Luton boss Matt Bloomfield was lost for words after his side enjoyed a 90th-minute 1-0 victory against Coventry that kept their hopes of staying in the Championship alive.
It looked like the Hatters were going to be held to a frustrating stalemate, as they had initially been playing against 10 men when Jay Dasilva was sent off on 12 minutes.
Town midfielder Liam Walsh was also shown red midway through the second period, though, but as the clock was about to tick into 90, Shandon Baptiste’s effort somehow got past Sky Blues defender Luis Binks on the line to ensure Town will be out of the bottom three going into the final game of the season next weekend.
Bloomfield said: “If you’re asking me to sum it up I’m going to struggle, it was a whole range of emotions and a lovely moment for Shandon.
“It’s tough when the game changes so early, it’s a completely different game to the one we expected.
“We have to stay patient, understand that it might not all fall into place right away, we have to keep probing and keep working.
“Maybe in the first half it wasn’t quite what we wanted it to be, but when we came out second half, I felt like we were really patient and tried to get in some good areas.
“A great save from Walshy, we hit the post, one-on-one, the goalie saves as well, we had 17 corners and is it going to be our day? But then Walshy gets sent off, it’s a whole range of emotions.
“The lads stayed strong, kept probing, the spirit and the togetherness has been growing for a while now and for the boys to share that moment together was very special.
“We can’t get carried away with the situation as we haven’t before, We’ve just go to make sure we’re prepared and ready to go again. We’ve been fighting the whole way through and we’ve got to keep that fight.”
Following the red card to Dasilva after he clipped Milli Alli, Town dominated the rest of the first half, with Thelo Aasgaard’s blast tipped over by Bradley Collins.
Luton then upped the pressure in the second period; Walsh’s 25-yarder brilliantly tipped onto the bar by Collins and the keeper also denying Lamine Fanne while Alli hit the post.
However, Walsh received a straight red for a shove on Binks to even the contest up, while Haji Wright put a header off target for the visitors.
Luton eventually got the goal they deserved when Collins needlessly came out for a long ball forward, Baptiste bagging his first of an injury-hit season, leaving a disappointed City manager Frank Lampard to wait and see if his side will make the play-offs come the end of the season next weekend.
He said: “I’m disappointed for them as they absolutely gave everything and they deserved something out of the game for sure.
“There were some circumstances in the game that affected it, of course the big circumstances, but the players make mistakes at this level and late in games, and they’re crucial.
“I can’t argue with the red card as I think when a player’s running through. It probably was the right decision and then at that point we had to dig in until it levelled out.
“We tried to make sure we didn’t sit too deep too soon. They want to get it wide and stick it in, so we had to defend our box and we had been doing that. It was important to enjoy suffering and fighting and see what that could bring, the players kept doing it until the game levelled out and then we got back into the game.
“It’s not easy to go from backs to the wall and then all of a sudden it’s level. We adjusted to a back five and then a back four and at 10 v 10, I had fancied us.”
Oliver Glasner conceded that Crystal Palace were at least mathematically more likely to secure their first major silverware after they booked their place in the FA Cup final with a 3-0 triumph over Aston Villa at Wembley.Ismaila Sarr recorded a second-half brace after Eberechi Eze opened the scoring in the 31st minute, though the winning margin could have been even greater had Jean-Philippe Mateta...
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson commended his side for making history after they completed a hat-trick of promotions to seal a place in the second tier.Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat of Charlton means the hosts have now sealed their third promotion in as many seasons.The Red Dragons started brighter and had a two-goal lead inside the opening 18 minutes.Ollie Rathbone found the back of the net first ...
Hearts have parted company with head coach Neil Critchley following Saturday’s 1-0 home loss to Dundee.Critchley had been in the job for six months, succeeding Steven Naismith in October.His and assistant Mike Garrity’s departure comes with the Jambos having claimed only one point from their last four William Hill Premiership matches as well as losing out in the semi-final of the Scott...
Southend moved into the National League play-off places with a 3-0 home win over a Wealdstone outfit now lying in the relegation zone.Ben Goodliffe headed the Shrimpers in front in the eighth minute, connecting with Gus Scott-Morriss’ cross, and Charley Kendall doubled the advantage with a strike just past the hour mark.Goodliffe almost scored again in the 83rd minute as he saw another heade...
Ismaila Sarr scored two second-half goals as Crystal Palace booked their place in the FA Cup final for a third time following a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at Wembley.Eberechi Eze opened the scoring with a lovely finish in the 31st minute – assisted by Sarr – but a missed penalty from Jean-Philippe Mateta after the restart added extra drama in the second half.Ollie Watkins started for...
Sam Smith inspired Wrexham to a 3-0 win over Charlton as they confirmed their third promotion in a row, sealing a place in the Championship in front of Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.The hosts took an early lead through Ollie Rathbone, who struck first time from the edge of the box in the 16th minute and found the bottom corner.The Welsh side doubled their advantage two minutes ...
Ian Holloway hopes Swindon and Gillingham can put their bad blood behind them after their feisty 1-1 draw.There is an old storied rivalry between the two clubs and there were handbags late on, which resulted in Joe Gbode’s late sending off.Gbode put the hosts in front before Will Wright levelled with a brilliant free-kick six minutes later.Gillingham ended the game with nine men after Gbode ...
Steve Bruce was left fuming after “the worst penalty decision I’ve seen in a long time” denied the Blackpool boss what could have been a winning return to former club Wigan as an entertaining game ended 1-1.Wigan led from the fourth minute, when Jon Mellish’s left-wing delivery somehow crept in at the near post past an embarrassed Harry Tyrer in the Blackpool goal.However, ...
Bromley boss Andy Woodman hailed his players’ never-say-die attitude after their thrilling 3-3 draw at Barrow.The visitors came from behind three times as Michael Cheek, Nicke Kabamba – his first for the club – and Omar Sowunmi’s stoppage-time leveller cancelled out Ben Whitfield’s penalty and efforts from Isaac Fletcher and Elliot Newby.“It was an end-of-season...
Burton boss Gary Bowyer remains grounded as his side moved to the brink of League One safety and relegated Cambridge with a last gasp 2-1 victory.Dylan Williams bagged his first league goal in added on time to push the Brewers to within a point of safety although their superior goal difference over Crawley and Bristol Rovers makes them overwhelming favourites to survive.“It was a win that sy...
- 1 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 2 Man Utd & Man City join PSG in race for Akliouche
- 3 We always have a chance – Miron Muslic bullish as Plymouth boost survival hopes
- 4 Tottenham to compete with Man City for defender
- 5 Liverpool interested in signing Mason Greenwood
- 6 Andy Carroll and girlfriend put on loved-up display on holiday
- 7 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 8 Daily Laugh - Totttenham 1-2 N Forest
- 9 Conor Gallagher's girlfriend dazzles on red carpet as stars gather in Madrid
- 10 Liverpool join race to sign attacker Jeremy Monga