The moment Kal Naismith grabbed the ball, boss Jack Wilshere knew that he was the only Hatter who would deliver as the captain scored his stunning late free-kick winner against Northampton Town last night.
With Luton Town pushing for a crucial victory in their League One run-in, but after failing to make the breakthrough against the division’s basement boys, Naismith stepped up to curl home a decisive strike late on at Kenilworth Road, sealing a 2-1 win and sparking wild celebrations among players and supporters.
For Wilshere, there was never any doubt who would take responsibility, as Town claimed their first Football League double over the Cobblers since the 1968/69 season.
“If you watch the goal back, you can see from the moment Ali [Al-Hamadi] got fouled, Kal sprinted over and he was like, ‘yeah, I’m going to take this ball’, and there was no one else going to take it. He was in the zone and credit to him because he delivered for his team,” the manager said.
Naismith is not Town’s regular free-kick taker and Kasey Palmer hit the post with a set-piece shot in the first half, but Wilshere confirmed: “There’s a group of them that practice and I’m not going to name names, but a few people doubted him on the bench saying, ‘no, no, let Davy [van den Berg] take it.’ But there was only one person going to take that. I could see it in Kal’s eyes.
“There is a group of them that practice and obviously when Cohen [Bramall] plays he’s probably the best free-kick taker I’ve ever seen. But Cohen wasn’t on the pitch.
“So yeah, we’ve been looking at other players who can take them and Kal’s certainly one. He’s got a lovely left foot and he delivered that tonight.
“Kasey’s got that in him as well. Davy’s definitely got that in him. But I think, again, you can just see, watch it back when the free kick happens, there’s only one person taking that and yeah, what a strike.”
The goal capped a memorable few days for the Luton skipper, who lifted the Vertu Trophy in the final at Wembley on Sunday.
“He’s had a good week,” Wilshere said, adding: “Also, part of the reason why I like him so much is I know how much he loves his club and he’s so happy.
“I spoke to him after the game on Sunday with his mum, with his family and and they all love this club and you can see that in his eyes and he tries all the time and gives everything.
“Yeah, he can do better at times and we keep trying to help him to show him the good things and the bad things that he does, but he’s a leader. He’s a leader and this group definitely needs that, and he definitely led the way tonight.”
The importance of the moment was reflected not just in the strike itself, but in the reaction that followed, as Naismith was mobbed by team-mates at full-time.
Wilshere said: “I think you could see the importance of the goal as well. And we all know we had to find a way.
“I think you can see, number one, the importance of the goal, but number two, how much Kal means to the squad, to the staff.
“I’ve spoken about it a lot with this group and I really do feel that the unity that we have in this group and we keep banging on about it. Days like Sunday help and then days and moments like tonight really help as well.”
Wilshere also pointed to Naismith’s resilience, highlighting how the defender has responded to a costly mistake against Reading last month with five weeks worth of strong performances.
“He can bounce back and, don’t get me wrong, I’m not sitting here saying, yeah, you can make all the mistakes you want and I’m still going to love you. We go through and we sit down with him. He knows that we don’t accept that,” said the Hatters boss.
“But his ability to bounce back and stand up and hold his hands up, this group really, really needs that.
“With the adversity we’ve faced this year, where the club’s been [in the] Premier League, [then] relegation, relegation, some players who who weren’t here to experience that now step in to an environment that’s demanding, that there’s expectation and rightly so. You need leaders like that.
“You need leaders who’ve been there. It’s not just Kal. Nakhi [Wells], Savs [George Saville] has been amazing as well. Clicker [Jordan Clark]. All of these players, we really, really need their leadership, their experience, and they keep delivering.
“Clicker’s delivered so many times. Sav comes on, he sees the game out, Nakhi delivers at Wembley. And young players need to look at that.
“We’ve got some exciting young players who need to develop even more resilience and certainly having players like Kal and the leaders in the group help with that.”
The bond within the squad was also evident inside the dressing room, as Wilshere revealed Naismith had taken charge at half-time to demand more from his team-mates, after Liam Walsh’s sumptuous strike had pulled Luton level after Sam Hoskins gave Northampton the lead.
“Yeah, they love him. The boys love him,” Wilshere said of his skipper, adding: “He demands from everyone. At half-time, he was holding court in the dressing room and almost done my job for me where he was demanding more, saying, ‘we need to run more’, saying, ‘we need to compete more’. Stressing the importance of the time is now. We’re here, we’re now, we need to deliver it. And the team did that.”
The victory, the first time Luton have managed three on the spin in the league since April last year, has lifted them to seventh place, four points behind Stevenage, who they hope to leapfrog to break into the play-offs. But Wilshere admitted his team looked “tired” after their exertions to win the Vertu Trophy on Sunday.
Against Northampton, Wilshere said: “In terms of the game that I thought we were the better team. Maybe not so much in the first half. I thought we had spells where we threatened to be and we threatened to keep dominating and then we’d give the ball away in the final third and it would turn into basketball.
“We spoke about that half time, [saying] just keep the ball in the final third, circulating. I thought Walsh’s goal was a good example of that when, from outside, we connected inside for an opportunity.
“And then in the second half, like the players done it. They executed it. They [Northampton] didn’t have anything. Maybe once I think they hit the bar from a deflection, but apart from that, it was all us and it felt like it was going to be one of them nights where we had opportunities.
“Clicker missed a couple. Ali hit a worldie that smacked the post. I think Nakhi and Shayden got confused at the back post and it just felt like we’re going to need something here and Kal delivered that.”
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