Matt Bloomfield hailed the “pivotal” performance of Liam Walsh as the midfielder returned to the Luton line-up in the face of absences to help the Hatters to a 3-1 victory over Bristol City.
The former Swansea man was left out of the Good Friday side that beat Derby County 1-0, with Kal Naismith impressing in a rare midfield outing.
But the Scot, on loan from Bristol City, could not play against his parent club and then Luton lost the influential Jordan Clark to injury the day before the game.
But Walsh, who was sent off twice earlier in the season and publicly apologised to Hatters fans for letting them down, has been a key player in the second half of the season and has let his football do the talking.
And from an early crunching tackle against the Robins on Saturday, all the way through a commanding performance, Walsh has spent 2025 backing up his words.
Bloomfield agreed, saying: “He was incredible. I think Sheffield United was the other performance where I thought he was really amazing. He’s done great in other games, don’t get me wrong, but [Saturday] he was great.
“I think it was the right decision to leave him out of Friday’s game, because it wasn’t a game that was going to complement his skill set, but it also meant that he was going to be fresh for [Bristol City].
“We knew we were going to be without Kal, so there was a little bit of that, that went into the decision.
“And then obviously losing Clicker meant that Walsh was absolutely pivotal. And I thought he put on a real top performance in that second half.”
On Clark’s injury, Bloomfield said: “Clark’s just got a knock on Friday, so we’ll see how he is going into Saturday. [He] just felt his calf a little bit. not bad, but we hope he might be alright for for the weekend, but we’re not sure at this moment in time. We gave him until [Saturday] morning, but he just wasn’t quite right.”
Also alongside Walsh in midfield was Thelo Aasgaard, who scored Luton’s opening goal in the 3-1 triumph that keeps Town’s Championship survival bid alive and kicking.
Bloomfield said: “He’s a boy with, high ability levels, and we’ve seen him, especially in training, he’s hit some some real crackers. He’s probably had a couple, one here against Blackburn up the other end, that [if it] is two inches lower, it flies in the top corner. It hits the bar on the day, comes down and not quite over the line, so yeah, he’s a big player for us, Thelo.”
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