Edwards praises his players' 'desire' as he knew Luton weren't 'perfect' when beating Tigers

Luton boss Rob Edwards knew that his side weren’t perfect by any means when beating Hull City 1-0 at Kenilworth Road, although hailed the ‘spirit’ and ‘desire’ from his players in ensuring they got back to winning ways this afternoon.

With the Hatter going into the game on the back of a 5-1 loss to Middlesbrough before the international break, and heading to Leeds United and Norwich City this week, it was essential they got something from the contest and ease the pressure on their manager. They did so thanks to Mark McGuinness’s first goal for the club on 33 minutes, but Luton were indebted to some less than clinical finishing from their opponents, Joao Pedro missing two glorious chances as did Chris Bedia with virtually first touch.

A wonderful save from Thomas Kaminski also kept out Kasey Palmer’s deflected attempt in stoppage time, as having called for a display of character ahead of the game, Edwards said: “It wasn’t perfect in terms, the performance, I know that, I don’t think it had to be today. Some spirit, some desire to block and save and then a couple of missed opportunities for them you would say.

"We need to be better at stopping crosses, but again you’ve Chongy (Tahith Chong) who’s one of the most attacking players we’ve got who’s having to play full back in the end and I thought he did a really really good job in that. So in the end, it was digging in, not most of the second half, but the final stages certainly. I need to see it back (Kaminski’s save), but it looked like it took a nick as well, and if he’s reacted to that then a fantastic save.

“It (victory) was important, but what was important was the process of it all. I can’t control the result and what was ultimately going to happen today but what was heartening for me was the way the lads stuck at it, showed some spirit, character, kept fighting to the end, in a really difficult game, so that’s the most important thing. Seeing the fans at the end as well, it gave me a lot of heart, so it was a good day.”

With Hull having over 70 percent possession at one point, the Tigers finishing with an impressive 64.1, it wasn’t enough to secure victory, as they stretched their own winless run to eight games, dropping into the bottom three. Edwards added: “Hull are a really difficult, complex team to play against and I admire a lot of what he does, Tim (Walter), with his team and how they play.

“It’s not easy to come here and if we get it right the press, it’s difficult to play against that. But full credit to them for being as brave as they were and continuing to play. They make it really challenging, they really do. I’ve not come up against that kind of style before, they make you think and make you have to be almost perfect all the time positionally. We weren’t and we had to rely on a block or a save, whatever it might be, so it was a difficult day.”