A desperate own goal five minutes from time by Wimbledon’s Ryan Johnson may be the slice of good fortune Luton need after back-to-back relegations.
“We were due a bit of luck,” Matt Bloomfield, the Luton manager, said. “We feel like certain things have gone against us over a certain period of time but the one thing you cannot do is whine about it.
“You just have to get on with your work and be grateful when the gods shine on you and give you a little bit of fortune. We believe we deserve that, after the way the boys have gone about their business. But yes, it was fortuitous, we know that. I am relieved and pleased to get a win.
“We are an evolving group. Adding lots of bodies, we are on the journey to the final product. We are not there yet, I think that’s obvious. But 100% we will get there. We still want to be better at the top part of the pitch. We got there a lot and weren’t clinical enough. There’s lots in my mind right now, but we have to be pleased to get off to a winning start.”
After Luton struggled to break down their resilient first visitors of the season, Nahki Wells’ hopeful ball forward to Cauley Woodrow was met instead by the head of Johnson and looped agonisingly over goalkeeper Nathan Bishop, off the underside of the crossbar and over the line.
On paper this should have been a mismatch – a team with recent Premier League pedigree and the promotion favourites entertaining the surprise outfit who came up from League Two last season with one of the lowest budgets in the division. Even on the day of the game, Luton had been waving the company credit card about, completing the signing of Portsmouth’s Cohen Bramall in the morning before snapping up Swansea’s Jerry Yates in the afternoon.
But not even Luton can rely on plastic to give them an advantage these days. No amount of spending power was ever going to negate Wimbledon’s aerial power but at least Luton seemed up for the battle.
Bloomfield may be scratching his head about how to get his new signings to integrate better, but credit still has to be given to manager Johnnie Jackson for getting the most out of Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang spirit.
“I’m gutted for my players and supporters. To lose the game in that manner was cruel,” Jackson said. “It’s a hard one to take, a horrible way to lose.
But I was really pleased with the structure of the team. We didn’t do enough to go and win it, but I thought we deserved a draw.”
What little goalmouth action this scrap produced occurred in the final minutes. Reuell Walters’ low 30-yard drive would have given the game the stunning winner it ill deserved but instead produced the only real save of the match from Bishop, on his Wimbledon debut.
Nathan Asiimwe’s desperate block from Lamine Fanne 11 minutes from time was a sure sign Wimbledon were not going to just roll over. If only they had not scored Luton’s goal for them instead. It was desperately unlucky for Johnson, but Wimbledon will bounce back, and this was an occasion when misfortune very much had to be kept in perspective.
Sky pundit and former Luton captain Tom Lockyer revealed he is less than a month away from being given the all-clear by doctors to resume his career. The skipper who led the club to the Premier League has not played since suffering a cardiac arrest during Luton’s game against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in December 2023, having snapped an ankle ligament during his long rehabilitation.
“I’ve had a really good few weeks,” Lockyer said. “Hopefully now I’m four weeks away from getting signed off and told I’m allowed to play football again.”
