Luton stopper Keeley eyes second successive bout of final day heroics
Keeper was in goal for Leyton Orient as they beat Huddersfield last season
Luton goalkeeper Josh Keeley is hoping for his second successive experience of final day heroics when the Hatters head to Bolton Wanderers tomorrow.
It was 12 months ago that the Irishman was between the posts for Leyton Orient when they went to Huddersfield Town for their last game of the campaign needing to better Reading’s result and maintain their position of sixth in the League One table. A commanding 4-1 victory at the John Smith’s Stadium meant that quickly became a reality, Keeley then starring in the play-off semi-final penalty shootout win over Stockport County, before ultimately coming unstuck in the final against a Nathan Jones-led Charlton Athletic.
Fast forward a year and it’s another repeat situation for the stopper, as now a permanent fixture at Kenilworth Road following his permanent summer move from Tottenham Hotspur, he will no doubt have the gloves when Town travel to the Toughsheet Stadium in search of the win that will give them the chance to climb above the dotted line if results elsewhere go their way.
Asked what it was like to be in the same scenario once more, Keeley said: “It was an amazing experience, it went right down to the last day. We had to win and if we won that meant we went into the play-offs. We had Huddersfield away and this season we’ve got Bolton away, so two similar teams, up north, we’ve got to go there and win, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Also like Orient, who went on a run of six wins in a row and eight victories from 10 to surge up the table at just the right moment, Town have also turned things around in a fairly dramatic manner, also triumphing in seven of their last nine third tier games, suffering just one defeat in 16 in all competitions, as they have managed to hit back from a demoralising sequence of six without a win.
How that has boosted confidence ahead of the weekend, Keeley continued: “I said it would come when we’ll go on a run and we’ll do well as we’ve got the players and it’s shown that for the last couple of weeks. We’ll probably just go out and play as we have been in the last week. We’re unbeaten in a number of games, we’ve been drawing very few of them, but I think the circumstances on Saturday, it’s win or lose and we’re going to go there and try to win. It’s quite similar to last year for me as we went on, pushed, got ourselves into it at the end of the day, so fingers crossed.
With Keeley having built a good relationship with Town’s supporters since joining the club, he is confident the visiting fans will be at their very best this weekend in Greater Manchester, saying: “My message would just be give everything you can like we have for the last couple of weeks where we’ve picked up some good results and got ourselves in this position. You have helped us massively with that run and I just say get behind us and give it your all.”
Finally, discussing his first season as Hatters number one, having started all but one of Luton’s 45 league fixtures, also featuring in the FA Cup once as well, Keeley, who has kept 13 clean sheets so far, the joint fifth in the division, his form enough to earn another call-up to the senior Republic of Ireland squad, added: “I feel its gone well. There’s been times where I’ve had to reflect on myself and we’ve reflected as a team as well on areas we can improve on. It’s something I’m keen to do as there's definitely places I can be a whole lot better, but I’ve had some very good times as well.”