'Heartbroken' Naismith had no clue Morris's winner would mean nothing
Skipper didn’t know that Stevenage had scored
A heartbroken Luton captain Kal Naismith admitted he initially had no idea that Shayden Morris’s last-minute winner at Bolton Wanderers would count for nothing as Town fell agonisingly short in their attempt to reach the League One play-offs on Saturday.
With the match at the Toughsheet Stadium entering stoppage time, although how long actually remained was anyone’s guess as the fourth official’s board wasn’t ever raised, the Hatters were level at 2-2, as were Stevenage in their home clash against Wigan Athletic, meaning both sides were outside the dotted line, having in fact been leapfrogged by Plymouth Argyle who led already relegated Northampton Town 3-2.
News then came through to the press box that Boro had scored to move back into sixth spot, as moments later, Morris tapped home from a yard out after Ali Al-Hamadi hit the inside of the post, as the unsuspecting players exploded into wild celebrations in front of a packed away end. However, a large number of the 3,000 or so visiting supporters must also have got word of the goal around 200 miles away too, as it quickly dawned on Naismith and his team-mates that they hadn’t snatched the final spot.
Asked if he had known the situation, a downbeat skipper, who saw his side make it nine wins from their last 11 league games to give themselves a chance of finishing in the top six, said: “No, I didn't have a clue. Looking at the fans and celebrations, thinking last minute winner, if we are in these play-offs, I’m sure the Luton fans would have spilled over on to the pitch, not in a disrespectful way, but in a way they can’t contain their joy and excitement.
"They celebrated, they knew it was a big moment, but you could just feel the energy was off and you look over at the bench and see the energy is not quite there with the lads. There’s a lot looking down and I knew something wasn’t right. To come back to win here and just not get that moment that would have potentially been the greatest moment of my life so far when that goal went in, it’s heartbreaking as that moment would have been right up there.
"We gave absolutely everything, for a long while now. We’ve always given everything, but sometimes in football it doesn’t go your way, you’re in a bad run and you can’t turn it round, but we always stuck together. The staff, the manager came in, it was just incredible really to turn it round as fast as we did. You see that at the end, I’m so gutted and heartbroken, it’s almost more powerful that you see 3,000 of our fans and how proud they are of us, we’ve come a long way."
With a huge amount of controversy regarding the Stevenage winner against the Latics, as Dan Sweeney’s toepoke was adjudged to have crossed the line, even though replays show it was a dubious at best decision, asked if he had seen it, added: “No I can’t watch it, it will make me feel sick. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to watch it, I might try and avoid it.”
With Bolton clearly wanting to cement their third place in the table and keep Town away from the play-offs, the Trotters certainly didn’t lack effort or desire on the day, selecting a strong side and looked good value for their lead, keeper Josh Keeley making two excellent saves in the second period to keep his side in it, before Luton hit back with two goals from Hakeem Odoffin and Morris to triumph.
Naismith wasn’t surprised to see the hosts put such an effort in to not only try and maintain their proud home record, but also keep the Hatters out of the end of season finale, as both Bradford City and Stockport County also triumphed to ensure they couldn’t be caught either, meaning all the five teams who were in with a shout of reaching the play-offs were victorious on the final day.
The skipper added: “They’re a great side, it was a good game. They played really well and we would have done the same if Bolton were in seventh and needed to get in. Bolton are one of the best teams in the league and you want the easier path, no disrespect to the other teams in there, but they would have wanted to win. They’ve been beaten here once this season, we’re 2-1 down again, and have probably been written off again.
"We’re hanging in there, just with belief, with grit, with determination, never giving up, but listen the other teams that are in there, honestly I thought they would (lose). It’s hard when there’s a lot of pressure on you, you’re that team that’s been hunted, especially off a side like us, but they went there and did their job and they’ve done their job all season. They’ve been a tiny bit more consistent. I’m heartbroken, I feel if we got in there, it could have been something special.”