8th May 2000   

Brian Kidd to oversee academy?

MATTHEW TIPTON’S injury-time penalty saw Athletic end a roller-coaster season on an upward track. But the abiding memory of this end-of-term affair will be of a player for whom the adventure is only just beginning. One of the people who helped the game flow in open, entertaining style looked to have been around for years. He ran the show with confidence, poise and precision. He sent it long, he played it short, he took control at his team’s free-kicks. He was a joy to watch and on a day with no lack of creative individuals, he was the best of the lot. Yet the top playmaker wasn’t Luton’s impressive Matthew Spring, nor the familiar figure of John Sheridan. We are talking about 18-year-old Danny Boshell. And, on the evidence so far, what a future lies in store for the latest young star to emerge from Boundary Park. It is dangerous, of course, to say too much too soon about an exciting new talent. When Mark Innes broke through at the end of last season, no-one could have expected him to be transfer-listed within a few short months.

What is more, Boshell made way after 62 minutes of his fourth league start and was clearly wilting in the heat. But there is something about this newcomer — whether it be range of passing or footballing brain — which looks just right. If he doesn’t suffer the second-season syndrome which is always a threat, he can play an enormous part in his club’s planned assault on promotion. In the shorter term, Athletic left Kenilworth Road with great satisfaction, despite failing to deliver a top-10 finish to Andy Ritchie. When substitute Tipton scored from the spot after 93 minutes, it meant his team had lost only four of their last 19 away games. Athletic’s final resting place in 1999/2000 was 14th, but that’s no reason to don the black armband. If they had managed a couple more wins during 10 months of hard toil, their rise from the grave would have taken them all the way up to eighth. On the last day, defensive strength was again vital, with Shaun Garnett, Paul Jones and Mark Hotte making only one serious mistake between them.

Athletic were much less effective in attack, yet this was the third successive game in which a late goal from a substitute brought the bonus. Manager Ritchie, it seems, has a shrewd eye for changing the course of a game. Or maybe he’s just lucky. Either way, the advantage will be crucial if, in 12 months’ time, Athletic are to have a clear view of first-division football. Luton went in front with a simple goal after nine minutes, Phil Gray heading home emphatically — but without a challenge — from Spring’s right-wing corner. There was more careless defending at the other end, but Innes had his shot blocked on the line after goalkeeper Ben Roberts had spilled a high ball. On the quarter-hour, Athletic were desperately unlucky not to equalise through a free-kick from Boshell. The midfielder stepped up when Craig Dudley was brought down just outside the box. His shot was an absolute beauty, but the curl took it an inch too far and the ball thudded back off the inside of a post. For all the attractive passing on show, it took until the 27th minute for Liam George to wriggle free and test Athletic’s Gary Kelly low to his left.

Boshell then blasted wide after giving another example of his skill by beating two men in the Luton area. Before the break, George burst through to bring an excellent reaction save from the onrushing Kelly. And the same forward threatened just after half-time when he rounded Jones but ran too wide to shoot when Kelly charged off his line. By that time, the hosts had swapped goalkeepers to give a chance to extrovert youngster Nathan Abbey. Abbey’s last first-team appearance had been so disastrous he came out afterwards to apologise to the fans. Here, he was lucky not to be facing a 48th-minute penalty when Dudley seemed to be bundled over by defender Marvin Johnson. That, though, was a rare moment of concern for Luton, who held on comfortably as Athletic tried to thread their way through — often with, if anything, too many passes. In fact, their biggest scare before stoppage time was a back header from Johnson which bobbled marginally wide with the ’keeper beaten. Kelly saved well from Spring as the match began to drift towards an anonymous conclusion. But then, with seconds to go, Scott McNiven sent in a high ball which bounced up and hit Alan White on the hand 10 yards from goal. It was the kind of penalty which sometimes you get, sometimes you don’t. Tipton — totally unruffled by all the last-ditch kerfuffle — hammered home to send Athletic’s travelling army into the summer with a song, a smile and, most of all, renewed hope for next season.