Luton Town were beaten 3-2 at home by Plymouth Argyle despite the Devonians being reduced to ten men.
Plymouth had taken the lead through Matty Sorinola, before a Jerry Yates penalty brought the home side level.
Bradley Ibrahim put the visitors ahead for a second time in stoppage time, but a second Luton penalty after the break was scored by Nahki Wells, with Plymouth then seeing captain Joe Edwards sent off.
However, Luton were unable to find a winner and instead fell 3-2 behind when Ibrahim scored for a second time, in what ended up being the game’s decisive goal.
The result means Luton have lost home games against the two sides relegated with them from last season’s Championship in close proximity, having lost to Cardiff at Kenilworth Road last month.
Having been off last week for international call-ups, Luton had been hoping to push on after their comfortable win at Burton Albion in the last game before their weekend off.
They faced a Plymouth side who had started slower under former Watford boss Tom Cleverley, but who arrived after picking up 2 wins in their previous 3 outings.
The side who made the long trip from Devon to Bedfordshire would get the opening goal, when Sorinola met Lorent Tolaj’s cross and headed in a 15th minute opener.
Luton responded quickly, however, equalising within 5 minutes. The hosts were given a penalty after a foul by Brendan Wiredu on Lasse Nordas, and Jerry Yates scored the penalty to put the Hatters back on level terms.
The hosts could’ve taken the lead just after, with Plymouth keeper Luca Ashby-Hammond denying strikes from Zack Nelson and Millenic Alli.
But Plymouth had a danger of their own and having spurned a few half-chances, it would be Plymouth who scored the game’s third goal when they made it 2-1 in first half stoppage time.
Ibrahim was able to make the goal by himself, with the Plymouth midfielder swiping the ball off Nelson before firing past Josh Keeley.
Luton boss Matt Bloomfield made a double change at half-time and his side duly managed to grab a second equaliser, again coming from the spot. Sorinola was deemed to have fouled Gideon Kodua, and from the spot, Wells scored the Hatters’ second penalty of the day.
Less than two minutes after the second Luton equaliser, Plymouth then had Edwards sent off after the midfielder’s challenge on former Exeter man Alli was deemed worthy of instant dismissal.
With a player advantage on the field, Luton pushed for a third, with Yates missing the target from close range before Wells was denied by Ashby-Hammond.
An eventful game had a further twist when Plymouth had manager Cleverley sent off, but that incident would then be followed up by the visitors taking the lead for a third time.
Plymouth won a corner and somewhere amidst a chaotic scramble, an attempted Luton clearance struck Ibrahim and bounced into the Luton net to make it 3-2 to the visitors.
The Hatters pressed to try and make it 3-3, with Wells denied by Ashby-Hammond and the keeper denying Christ Makosso.
But despite there being ten minutes of second-half added time, Luton had no answers as they slipped to defeat in the mid-September sunshine.
Luton will be seeking to make amends next time out, when they make the trip to play Lincoln City.
Northampton Town made it 3 wins in a row in League One after a 1-0 victory over Blackpool.
Cameron McGeehan’s goal in the final 10 minutes was the deciding factor for Kevin Nolan’s side, as Northampton picked up the three points in a lunchtime kick-off at Sixfields.
The result sees Northampton return from their international break with a third straight win, having previously seen off Exeter and Leyton Orient in their last two matches.
The Cobblers could’ve landed an early breakthrough when Tyrese Fornah saw a deflected strike kept out by Bailey Peacock-Farrell, with Fornah seeing another strike miss the target a few moments later.
Lee Burge kept out Danny Imray when Blackpool made a forward foray with a counter-attack, before McGeehan’s header at a corner was thwarted by Peacock-Farrell.
The first half petered out after a frantic start, but the second would see Blackpool start on the front foot, with Niall Ennis seeing a header just trickle wide of the mark.
McGeehan was denied by Peacock-Farrell but a flurry of chances were falling Blackpool’s way, with the visitors seeing Josh Bowler have a strike deflected wide before Ennis was kept out by Burge.
Burge would also keep out a long-range strike by Jordan Brown, before Northampton were able to limit Blackpool’s attempts to open the scoring as the second half wore on.
In the final minutes of the 90, Northampton then found themselves a way to open the scoring. Nesta Guinness-Walker’s pass release McGeehan, who advanced before finding the back of the net.
