Proud Edwards thought Luton looked a 'really good team' when giving the Red Devils an almighty scare

Luton boss Rob Edwards was left with a huge sense of pride when watching his side’s performance during their 2-1 defeat against Manchester United at Kenilworth Road on Sunday evening.

The Hatters went into the game looking for a first win over their opponents on home soil since 1987, but were rocked when top scorer Elijah Adebayo pulled out of the side ahead of kick-off due to a hamstring injury. They were then teetering even further after a stunning start by the Red Devils saw them 2-0 up within six minutes, in-form Danish international Rasmus Højlund scoring both goals.

After a weekend that saw Burnley hammered 5-0 at home by Arsenal and Sheffield United beaten by the same scoreline against Brighton & Hove Albion at Bramall Lane, the fifth time the Blade have conceded five or more this season, rather than throw the towel in, Luton rolled their sleeves up to try and get back into the contest.

They did just eight minutes later, Carlton Morris bravely heading in Tahith Chong’s deflected attempt for his third in three games and seventh of the season. It led to another breathless game of Premier League football involving the Hatters, with the viewing Sky Sports audience certainly getting their money’s worth, as although somehow there were no further breaches of either defences, Luton could leave with their heads held high once more.

Speaking afterwards, Edwards said: “It was a really entertaining game, both teams went for it, and we showed really good stuff. I thought we looked like a really good team tonight, I really did and I’m proud of many aspects of that performance, especially in the face of a lot of adversity early on. Two-nil down, with what had gone against us, you thought this could be a difficult night.

"You’ve seen what’s happened this weekend with teams, it can happen at this level, better teams than us can get hit hard in this league and that didn’t happen to us. We want to always try and get the last goal in the game, be pushing, and we were, Ross (Barkley) hit the bar at the end, we were pushing and that’s what I want from my teams.”

Luton were indebted to keeper Thomas Kaminski for keeping them in the game during the second 45 minutes as he made excellent stops when faced with both Diogo Dalot and Alejandro Garnacho bearing down on him one v one. He also repelled efforts from Marcus Rashford and Højlund again, plus Bruno Fernandes' free kick, while when he was beaten, Arsenal loanee Sambi Lokonga made a wonderful sliding block on Fernandes which earned him one of the biggest ovations of the night.

With just the one goal deficit it meant the Hatters could try and salvage a precious point, almost doing so through Chiedozie Ogbene’s angled drive that flew over, Gabe Osho just unable to turn home from close range and then Barkley nodding against the top of the bar in stoppage time. Edwards added: “We were trying to be brave, we’re going to take some risks.

“We had to manage some counter attacks better and we need to, it’s an area for us to focus on again. They have some moments with the quality and their speed, I think you look at Manchester United over the last, god knows how many years, they’ve always been a fast counter attacking team with a lot of quality. They've done it to bigger and better teams than us.

"It's Marcus Rashford and Garnacho and Højlund, these are big, big players, top players, who are very good and very quick, but there’s certain areas we can be better and stop those counter attacking moments. Thomas did well, some scrambling, Sambi’s block, some brilliant emergency defending which you’re going to have to do when you take risks and you want to get back in the game against a team like that. So credit to the boys for keeping the ball out of the net by hook or by crook.”