Luton keeper admits he wouldn't have been 'very happy' had Posh's penalty gone in

Luton goalkeeper Josh Keeley admitted he wouldn’t have been ‘very happy’ at all had he not saved Harry Leonard’s penalty during the Hatters’ 2-1 success over Peterborough United on Good Friday.

With 35 minutes gone and the hosts 1-0 ahead courtesy of Jake Richards’ earlier strike, Leonard was put clean through on goal, as Keeley came racing off his line to meet him. The 22-year-old, who had been called up by the Republic of Ireland’s senior squad the week before, got a slight glove on the Posh attacker’s attempt, only to see the ball continue on its trajectory towards goal.

With the visiting fans already cheering, fully expecting the net to bulge, home centre half Hakeem Odoffin didn’t give it up as a lost cause, sprinting back to slide the ball away from the line, which saw Town’s supporters up off their seats instead. However, before the pair could celebrate fully with each other, referee Isaac Searle, officiating his first ever League One contest, whistled for a penalty, judging that Keeley’s trailing legs had caught Leonard, and giving the visitors a highly contentious spotkick.

Leonard himself stepped up to take responsibility from 12 yards, but with the words of goalkeeper coach Kevin Pilkington ringing in his ears, Keeley dived to his left to save the weak attempt, becoming the first Hatters stopper to save two penalties in a league campaign for the first time since former Hatters stopper Marek Stech did so in the first month of the 2017-18 campaign.

Speaking to the club’s official website about the incident, Keeley said: “I’ve no clue how he’s given it, but he’s lucky that I’ve saved it because I wouldn’t be very happy, as Pilks goes through it before every game. We talk about who might take the penalty, Pilks is a big, big credit to play in that, so I thank him.”

Meanwhile, midfielder Jordan Clark was quick to praise his team-mates for ensuring the hosts went through to the break 1-0 ahead as he was then able to double the lead in the second period with his 12th goal of the campaign, continuing: “We knew how they play, they are a very possession-based and play out from the back. I think they are the best in the league for high pressing and winning the ball back in the opposition half and that's where most of our chances came from.

"First half was a bit sloppy and we got the goal at the right time. They had a couple of chances which they missed and the big moment was the penalty save which was brilliant from Josh. We’ve been speaking about starting the second half better in previous weeks and that probably won us the game. We’re just disappointed we didn't score more as we had three or four good chances and then you know they’re going to have a spell at the end of the game which they did, but credit to the boys who finished the game saw it out well.”

With Keeley heroics making a first clean sheet since January 31 appear on the cards, he wasn’t able to get it, beaten with 15 minutes left by Jimmy-Jay Morgan’s header, stretching his run to eight matches. The keeper added: “We’ve got some really, really good defenders in the team. We’ve picked up quite a few injuries and it’s been a bit chop and change, but the boys that filled in today and for the last couple of weeks have done really well.

"There’s little bits that defensively we need to pick up on 100 percent, but I thought we defended really well. We worked so hard, we had a couple of days where we had no game, international duty and the boys were in top shape I heard. It’s credit to the boys as it’s tough when you take a break for a little bit, but sometimes it comes at the right time and we deserved the three points.”