilio Lawrence started his fourth game in succession since joining the Hatters on loan - pic: David Horn / PRiME Media Imagesplaceholder image
Emilio Lawrence started his fourth game in succession since joining the Hatters on loan - pic: David Horn / PRiME Media Images
It meant he then kept his place for the trip to Plymouth Argyle at the weekend, chosen ahead of both Cohen Bramall and Shayden Morris who were on the bench, as he continued on the right hand side once more, new signing Kasey Palmer as the central attacking midfielder and Gideon Kodua shifted out to the left at Home Park.
However, with the hosts dominating a first half in which they pressed Town with real aggression, it meant the visitors struggled to demonstrate any kind of real goal threat of their own on the rare opportunities they were able to get deep into opposition territory, Lawrence kept very much on the periphery, restricted to just 17 touches of the ball and making six passes, while he failed to deliver a single accurate cross, unable to win any of his duels either.
He did have two shots, although neither were on target, as the Pilgrims got the goal they deserved in first half stoppage time, Brendan Galloway’s acrobatic attempt finding the net. After the break, Lawrence carried on for just under 15 minutes, before going off for Morris, who instantly began to get some joy on the right hand side, albeit unable to find the Hatters a leveller, as they made it a disappointing five games without a win on the road.
With Luton on their travels once more tomorrow night, when heading up to Huddersfield Town, Wilshere has a decision to make over which attackers he picks to try and end their poor sequence outside of Bedfordshire, Luton scoring just three times in those five encounters, drawing blanks in three of the matches, as asked about Lawrence’s efforts in Devon, he said: “He is (learning), I think you can see the moments he has when he drives inside and then he has to make better decisions.
"He can’t turn the ball over so many times because then it goes into a game that they want and they’ve got two guys upfront who are waiting for that to happen, give the ball away and then come alive and transition on us. It’s a learning point, we want him to learn and he needs to learn quickly, so let’s see how he recovers for Tuesday.”
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