Hatters boss hails reactions of Town duo after missing out at Peterborough
Walsh and Lonwijk impress after coming on against Posh
Luton boss Matt Bloomfield was eager to praise both Liam Walsh and Nigel Lonwijk for their reaction to being dropped to the bench against Peterborough United on Saturday.
The pair had started the League One opener against AFC Wimbledon just over seven days ago, but found themselves out of the side at the Weston Homes Stadium, as new signing Jerry Yates came in, with Shandon Baptiste restored to the midfield too. Lonwijk was then introduced at the break for Reuell Walters, going over to the right wingback berth to begin with, where he looked increasingly assured and was a big reason behind the Hatters’ much improved second half display, eventually finishing the contest on the left once more.
Walsh came on after 69 minutes with the deadlock having been broken by Mads Andersen’s header on the hour mark and was neat and tidy in possession, allowing Luton to remain on the front foot, as they went on to add a second goal with five minutes of normal time remaining through Jordan Clark’s tap-in. Speaking about the pair afterwards, Bloomfield was quick to point out just how well they had taken the decision, saying: “Walshy and Nige were the two who came out of the team that had just won 1-0.
"Neither of them really deserved to come out, but it was the right decision to change. The way they conducted themselves, Walshy took over a part in the warm up to make sure the starters were ready to go, he carried himself with so much quality and integrity, the way he conducts himself can never be questioned. For him and Nige to come on and play such pivotal roles in terms of seeing the game out for us, I think that was really fitting for them, so I felt it was something I had to mention.”
Meanwhile, Bloomfield confirmed that wingback Walters, who had struggled at times in the first period, was taken off due to an injury problem and wasn’t a tactical switch as was first assumed, adding: “That was injury, Reu unfortunately had a bit of a groin strain at half time and I thought Nige was excellent.”