Drained Town chief left with a 'great feeling' as the Hatters earn last-gasp Cherries victory

An emotionally drained Luton boss Rob Edwards admitted it was a ‘great feeling’ to finally be able to celebrate three huge points in his side’s efforts to stay in the Premier League this season after a stunning 2-1 victory over AFC Bournemouth this afternoon.

Down to the bare bones once more, and up against one of the most in-form sides in the division, the Cherries having lost just four league games since early November, it looked like another tough day at the office for the Hatters chief once Marcus Tavernier had rifled home from 22 yards early in the second half to put the visitors in front.

The hosts had other ideas though, as with Luke Berry and Fred Onyedinma on after an hour, the pair played a huge part in Town restoring parity, Berry’s block tackle falling perfectly for Jordan Clark to level the scores with 73 minutes gone, the midfielder scoring his first ever top flight goal in the process. Cauley Woodrow also entered the fray late on, the substitute’s brilliant cross picking out team-mate Carlton Morris to win it in the last minute, as the Hatters could celebrate a first victory in 10 games, and boost their chances of remaining in the highest tier of English football.

Speaking afterwards, asked how he was feeling, an elated Edwards said: “Quite drained, it’s been a tough period and it’s going to continue to be that way, so I’m going to try and enjoy it for a short while and then get back to work. It feels great, as it’s hard to win a game of Premier League football, especially for us, that’s how it’s proven this season.

“We knew today was important, we know we’ve got to find more as well in the remaining games, but a great feeling. We put the pressure on the lads after Tottenham and after Arsenal and for them to deliver today. I’m really proud of them, I thought we deserved it, I thought we played really, really well, showed loads of character and quality after going 1-0 down as well.

"They’re a really good team Bournemouth, brilliant players, and over half a season now they’re fifth in the form table. They’re used to winning and when they go 1-0 up they’re probably expecting to win that game as well, so we didn’t let our heads drop. We bounced back really quickly, I thought the subs made a real impact and it’s a great feeling to get that win as it was vital today.”

Asked just what it meant to triumph having conceded the opening goal for the first time this term, and with such a depleted squad at his disposal, Edwards added: “It’s big. It’s hard at the moment, it really is, with a number of players missing, key players, but that’s why I love those lads in there as well.

"They’re giving us everything, they try so hard. You’ve got Jordan Clark who’s got his first Premier League goal today, who like so many of our lads, has fought really hard over their footballing journeys to get here, to get to the Premier League, they don’t want to give this up. He’s just like loads of the lads are, brilliant stories this year. Just because we won the game we’re not out of it clearly, there’s a long, long way to go, but we’re still in the fight.”