Substitute Ashley Fletcher missed the target with a chance to equalise for Blackpool, while Northampton sub Jack Burroughs made an important defensive block, but the home side were able to pick up the points at the end of the contest.
Northampton will be chasing a fourth straight League One next time out, when they travel to play Wycombe Wanderers.
Milton Keynes City Council have said that they are set to appoint a heat supplier for a major project setting up a zero carbon heat network.
Earlier this year, the city council secured £4.35m from the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to prepare three buildings to be connected to a heat network. All three buildings are significant energy users.
The project is part of the city council’s ambition to become net zero in the next five years.
The sites that form part of the network include the swimming pool at Woughton Leisure Centre, Milton Keynes Central Library or at a central Civic building, with the City Council intending for these to be powered by clean and sustainable energy.
Heat networks capture and share local heat that would otherwise go to waste, such as data servers or waste processing facilities. For instance, at Milton Keynes Waste Recovery Park, 133,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste are processed every year, creating electricity for the city’s fleet of electric bin lorries and also generating heat.
MK City Council have said they are exploring the opportunity of transferring it into nearby buildings, cutting bills and emissions.
In the UK, heating buildings is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases, and the Government aims for 17% of UK heat to come from local heat networks by 2030. In Milton Keynes, the first phase of the network will supply the Civic building, Central Library and Woughton Leisure Centre offering clean, reliable and affordable alternatives to gas heating.
It will also pave the way for a larger carbon heating system across the city which would heat homes and businesses. This kind of network will protect the city from volatile hikes in gas prices, providing Milton Keynes with greater ‘energy security’.
Plans to approve a heat supplier are to be brought to a council meeting next week.
Cabinet Member for Planning and Placemaking, Cllr Shanika Mahendran, said, “Milton Keynes has always been an innovative place and we’re proud to be leading the way on tackling climate issues in new and creative ways. By connecting our buildings to a low-carbon heat network, we’re not only making our buildings greener, but are setting down a marker for a more sustainable future for everyone in our city.”
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for strong winds in Milton Keynes and across southern England.
The warning is in place from 8pm tomorrow (14/09) through to 6pm on Monday (15/09), with the warning intended to highlight that strong and gusty winds are likely to cause some disruption to travel and interruptions to power.
Strong winds are forecast as the weather shifts in the UK, with the hot temperatures of a largely very dry summer giving way to more wet and windy conditions in recent weeks.
Conditions highlighted by the Met Office include the likelihood that there is a likelihood of some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport, potential for conditions to affect some bus and train services, with some journeys taking longer, and a likelihood of delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges likely.
Some short term loss of power and other services is possible, while it’s likely that some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will be affected by spray and/or large waves.
So far, the Met Office has opted not to upgrade the cell of strong winds into a full storm, which would’ve seen any storm system named Storm Amy as per the naming convention for storms.
Forecasts from the Met Office hints that wind will build in speed on Sunday, in tandem with a period of rain, before peaking in intensity on Monday afternoon.
Police are appealing for witnesses following a reported rape in the Broughton area of Milton Keynes.
Between around 6pm and 6.30pm on Monday (8/9), the victim, who was a woman aged in her thirties, was found by a member of the public in a wooded area near to Kemsley Crescent allotments in Broughton Park, reporting that she had been raped.
No arrests have been made, and a full investigation is under way.
Detective Inspector Rachel Wheaton, of Milton Keynes CID, lead the appeals by Thames Valley Police.
DI Wheaton said, “The victim is being supported by specially trained officers, and we have launched an investigation.
“This incident has occurred early in the evening on Monday, and I am appealing to anybody who witnessed any suspicious activity, or believes that they have any information that may assist this investigation to please get in touch with Thames Valley Police.
“At this stage, we have been unable to obtain a description of the offender from any witnesses or the victim, and so we are urgently appealing for anybody who has any information to contact us.
“I fully understand the concern incidents such as this will have in our local community, and I would like to reassure the public that we are investigating this incident as a priority.
“There is an increased police presence in the area, including reassurance patrols.
“I would urge you to please speak to an officer if you have any concerns, or have any information.
“You can also make a report online via our website or by calling 101, quoting reference 43250460523, or to report anonymously, call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
