Baptiste thrilled to share 'great moment' with Luton fans after a tough year at Kenilworth Road

Luton midfielder Shandon Baptiste was thrilled to enjoy a ‘great moment’ after what has been a tough season for both himself and the Hatters when he scored a thrilling last minute winner against Coventry City on Saturday.

The 27-year-old has struggled for game time since joining on a free transfer from Brentford in the summer, featuring just 17 times, with seven starts, sidelined by a number of injuries. However, having recovered from his latest problem, an issue with his calf that kept him out for almost two months, Baptiste was back on the bench against Bristol City on Easter Monday, keeping his place when the Sky Blues were in town at the weekend.

With the scores goalless, he was then introduced for the final 11 minutes at Kenilworth Road, a decision that proved a masterstroke by boss Matt Bloomfield, as he went on to find the net in the 90th minute to ensure Town took all three points and now have their second tier future in their own hands at West Bromwich Albion this weekend.

On the goal, the first time he has found the net since scoring against Luton while with the Bees back in December 2023, he said: “It's a great moment for me personally, getting my first goal for the club at such a big moment. I can’t ask for anything more than that. I think it's a moment that we all needed and we've fought for all season.

"The boys have been grinding all season and I'm happy to give that to them and the fans. It’s been a tough season for me, for the boys, for the fans, for the club, where we have been all season so hopefully that's a great moment for everyone. Hopefully we can finish on a high next week and do what we need to do to stay in this league.”

It had looked like Baptiste might be denied his hero status as with the clock about to tick over into 90 minutes, team-mate Izzy Jones sent a hopeful cross into the box, which Sky Blues’ keeper Bradley Collins unwisely came off his line to try and collect, only managing to collide with his own defender Liam Kitching.

Despite the centre half calling for a foul, play went on, as the ball rebounded nicely to the midfielder who, despite Luis Binks being positioned near the line, had plenty of the goal to aim at. His sidefoot was almost straight at the Coventry player though, but somehow, he could only manage to divert it into his own net as Kenilworth Road absolutely erupted.

A smiling Baptiste continued: “It was one of those ones where Iz has had it, he's clipped it and I've kind of seen the goalkeeper and the defender thinking two different things. Luckily I’ve anticipated where he's going to head it down and once the ball's there I kind of just said to myself, just keep it on target and hope for the best.

"He's helped me to put it in the back of the net but it doesn’t matter to us. It’s just us going to the end and we’ve kind of built that up over the last six, seven, eight games and credit to the boys they kept going, kept going, kept going and thankfully we got the winner. Us being the 12.30 kick off as well, it put it all on us and I think we did good. We got the three points and hopefully things go our way this season.”

Baptiste had replaced Amari’i Bell in the closing stages, to take up a position in the centre of midfield with Liam Walsh having just been dismissed by referee Oliver Langford. On what his instructions were from boss Matt Bloomfield, he said: “Just keep the tempo, keep that energy in the team. When Walshy got sent off, I think we dropped off a little bit and they were taking a bit of control, but we got it back, got that goal and that just gave everyone energy to do what we needed in the last few minutes.

The victory saw Town record three wins in a row for the first time this term, and means they have picked up six triumphs from their last 11 matches, claiming 21 points from a possible 33 when it was needed most. On how they have done that, Baptiste added: “I think over the last 10 games or so that's definitely a mindset we've adapted to, just do what we need to do. The gaffer said if we bring the performance, everything else will take care of itself and I think we did that for large parts. If we can do that next week I'm sure we can definitely do what we need to do to stay in the league.”