Clark felt Luton finally showed some much-needed character during Cardiff victory

Midfielder Jordan Clark felt Town’s character that has been sorely missing at times this season finally started to show during Luton’s crucial 2-1 victory over Cardiff City on Tuesday night.

With the Hatters’ marginally the better side in what was quite honestly a woeful first half, they then found themselves a goal down just five minutes into the second period, Calum Chambers scuffing a volley into the net. Having lost 15 out of 16 on the road in all competitions, without a victory since mid-September, everything pointed towards a Bluebirds victory which would have left Luton’s hopes of staying up hanging by an ever decreasing thread.

However, this time it was different, Clark himself thundering a truly outrageous volley into the roof of the net from 20 yards to equalise just before the hour mark and then the Hatters doing something they hadn’t managed since January 2023, going on to win an away game after conceding first courtesy of Thelo Aasgaard’s maiden goal for the club.

It meant Town finally showed the kind of spirit that has embodied their rise from League Two to the Premier League in under a decade, giving their chances of staying in the second tier a much-needed boost, Clark, who is now approaching five years at Kenilworth Road, stated: “I said after the Pompey game that it gave everyone a bit of confidence.

"It took a little bit of a bashing at Burnley for one reason, going down to 10 men, but three points, we knew we needed it. To go behind was tough as there wasn't much in the game. I thought we were the better side first half without creating anything. I thought Walshy (Liam Walsh) probably had the only shot really and Eli (Elijah Adebayo) had half a chance when he tried to square it to Carlton (Morris).

"So to go behind, it’s been a tough season like we've said numerous times and it just shows the character we've got in there. We have got it, we've not shown it this year. Obviously now it’s time to stand up and be counted like we always say. To get us back in the game and give us a little bit of a lift was important and then to go on and win the game was brilliant.”

Although boss Matt Bloomfield had stopped short of declaring the match was a must-win encounter prior to kick-off, Clark conceded that the players knew the significance of the contest and that in Town’s current predicament, sitting five points behind their opponents, victory in Wales had been an absolute must. That gap was up to a probably unsurmountable eight when Chambers netted, before Clark’s thunderbolt saw it return to five again.

Aasgaard’s late strike means City are now two points in front of the Hatters, which is especially important after last night’s results saw Plymouth, Stoke and Hull all triumph. The long-serving midfielder said: “If they would have beaten us we would have been eight points behind them. We're not silly, we know it’s a massive gap and we would have kept fighting to the end, but we knew how much of a big one that would have been. To get back within two points of a rival who’s above us is massive and just gives us that confidence again. Especially a win on the road is massive and I’m buzzing for the fans. It takes us nicely into Saturday. If we get another win we can get out of the relegation zone hopefully.”

To climb out of the bottom three then Luton will need to beat a Middlesbrough side who are still very much in the play-off picture themselves, Michael Carrick’s team ending a sequence of five consecutive defeats with three wins from four to sit in eighth place. Town are also finally in some kind of form as well themselves, with two wins from three, having beaten Portsmouth and lost to Burnley when they went down to 10 men inside 20 minutes.

Clark knows that having defeated one of their main rivals, they have to make it successive victories in front of their home fans on Saturday, adding: “There’s no point in winning if you don’t back it up, especially in the position we're in. Obviously we know the Kenny and we know what it is. Opposition teams know what it is and it’s up to us to give other teams the full Kenny experience.

"Middlesbrough on Saturday, we know it’s a tough game. They’re up there in the table, but before the international break it’s vital we get another three points. We’ve been building, you can feel it. We do all the stats every day and apart from the results we know we’ve been building something. It’s nice to see it pay off and get the two wins. Obviously the Burnley defeat has gone now so we’re just looking forward to the weekend. But it (beating Cardiff) doesn’t count for anything if we don’t back it up on Saturday.”