Luton manager Rob Edwards felt his team got dragged into a battle while trying to see out their 1-0 victory at Millwall as their winless run finally came to an end.
The Hatters had not tasted victory since they defeated Bournemouth in the Premier League on April 9, a run that took in 11 games and their relegation from the top flight.
Edwards actually felt his team had played better in previous games this season, but this time they were on the right end of the result thanks to a sweet early strike from defender Teden Mengi.
Luton struggled in the closing stages, however, and were indebted to two big saves from goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski to prevent a resurgent Millwall side from snatching a point.
Edwards said: “In the end, they sort of wore us down and there were a lot of long free-kicks and long throws.
“It just became a real battle, which was disappointing, to be honest.
“They know it’s important to try and win a game when you’re 1-0 up and it becomes a bit more frantic, and the fans are having a go, and obviously the whole feel and emotion around the place is tense when the win is on the line.
“It is pleasing to do it in the end and we needed our goalkeeper a couple of times, which was disappointing, from the corner and from one of own giveaways, a couple of brilliant saves from Thomas.
“But when you come here you have to show some character, some fight, which we asked for at the very beginning, and we showed that.
“People had been making out a lot that we hadn’t won for a bit, but the monkey’s off our back now.”
Luton led after 10 minutes when Liam Walsh laid the ball off for Mengi, who produced a terrific first-time finish from outside the box for just his second career goal.
Tahith Chong almost doubled the Hatters’ lead when he outmuscled George Honeyman before his shot on the turn came back off a post.
Millwall rallied in the last 10 minutes, with a poor pass by Pelly Ruddock leading to Duncan Watmore putting Macauley Langstaff through, only for Kaminski to deflect his effort behind.
The Belgian then made sure of victory in the sixth minute of stoppage time by getting a strong hand to keep out Shaun Hutchinson’s header from George Saville’s corner.
Millwall boss Neil Harris said: “The press was really good, I’m never going to question the application of my players at Millwall, but the application and desire was there, there were some real moments of quality in our team today.
“We mixed up – we knew how to play direct, but we went round the outside and through the thirds and played with some real flair at times.
“I thought our movement was excellent, but the final end produced was what went missing for us today and that is the difference, unfortunately, at all levels of football, and that was the difference today.
“What I will also add is I was slightly disappointed with the manner of the goal – I thought we could have done more to keep the ball out of our net.
“We gave them the utmost respect, as always when a team comes out of the Premier League, but I thought we were the better team.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Big GabrielSporting 1-5 Arsenal Who will win this month's Manager of the Month award? What happens when you come up against Saliba and Gabriel... Wayne Rooney, a true legend on and off the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo in the iconic white and gold jersey brings back so many unforgettable memories! Throwback to THIS Beautiful Moment when Lionel Messi scored his 50th ca...
Bellingham admits 'vibrations' were key to Liverpool snubJude Bellingham has revealed how close he came to joining Liverpool, and the "vibrations" he felt when Real Madrid came calling."It wasn't as close as it was said," Bellingham said ahead of Real's Champions League clash with Liverpool. "There were conversations. There was Dortmund and I did it with several clubs. When Real Madrid call you, t...
Manchester City's Champions League match on Tuesday night was marred by crowd trouble, with Feyenoord fans causing chaos at the Etihad Stadium. The Dutch supporters, escorted by police from the city centre to the stadium, filled all three tiers of the South Stand.After City scored three goals, Feyenoord managed to net one with about 15 minutes left, leading to riot police stepping in to prevent cl...
Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists Mohamed Salah isn't unsettled over his contract situation.After scoring twice in victory at Southampton on Sunday, Salah revealed he had not heard from management about a new deal. His current contract expires in June."The only thing I can say is, if I look at my line-ups, Mo is more in than out," said Slot."I don't think he's distracted at all. I haven't seen that...
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said he doesn't fully understand how the new Champions League format worked after his team earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday to improve their chances of reaching the knockout stage.Bayern needed a first-half goal from defender Kim Min-Jae to battle past 10-man PSG and claim a third win in five matches."I don't look at the table...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. The reason why Man City lost 5 matches in a row Erling Haaland lol Cucuruku Cook that thing… This The Man United cycle. This Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, originaltrollfootball, FootballLaughss, PL__OOC)...
The Portuguese has promised to not sign any Sporting CP stars in the winter window.However, all bets are off in the summer, with A Bola stating that Geovany Quenda is the main target.United are said to be preparing an offer of £50M plus bonuses to secure the young winger.Amorim can use Quenda in either wing-back position, while he is also capable of playing in the front three.Another player U...
The Algerian's contract expires in the summer of 2026 and he is believed to be eyeing a move away from Molineux.Rayan Ait-Nouri is wanted by Man UtdThat has put United are on red alert for a player as Amorim has made signing a left-back a priority.He wants to boost his options give Luke Shaw's injury record.Shaw could also eventually move into the back-three once the former Sporting Lisbon manager...
Mohamed Salah has said he is yet to receive a formal contract offer from Liverpool, adding that he is "more out than in" regarding whether he will stay at the club next season.Salah, whose contract is set to expire next summer, has enjoyed an impressive individual campaign, having scored 12 goals in all competitions this term, including a brace in Liverpool's 3-2 comeback win over Southampton on S...
Real Madrid monitoring Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite🚨👀 #Branthwaite is attracting the attention of 🇪🇺 top clubs.📃 #RealMadrid included the CB in their list of potential January targets, while 🏴 teams continue to monitor him ahead of June.💰 #Everton would like to keep him but are also open to evaluating bids >€70m. 🐓⚽ pic.twitter.com/5lpoomMdyp— Rudy Galetti (@RudyGaletti) Novem...
- 1 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 2 Chelsea make Nkunku sale call amid ManUtd interest
- 3 €60-70m could bring star to Liverpool or Man Utd
- 4 Ex-Prem ace asked Liverpool star for his sister's phone number
- 5 Mascherano nears Miami; Martino exits
- 6 Chloe Kelly sends fans wild in daring outfit at GQ Men of the Year
- 7 Former Premier League star saved his wife and baby from house fire
- 8 The secret and very normal jobs of England’s WAGs
- 9 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 10 Ruben Amorim ‘could move to Ten Hag or Pogba’s old homes’