Hatters boss hails Town's travelling fans at Boro as visiting support leaves Luton defender 'shocked'

Luton boss Rob Edwards was eager to praise every single one of the Hatters fans who made the lengthy trip to Middlesbrough to witness what was ultimately a disappointing 2-1 defeat at the Riverside Stadium.

In freezing conditions, and with kick-off not brought forward for the England World Cup quarter-final against France taking place in the evening, Town still had an excellent contingent travelling to Teesside for what was the new manager’s first game in charge.

Edwards applauded the support ahead of the contest and then made a point of going over to them following the stoppage time defeat, with an extended ovation thanking them for their efforts in supporting the Hatters in what was a 440-mile round journey for some.

Speaking about them in his post match press conference, the Luton chief, who saw Matt Crooks’ stoppage time winner ensure the Hatters went home empty-handed said: “A massive thankyou to everyone that came to support us.

"I know it’s a long, long journey, cold day, England are on the telly, so many things to make people maybe stay at home, but to come and get behind the team, a massive thankyou to them.

“It was an incredibly proud moment for me to come out and see the supporters there, the ‘welcome Rob’ sign as well, so thankyou for that.

"We all want to get results and get points don’t we, so a big tinge of disappointment, but what we will do is we’ll work really hard to bounce back.

"I can’t wait to be at home next week, a really big game against Millwall and lets go for the win in that one.”

The number of Luton fans who made the trip to sit in the away end even surprised defender Tom Lockyer, who having signed for Luton in the summer of 2020, was already well aware just how impressive a travelling support the club has.

He added: “The fans today, fantastic.

"I wouldn’t normally say this about the travelling fans as I know what they can do, but I was shocked to see how many of them turned up, especially with the England game on, so massive credit to them.

"I thank them so much and to fill out that up there, I know they felt miles away from the pitch, I know they put them up for a reason, fantastic.

"I was shocked, which doesn’t normally happen.

"We’re going to need them moving forward now because there’s real togetherness with the squad and not just the squad but the fans as well.”