Thomas Kaminski says Luton still have to find the “right balance” that will make them “click” after a chaotic Championship draw with Oxford where they went 2-0 up but then hung on for a point with ten men after substitute Liam Walsh was sent off 36 seconds after coming on.
The Belgian goalkeeper made saves in both halves to keep an, at times, rampant United side at bay, including a point-saving triple save to deny the visitors a third.
Oxford had chances in the first half before a Tyler Goodrham stunner halved the deficit on the stroke of half time, but then they bossed the first 30 minutes of the second half, with Luton struggling to contain them.
“We have to find the right balance in attacking but also running back,” said Kaminski, adding: “We are searching a little bit on how to play, how to make it click and how to make it work.
“And, and you can see that sometimes we take too long, for example, when we got the goal back, it takes too long to get back into the electric shape and being pressed and being aggressive, and it takes a little bit too long, but we have to learn from that.
“I think it’s a confidence thing. It’s it’s something that you have to hang on again and it’s playing a bit on your mind. The thing is, last season, we have to be honest, it was different. And now we are one of the favourites, let’s say, and we have to make the results. So yeah, it’s totally different.”
With Oxford in the ascendancy, Walsh was introduced on 77 minutes to try and turn the contest back in Town’s favour and he did, but not in the way he was instructed, when the midfielder’s first action was to launch into a two-footed challenge on Siriki Dembele that saw his appearance cut short in under a minute.
Curiously, with one less man, Luton were much the better side and they could have won it but keeper Jamie Cumming saved Teden Mengi’s header on the line.
Kaminski told the BBC: “Their goalie makes a good save on the last couple of minutes. It was a good save and then you have to be a bit more solid, a bit more careful. And then with ten men you start to look better. We have to find the right balance.”
It was the second time this term that a reduced ten-man Town team have had to hold on for a point, after Kaminski himself was sent off at Portsmouth. Then, Luton were on top, but against Oxford at Kenilworth Road, they were decidedly second but dug in to take a point.
“We never can lose that fight and I think that’s what Luton stands for – fight, aggressiveness and front foot, and that’s what we have to keep keep on doing and I’m sure that will give us results,” said the Hatters stopper.
