Luton Town progress as the inexperienced impress

Cruising to a 3-0 victory at Cambridge United, yesterday evening proved that we have the squad depth that we can depend upon during an increasingly hectic fixture list.

Elliot Thorpe was handed his first-team debut, whilst Carlos Mendes Gomes and Peter Kioso were trusted from the very start, with all three impressing.

A lot of fans have been hoping to catch a glimpse of Thorpe in the first-team setting for quite a while now and the 21-year-old took the opportunity with both hands.

Not only did it take just 16 minutes for the young midfielder to grab an assist, his delivery from set-pieces, combined with his spatial awareness and ability to drive through the midfield, saw him emerge as one of the top performers last night.

Mendes Gomes also displayed the match-turning quality he possesses in glimpses and it is now about gaining the consistency factor.

He took his goal very well and looked dangerous when running at the Cambridge defence and he even drew a lot of compliments from the hosts on social media.

We certainly have an exciting player in Mendes Gomes, who has the confidence required to consistently operate at Championship level, he just needs to pick up better positions and look to drive at defenders on a more consistent basis.

Peter Kioso is another who shone last night for us, with his desire to get up and down the right flank and physicality proving to make things difficult for our League One opposition.

The flying right wing-back has all the tools to succeed with the Hatters and finds himself unlucky that James Bree is seemingly in the best form of his Luton career thus far.

However, performances like last night suggest that Bree will be pushed all the way in what remains of the season.

For me, I would have liked to have seen a few more crosses and final-third involvements from Kioso, but the young defender was let down on a couple of occasions last night by the ball through to him.

It was excellent to see Admiral Muskwe get on the scoresheet last night, albeit via a cruel deflection.

The African Cup of Nations came at the wrong time for him, although, it would have been an exciting time for him and a major learning curve.

He was hitting excellent form in December, causing chaos against Fulham and was a bright spark away against Blackpool.

Since he has returned, it appears that he has struggled with a slight loss of confidence.

Muskwe has undoubted talent, with his marauding runs and close control a real cause for concern for opposing defences, it is now about rebuilding that confidence and I am sure that the young attacker will be a real threat.

All in all, it was an impressive display from the younger players who are seemingly on the fringes of regular first-team contention.

Thorpe particularly impressed me, and whilst it may take a while for him to grow into a regular starter, he has all the tools to enjoy a successful career with us.

I was also glad to see the passion from Kioso, as things have not entirely gone his way so far in his short career but it is clear to see he has what it takes to see more minutes in the Championship.