Andersen pleased to open Luton's home Premier League account but just wished it was a winner

Hatters defender Mads Andersen was pleased to net the Hatters’ first ever Premier League goal at Kenilworth Road against West Ham on Friday night, although naturally he wished it had been a winner and not, as it turned out to be, a mere consolation.

The Danish centre half was recalled to the starting line-up from the 3-0 defeat against Chelsea in Town’s previous top flight fixture, taking the place of the injured Tom Lockyer.

After Jarrod Bowen and Kurt Zouma had given the Hammers a two-goal lead with five minutes to go, Andersen popped up in stoppage time to halve the deficit, nodding Carlton Morris’s header beyond Alphonse Areola and into the corner of the net.

Town couldn’t manage to find an even later leveller though, but asked about opening both his and his new side’s home account, the summer signing from Barnsley said: “Yes of course (I’m pleased), if it was 1-0 and we win the game.

“I’m happy of course with my goal, that’s something I want to help the team with, contribute with, so hopefully there's more goals to come.

"It’s a big achievement, but to be honest, I love defending so much I would rather have a clean sheet and that’s just the truth.”

Team-mate Chiedozie Ogbene, who came on during the second period, felt it was a positive for his side to score from open play, after their only other goal was a penalty by Morris at Brighton on the opening day, as he said: “We didn't create as much as we wanted to create.

"We’re aware that we’re not playing teams in the Championship, we’re playing against really top teams.

"West Ham have just won a European competition, but that's given us a positive that we can do it.

"We can create chances from open play and I think it was a good goal taken by Mads.”

Luton were left cursing a penalty shout that went against them moments later when James Ward-Prowse handled a corner, only for referee Paul Tierney, and VAR, to agree that it wasn’t a spotkick.

Andersen continued: “I haven't seen it back, I've heard it's a handball, but it's out of my control.

“I’m going to focus on what we control and if we see it in the game, we're going to shout and say ‘hey it's a handball,’ but I didn't see it.

“We cannot rely on those small VAR, we have to score our own goals and if we get a VAR penalty of something, yes we'll take it, but it is what it is.”

It was the same for Ogbene too, as he added: “I don’t think there was any discussions about penalties (afterwards), we were just looking at what chances we had and the effort we put in.”