Rob Edwards salutes Luton fight as they battle with 10 men to draw at Portsmouth

Posted Saturday, August 17, 2024 by PA

Rob Edwards praised his Luton side for responding to their opening-day drubbing as they dug in with 10 men for more than an hour after goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski was sent off to earn a 0-0 draw at Portsmouth.

Kaminski was shown two yellow cards in the space of three minutes, although Edwards refused to blame the Belgian keeper as Luton put last week’s hammering by Burnley behind them.

Edwards described referee John Busby’s decision to book Kaminski for first-half time-wasting as “crazy” and the keeper paid a hefty price two minutes later when he charged out of his goal and wiped out both Paddy Lane and Connor Ogilvie.

The Hatters chief said: “The first decision was crazy, but I have no complaints about the second.”

Edwards was pleased with his side as they recovered from that 4-1 demolition against the Clarets.

He said: “After Monday it was important the supporters saw a team that was fighting for them.

“With 11 men I thought we were quick and dynamic and should have been one or two up and even down to 10 men we showed a different side to ourselves.

“I understand there was anger from the supporters after the first game but we showed that we learned and took it on board today.”

Luton carved out the better chances in a frenetic first half, with Pompey keeper Will Norris denying Elijah Adebayo and Carlton Morris in quick succession.

Kaminski was also called into action, extending himself to tip over Conor Shaughnessy’s downward header.

The goalkeeper’s rush of blood changed the complexion of the game, with James Shea replacing him and forcing Luton into a tactical reset to frustrate Pompey for the remaining hour of the game.

Pompey boss John Mousinho admitted his side found it difficult to break down a determined Luton side and said they have a problem playing against 10 men.

Mousinho said: “We’re disappointed and we thought we could have won the game.

“Luton defended brilliantly. I thought we needed a bit more to unlock them.

“We caused some problems for Luton, one of which resulted in the red card for their keeper.

“But we struggle against sides that go down to 10 men.

“Luton sat very deep in the second half and let us have the ball but we needed to make better use of it.”