Luton boss Graeme Jones says his side need to learn a lesson from ‘ruthless’ Cardiff after their 2-1 defeat after Isaac Vassell scored a last-gasp header to hurt his former club.
Town looked to have claimed a share of the spoils with an 86th minute header after Aden Flint had put the Bluebirds ahead in the 52nd minute.
But as the game ticked into time added on, Cardiff introduced Vassell – having beaten Town to his signature on transfer deadline day – and he headed in Junior Hoilett’s cross with virtually the last touch of the game.
“That’s the Championship and how ruthless they can be,” Jones said afterwards.
“That’s the level, that’s the league and we’ve had an experience of it today and we need to learn from it.
“We’re slicing at things, putting things out for throw-ins, they’re fatigued, we’re fatigued, that’s the way they play, it’s not how we play.
“We need to think, we need to show composure in key moments, that’s when you really gain confidence.
“So I can easily come in here and talk about positives, because they were a Premier League club two months ago and for 94 minutes, we competed, no question about it.
“But if you’re going to earn something in football, you have to earn it for the full period and we competed and we played really well for 94 minutes, but the game is 95 and we got what we deserved.”
Asked about Pearson’s header, Jones said: “I’m not thinking about who scored, I’m thinking about stopping the cross, I’m thinking about punching the ball, I’m thinking about Luke Berry has tried to have some composure for us in a real frantic moment for both teams.
“Isaac Vassell, that’s result of not stopping the cross and giving the ball away, not controlling the moment, and as I’ve said, it’s a big lesson.”
