Rob Edwards reflects on ‘fantastic week’ for Luton following victory over Stoke

Posted Sunday, February 05, 2023 by PA

Luton boss Rob Edwards heaped praise on his players after a 1-0 victory over Stoke earned his side their second home win in a week.

Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu’s first goal of the season helped the Hatters make it back-to-back 1-0 wins following Tuesday’s success over Cardiff and kept them in fourth place in the Championship table.

Edwards said: “A fantastic week, it’s down to the players and I was trying to make that point when I was out there.

“It’s down to the players, so it’s brilliant, we’ve got a great rapport, brilliant relationship with the supporters, but the lads are the ones going out over the white line and doing it, working incredibly hard for each other and I thought we deserved it.

“We started really well, were very aggressive, started on the front foot, and the goal showed that.

“We won the second ball, Pelly latched on to it and we scored a really good goal, so that set us up well and then we couldn’t quite get the second goal, but I didn’t feel too troubled, even at 1-0.

“We’ve always got to be careful and respectful and we know they’ve got some good players and can have some good moments.

“There was a couple of hairy moments when the ball came in from set-pieces, but I didn’t feel under too much threat and I thought we managed the game pretty well in seeing it out.”

Mpanzu notched the only goal of the afternoon with six minutes gone, picking out the bottom corner from 22 yards.

Amari’i Bell tested Matija Sarkic from distance as Stoke offered little bar Lewis Baker curling wide.

The Potters thought they had levelled on the hour mark through Ben Wilmot, but his effort was ruled out for a foul on goalkeeper Ethan Horvath.

Baker had another go from distance, shooting straight at Horvath, and Bersant Celina dinked the ball through to Tyrese Campbell, who shot over, while Jordan Clark shot straight at Sarkic at the other end in the closing stages,

Potters boss Alex Neil was left to bemoan the decision to disallow Wilmot’s header.

He said: “I think the game had very little in it.

“Luton started brighter than us, the goal’s disappointing, as we knew what Luton are going to do.

“They’re going to drop out, encourage you to go forward, knock it forward to the front two, win the second ball.

“We didn’t compete well enough, didn’t land on it in the middle of the pitch, the lad takes a really good touch out of his feet, gets a strike away and then from that point we end up chasing the game.

“They were the better side for 30 minutes, for 15 until half-time it evened itself out.

“Second half I thought we were better, we pinned them in, had some opportunities, had two different shouts for penalty.

“I thought it was harsh in terms of the goal that we scored, there was one in the first half where their lad backed into our goalkeeper and he lets play play on.

“Then that one happens in the second half and we end up scoring, I’d need to see it back.

“We had a few moments in the game, I didn’t think any team did enough to win, but they got the goal that mattered and ultimately that cost us the game.”