Cardiff boss hits out at lack of 'respect' from Hatters chief after a contest he felt the Bluebirds 'dominated from start to finish'

Cardiff boss Steve Morison accused Hatters chief Nathan Jones of a lack of respect following his post match celebrations after last night’s 2-1 win for Luton at the Bluebirds, a game in which the home manager also felt his side deserved to win.

Second half goals from Luke Freeman and Gabe Osho had put Town in the ascendancy, rendering Romaine Sawyers late strike as a consolation, meaning that at the final whistle it was the away dug-out who were overjoyed.

On picking up the three points, Jones merely unleashed a few animated fist pumps to himself in his technical area, as he often done when coming out on top in a tight contest, before going straight over to shake Morison’s hand.

However, that wasn’t the appropriate reaction according to his opposite number, as the pair exchanged words and on what went on, Morison said afterwards: "It wasn't a confrontation, I shook his hand after standing there as you do at the end of the game.

"I just asked if he could have a little bit of decorum, do the celebrating afterwards.

"Shake your opponent’s hand, say well done, then go do a lap of honour I don't really care."

When asked what Jones had then said to him, the former Millwall and Stevenage forward continued: "'Who are you? It's just about winning.'

"It is what it is, from my point of view I think you do the respect stuff and the start and at the end, I would never do that.

"It was just his reaction, heat of the moment."

When discussing the incident, Jones, who had come through the ranks at the Bluebirds before being released and going on to have a professional career with the likes of Southend, Brighton and Yeovil, hadn’t meant to cause any offence, as he said: “If I've upset anyone I don't mean it.

"I do 14 hours a day, I'm up 2am Sunday mornings watching games.

"I'm a passionate guy and sometimes I get carried away.

"If I've offended anyone I apologise. I don't mean to do that.

"Maybe I should have (shaken hands), it wasn't meant in any malice.

"I don't comment on any managers. In the first half he had a go at my centre-forward and said 'you're too lazy to run and committed the foul'.

“I don't understand that. I lost a play-off semi-final to Carlos Corberan who celebrated before shaking my hand.

"I understand that, he'd just got to Wembley and sometimes these things happen.

“I've never had a conversation with Steve.

"Until he speaks to me I don't think he should (say anything) but I'll go and have a drink with him now and if there are any issues I'm sure we'll speak.

"It was literally five or six seconds after the final whistle when I was emotional.

"One of my staff shook his hand before I did, then I came and did.

"I was overjoyed winning at my boyhood club. That sometimes gets the better of you, but no malice or disrespect meant."

It was one of of a few strange statements made by Morison in the aftermath of his team’s fourth game without a win, as he also claimed that the hosts ‘dominated’ all aspects of the game, including xG (expected goals) and should have run out worthy winners.

True they had more possession and shots, but visiting keeper Ethan Horvath was rarely tested, Luton having four on target to the Bluebirds’ two and according to Footystats.org, had a better XG of 1.70 to City’s 1.69.

Morison still added: “We dominated the game from start to finish, gave a couple of chances away and they took them.

“Second one's offside, but that's life.

"We had chances in both halves and we as a team didn't finish those moments off with good play and they did.

"We're a work in progress, we knew there'd be ups and downs

"Apart from the first five minutes when we were getting bombarded a bit I really enjoyed it, really enjoyed watching the team play.

“Ultimately I'll get peppered because we lost the game, and winning is all that matters, but if we play like that and we keep dominating all aspects on the pitch which we did, possession, shots for, stopping shots against, xG, whatever you want to talk about, we were the dominant team in all of that.

"But we've let ourselves down from a set-pieces and a cross and it’s something we have to be better at.”