Rob Edwards admitted that Luton’s 2-0 derby day victory over former side Watford made him “emotional” as he urged Hatters fans to have a good night celebrating.
Gabriel Osho put Town ahead in the first half, rubber-stamping his redemption after his red card at Vicarage Road. And Allan Campbell scored late on to confirm all three points the goals in a game that the hosts utterly dominated.
Back in October, the Hatters had a sickness bug to blame for partly their 4-0 capitulation, but in Bedfordshire, the Hornets had no answer for the team spirit of Edwards’ news club.
And having moved up the M1, the manager has been proving just what a mistake trigger-happy Watford owner Gino Pozzo made in booting him out of the club. This result just confirmed the vastly different trajectories of these two old rivals. Luton moved level on points with third-placed Middlesbrough, while the Hertfordshire side’s Championship promotion hopes were dealt a big body blow, with a side order of Hatters revenge.
Having soaked up the adulation from a rapturous Kenilworth Road crowd, Edwards said: “It meant a lot to us as well and I think the players showed that. All round it was a really good day.
“All the players were outstanding, every single one of them, to the point where it actually made me emotional at the end.
“The running and the intent that they showed right to the very, very end, was outstanding. I really enjoyed the day.”
With the suggestion that, if he was minded to go out in Luton town centre to mark the win, he wouldn’t have to buy a beer all night, the manager said: “I want everyone to have a good night. Everyone’s got to enjoy it. Enjoy those moments and hopefully everyone has a great night, safely, no messing about. “We’ve got to enjoy it. We’re in a fantastic position, the club is on a high and everyone is going for the same thing.
“To have success, that’s what you need. There are no guarantees that we’re going to do anything, so I don’t want to start talking about something will happen.
“We all feel that something could and we want to be in that mix. We’ve said we wanted to be in the mix with five games to go and it looks like we will be.
“I believe in that group of players in there (dressing room), with total faith. They’re unbelievable. I don’t like using that word. They are believable. They’ve done it so many times. They keep proving people wrong and they’re better than what people think.”
One of those is Osho, who had faced adversity with red cards and crucial penalty decisions going against him, but he’s been one of the most solid performers under Edwards.
With Tom Lockyer and Amari’i Bell they secured the club’s 17th clean sheet of the campaign, but it was his opener on 28 minutes, complete with crying eyes celebration, that earned him total redemption.
“It was a nice one for Gabe,” said Edwards, adding: “He was a little bit touch and go throughout the week, just feeling one or two knocks, so he showed a lot of character today. I thought he was outstanding.
“He deserved his goal and his performances, I think everyone can see of late, since we’ve come in, have been excellent.”
Town made Watford look like a club bereft of ideas and unity, borne out of their top brass’ predilection for firing his managers, with Chris Wilder Watford’s third this season.
But their previous four wins had all come by a solitary goal and for periods, despite their pressure it looked like another 1-0, until Carlton Morris and Tom Lockyer combined to tee up Campbell in the 91st minute to poke in from close range.
The home fans, who had waited 17 years for a derby day on home soil, exploded with emotion which, even after all of Luton’s success in the last decade, felt like a milestone moment.
After his final whislte fist-pump fiesta, Edwards said: “It brought some emotion out towards the end and it was just nice to be able to take it in a little bit and have a look around and see everyone with the lads and the connection we’ve got is top.
“The fans have been phenomenal for us since we came in and, hopefully now, if they didn’t know what it meant to us, Richie and I, after earlier in the season, they know now what it means to us, and how we’ve been welcomed in by them.
“From the warm-up, the guys came in and went ‘yeah, they’re at it today’. It felt brilliant throughout.”
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