Luton fuelled by spirit of Tom Lockyer to shock Newcastle

Luton Town fans would never have wanted this win to come in such difficult circumstances, but the outpouring of love and support for their captain Tom Lockyer paired with the result made for an unforgettably special day at Kenilworth Road.

Lockyer is recovering at home after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during last week’s game against Bournemouth and his team responded to what has been an immensely difficult week with a performance he would have been proud to be a part of.

Luton’s players wore Lockyer t-shirts in their pre-match warm up as the packed-out stands sang their leader’s name throughout the build-up to the game. The travelling Newcastle fans also showed their support for the 29-year-old Welshman, unveiling a banner which read ‘Get Well Soon, Tom’ and joining in with the applause.

That was followed by a minute-long applause on the four-minute mark, Lockyer’s shirt number, as his name echoed around the stadium while the names of all the medics who helped him at Bournemouth last week appeared on the digital screen inside the ground, a touching moment for those who helped to save his life.

Luton boss Rob Edwards had called on his players to put in a performance befitting of Lockyer against Newcastle, and this battling victory which also provided a big boost to his team’s survival hopes was certainly that.

Lockyer would have no doubt been beaming with pride if he was watching from afar. This was a display which perfectly represented what he is about on the pitch – grit, determination and a willingness to do the ugly side of the game.

And the Hatters had the result to match the performance thanks to Andros Townsend’s back-post header after Ross Barkley had flicked Alfie Doughty’s corner into his path.

Townsend headed straight for the substitutes bench after putting his side in front, grabbing the Lockyer No 4 shirt which had been placed hanging next to the home dugout before lofting it up above his head towards the crowd who responded with more chants for their hero.

Edwards, who was visibly emotional at the full-time whistle as he and his squad gave a lap of honour around the pitch, said: “I’m an emotional wreck at the moment, my kids are going to hammer me for crying again!

“I’ve got to be honest, it’s been hard to concentrate on a game of football this week with everything that’s gone on. My focus has been on Tom and his family, then there’s been a job to do in an important Premier League game.

“I think the performance was probably the most complete performance that we’ve had so far this season. I think we’ve been playing really, really well and I don’t think it’s because of what’s happened that we’ve won the game today and kept a clean sheet but we did talk about it. We wanted to do it for Tom.

“I thought today we really embodied everything that Tom Lockyer is and every single individual that went out there, even the ones that didn’t, supported each other, fought for each other and were so brave.

“He (Lockyer) text me earlier on saying he thought the three points were there for us today and he reminded me that he’s okay, he said stop worrying about him. He said he’s bored already sat at home, and I think they (Lockyer and his family) were going to be watching the game.”

Ordinarily the focus would have been on what an enormous three points this is in Luton’s push for survival, but the attention understandably lied elsewhere on what was an emotional afternoon at Kenilworth Road.

On the pitch, the defensive unit stood up well to the task of defending Newcastle in their captain’s absence. As expected, the home side came under plenty of pressure during spells but threw their bodies in the way time after time and when the ball did break through, the impressive Thomas Kaminski was there to keep it out of the net.

This was Luton’s first clean sheet of the Premier League season and a richly deserved one given the effort they put in. For all their attacking pressure, the visitors were wayward in front of goal and were made to pay for their missed chances.

Callum Wilson saw a header well saved by Kaminski in the first half in Newcastle’s best opportunity but the Hatters could have had a hat-trick of goals, twice hitting the woodwork through Ross Barkley’s swerving effort from distance which crashed off the bar before Jacob Brown found the bar as well early on in the second half.

It was a blunt performance from the Magpies, whose poor away form continues to hold them back as they push to once again qualify for the Champions League and boss Eddie Howe said his side did not handle the emotion of the afternoon well.

“I’m very disappointed with the performance today, especially in the first half. We knew this was going to be a really difficult game, we knew the whole day was going to be tough, obviously the game and how Luton play, but also the emotion of the game and I don’t think we handled that well,” he said.