Bloomfield felt Town turned in a performance to be 'proud' of against Leeds

Luton boss Matt Bloomfield declared his side gave a performance to be ‘proud’ of when holding title-chasing Leeds United to a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

After Thomas Kaminski made a superb save from Junior Firpo early on, the Hatters took the lead through a fantastic team goal from Izzy Jones, as he volleyed home his first for the club when connecting sweetly with Jordan Clark’s inch-perfect cross, following a powerful run by striker Elijah Adebayo with just 15 minutes of the contest gone.

Although they were then pegged back as Daniel James curled in an excellent equaliser before the half hour mark, a game that ebbed and flowed during the second period saw Thelo Aasgaard denied by Karl Darlow, with the Whites then almost winning it late on, Manor Solomon slicing James’ delivery wide from close range.

Despite results elsewhere saw Town lose ground on those above them, Hull scoring a stoppage time winner against Sheffield Wednesday and Oxford United earning a shock victory over Sheffield United, Derby County’s 1-0 loss to Swansea City and Cardiff’s goalless draw at QPR, means Luton are now two points behind the fourth bottom Rams with six games to go.

Speaking before the other matches were decided, a buoyant Bloomfield said: “It’s a performance to be well and truly proud of, a club to be proud of today. The supporters were incredible, backing the players, roaring them on, really responding to the effort the lads put in. I thought our discipline out of possession, we knew that the quality that Leeds have in possession, we’d have to be disciplined and structured, but we pressed at the appropriate moments and it was a performance to be proud of.

“The last couple of home games, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United stick to mind how we started really on the front foot, but I thought Leeds started really well today. They had a couple of good opportunities, especially down the left hand side, I thought they created really nicely, so Thomas had to make a couple of saves, but we built ourselves into it.

"A great move for the goal, I thought Eli was fantastic carrying us up the pitch, Clicker with a bit of quality and Izzy where we want him to be, tapping in at the back post, so Leeds started particularly well and we had to weather that a little bit, but in the main we have to be really pleased with our performance. I believed we could come and win the game today, but we’re talking about one of the best teams in the league and we have to respect that they’ve got Premier League players.

"I’m sure they’ll be playing in the Premier League next season, so it’s definitely a point added to our total, one to be proud of and keeps us heading in the right direction. To a man I think the work-rate and effort and intensity was brilliant and the crowd really responded. It’s a point on our total, we’ve still got a lot of work ahead, we’ve got six games and lots more points that we need. We have to be relentless and we understand that, but it’s a point, it keeps our momentum going and it sends us up to Stoke in good spirits on Tuesday.”

The only slight blemish for the Hatters was the way in which ex-Manchester United winger James was allowed the time and space to pick his spot what what was his 12th goal of the campaign. Once Carlton Morris had headed a corner away, Adebayo allowed the wideman to cut inside, and with Liam Walsh unable to get out quickly enough, the speedy attacker gave Kaminski no chance when bending his left-footed curler into the net.

Bloomfield continued: “We could have kept him outside in the first instance and then maybe closed him down quicker on the edge of the box. It’s probably the one time in the game we didn’t go and close that shot down on the edge, it’s a great finish on his wrong foot, a superb strike by a top player for the division. We know the quality that he brings, and we’re slightly disappointed in that, but it’s probably the one blip in a defensive display that we have to be really pleased with.

"Loads of elements, Christ’s (Makosso) tackle near the end, Amari’i (Bell) and Alfie (Doughty) had a couple of headers at the back post to defend, and I thought we blocked shots around the edge of our box really well apart from that one moment, so defensively I thought we were excellent. We were really resolute, one or two chances for Leeds but as did we, so in the main I thought it was a really good defensive display.”

Having lost out 3-0 to the Whites when the two teams met at Elland Road back in November, Luton barely laying a glove on their hosts that evening, then the difference in the two matches was stark as Town looked more than a match for their opponents, with any neutral observer no doubt wondering just why Bloomfield’s side find themselves in serious danger of being relegated to League One.

With the result seeing Luton now unbeaten in four matches, their best streak of the campaign, and losing just once in their last six matches, that when going down to 10 men against Burnley and losing 4-0, the boss knows improvements are being made under his guidance. He added: “We’ve just been having a chat with their staff in the office and they’ve said there’s an incredible change in performance levels from us from the two games when they played against us so we have to pleased with that.

"We have to be relentless with our work as there’s lots more to do. We can see the line, we want to get ourselves above the line, but in terms of consistency and work-rate and momentum, we have it. So we have to cherish it and keep working towards more points as that’s where we need the season to take us.”