Stech overjoyed to bounce back in style from County error

With 55 minutes gone and Luton 1-0 ahead, it seemed for all intents and purposes that the home side’s top scorer Christian Doidge was going to head his side level, as he leapt to meet Dan Wishart’s cross.

However, he reckoned without Town stopper Stech who, as he has done against Yeovil Town and Colchester United already, performed heroics to keep it out.

The Czech keeper said: “You learn from the mistake, I probably should have stayed on the line but I want to come for stuff, I want to be active.

“It was one of them where the marking wasn’t the greatest as well, and last week we didn’t perform our best. So we come in and got three points, I’m absolutely buzzing.”

On the actual save itself, Stech continued: “I moved my feet and could see he was whipping it in, so my first instinct was just getting a position, stand up and I could see out of the corner of my eye, he’s up there heading it, smashing it.

“I just tried to stay big and it hit me in the chest, so I’ve pretty much just tried to move my feet, stand up and that’s it.

“It’s really important to make that save and kept us in the game and Hylts (Danny Hylton) scoring the second goal, that kind of killed the game.

“You have to make these kind of saves. You never know what might come in a game, but making the save, it’s the same as scoring a goal for a striker.

“I kept us in the game, we got the clean sheet and Hylts score the second goal which won the game.”

Hylton himself was quick to lavish praise on Luton’s ever-present number one in the league this term.

He said: “That’s what Stechy does, he’s the best keeper in this league, and that’s not being disrespectful to any other keeper.

“He’s amazing and he does it at times, where he does those big saves at crucial times for us and that’s what he’s paid to do.

“It was a great save, it could have been 1-1 and a different game, but it’s not and that’s what Stechy does and fair play to him.”

Those thoughts were echoed by boss Nathan Jones, who added: “That’s why for me he’s as good as there is in the league in terms of everything that he does.

“I thought he was outstanding and when he’s called upon, that’s the mark of a real top goalkeeper.

“We rode our luck a little bit as Marek had to make a real good save first half and second half and that’s what’s won us the game really.”