Ali Al-Hamadi missing out on a Vertu Trophy final appearance has created a “fire in him,” according to manager Jack Wilshere, who says there is “more to come” from the striker.
The 24-year-old was an unused substitute as the Hatters beat Stockport County 3-1 on Sunday to lift the silverware. And he’s had to make do with more time on the bench during an injury-hit campaign since signing on a season-long loan from Ipswich in the summer, when he arrived at Kenilworth Road with a calf problem.
Then manager Matt Bloomfield said that muscle problem contributed to the Hatters acquiring his services, as clubs “higher up the food chain” wanted him.
After making his long-awaited debut in October, once Wilshere was installed as manager, Al-Hamadi got injured while playing for Iraq in a World Cup qualifier the following month, which kept out sidelined until the end of January.
Earlier this month, after scoring again for Iraq in an historic victory that sent his country to the World Cup for the first time in 40 years, the forward returned to the Hatters a few days later and finally broke his duck in his tenth game for the club, against his former club AFC Wimbledon. He also assisted Jake Richards in that 3-0 victory.
Despite that display, Al-Hamadi was an unused substitute at Wembley on Sunday, watching on as Nahki Wells bagged a double.
In response, as Town beat Northampton 2-1 on Wednesday to keep alive their play-off hopes, Al-Hamadi came off the bench with a promising, woodwork-hitting cameo.
Wilshere said: “He was disappointed that he didn’t feature at Wembley and rightly so, he’s a player that wants to play and I understand that.
“He’s that type of character where you can provoke him a little bit and it creates a fire in him. I thought you saw the best version of Ali that we’ve seen since he’s been here on Wednesday night when he came on.
“He had one purpose when he got on the pitch, was to try and score a winning goal for us and he came really close and he looked sharp with his movement. He gave us a different type of threat to Nakhi [Wells] does.”
Wells, who has largely been Wilshere’s favoured choice as striker, was a doubt for the Vertu Trophy final after limping out of the AFC Wimbledon game, to make way for Al-Hamadi. The Bermudan barely trained in the week building up to the big day, but he played the full 90 minutes at the national stadium and became the first Hatter to score two goals at Wembley since Brian Stein won Luton the Littlewoods Cup in 1988.
Al-Hamadi again had to bide his time against Northampton, but once he replaced Wells he delivered his best display so far, according to Wilshere, who could have a selection puzzle to solve for tomorrow’s trip to Mansfield.
“We spoke when Ali scored his goals for Iraq, that we need that Ali here,” the Luton boss said, adding: “We need that Ali between now and the rest of the season. [We’re] certainly starting to see a better version and I think there’s more to come.”
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