Luton Town boss Jack Wilshere said his side had set a new benchmark after a convincing 3-0 victory away at AFC Wimbledon put the Hatters right in the race for the League One play-offs.
After ten games without a win on the road by the start of March, Town have now won back-to-back games on their travels, while a six-point Easter, having beaten Peterborough on Good Friday, has moved them to within three points of the top six.
But it was the manner of completing their first ever Football League double over AFC Wimbledon, as Kasey Palmer and Jake Richards scored sumptuous strikes either side of Ali Al-Hamadi’s first goal for Luton against his former side. That too was a glorious finish and the only surprise was that the Hatters didn’t add to their score, though they did keep a first clean sheet in almost three months.
Hakeem Odoffin and Emilio Lawrence hit the woodwork as the visitors racked up 23 shots in a thoroughly dominant display. It was a performance that boss Wilshere – who watched on from the stands as he served a one-match touchline ban – felt showed his players are capable of sustaining the level of performance he has been demanding.
“I think the most consistent,” he said when asked by the BBC if it was his best display since taking charge in October.
“We’ve had spells in games before where we threatened to do that. I spoke to you guys [media] and the players before about [how] I feel like a really good performance, consistent performance, [where] we get two or three goals and win comfortably was coming, and it happened today.
“So, yeah, we’ve set the standard now, and the players have showed that they can do it, consistently doing the simple things really well, competing and landing on seconds.”
Wilshere felt the foundations for the victory were laid through his team’s willingness to compete physically and win second balls against a Wimbledon side he believes are difficult opponents.
“We spoke at half time saying that’s the only way I think we’re going to allow them back into this game is if we if we don’t compete, if we don’t land on second balls,” he said.
“They threatened to a little bit in the first half, but we went up a level in the second half and I’m really happy for the players.”
Despite Wimbledon’s recent run of poor results, with no win in their last five, Wilshere admitted Luton have previously struggled in similar fixtures this season but felt his players showed they had learned from those experiences.
“I think Wigan, I think Huddersfield at times played that game, Plymouth as well. It’s been disappointing. I think you saw a team that took the lessons from them.”
He added that while the final scoreline looked comfortable, the work that went into achieving it should not be underestimated.
Wilshere said: “It’s not just that we turn up and the players think that, we can just keep the ball and dominate the ball. You have to land on seconds. You have to win your duels and and then consistently keep the ball and which is not easy. Not easy. I’m really, really proud of the players for that.”
One of the players that has been a standout since joining on loan from Hull City in January has been Kasey Palmer and the midfielder again caused rival defenders problems. On 12 minutes he forced his way into the box and unleashed a rocket into the top corner to notch his fifth of the season, and fourth in his last five Hatters outings.
Only the woodwork prevented further damage before the break, but Town have often this season suffered in the second half. Not so this Easter. In south London they put their foot on the gas.
Just before the hour mark Richards played the ball into the path of Al-Hamadi and the Iraqi’s first time effort, with barely a look at where keeper Nathan Bishop was, snuck intentionally inside the near post.
Then, 20 minutes later, the pair combined in reverse with 19-year-old Richards guiding a pass through the narrowest of gaps and beyond the despairing dive of stopper Bishop. That too was his fifth of the season and second in consecutive matches on Easter.
The result moved Town to within three points of the top six and though they’ve played a game more than Stevenage who moved into the final play-off berth, courtesy of a 1-0 win over Blackpool, Luton arguably have the kinder run-in.
For now, Luton appear to have discovered some form at exactly the right moment and they’ll go into Sunday’s Vertu Trophy final against Stockport and Wembley with a spring in their step.
Be the first to comment