Edwards reserves special praise for Doughty as summer signing's vital goal-line clearance secures Canaries win

Hatters boss Rob Edwards reserved special praise for wingback Alfie Doughty for his part in ensuring Town picked up their first home win since October when beating Norwich City 2-1 at Kenilworth Road last night.

The summer signing from Stoke City was making his seventh start for the club, as they went into stoppage time leading for the second time in the evening thanks to Cauley Woodrow’s magnificent maiden goal for Luton.

With Town down to 10 men after Gabe Osho was dismissed, and Norwich throwing men forward, it looked for all the world that the Canaries would level when the ball dropped to to experienced defender Grant Hanley.

He chested it down and then volleyed goalwards, his shot destined to go into the net, only for Doughty to have positioned himself on the line and managed to head the effort away, as Town threw their bodies in the way of the follow-ups to pick up a massive three points.

Speaking afterwards, Edwards knew how bit a moment it was, as he said: “I just went in and congratulated him again as I didn’t do it when I spoke to the lads as a whole.

"Alfie’s probably someone who definitely deserves to attack more than defend, but he’s really appreciating both sides of the game and he knows it’s important to do the other side of it as well.

"For him to be on the line and stop a certain goal, obviously got us the three points, it was as important as a goal.”

Town had led through Allan Campbell’s second strike of the season on 61 minutes, the midfielder driving forward and picking out the bottom corner from 22 yards.

As they had against Middlesbrough in Edwards’ first game in charge though, they were quickly pegged back, this time the advantage lasting just eight minutes before Teemu Pukki levelled.

It’s something that Edwards wants them to cut out and quickly, as he continued: “We’ve got to be sensible in our play and make good decisions.

"At 1-0 up we need to learn from this, from Middlesbrough as well.

"We haven’t always got to go chasing the game and open up too many spaces at times.

"That’s the honesty in the group, because we’re demanding that we want to run and we want to play with intensity.

"We can still do that but from a bit more of a compact shape.

"We showed a side to us there with a lot or resilience and when the chips were down, we showed a lot of character as well.”