Woodrow admits Luton's players knew Bournemouth clash was a must-win for the Hatters

Attacker Cauley Woodrow admitted Luton’s players knew it was clear they simply had to beat AFC Bournemouth during their Premier League clash at Kenilworth Road on Saturday.

The Hatters had gone into the match on the back of an 10-game winless run which had seen them drop into the bottom three, but fell behind when Marcus Tavernier picked out the bottom corner from 22 yards. Town then rallied superbly though, Jordan Clark firing home his first ever top flight goal from Luke Berry’s block, with Woodrow coming off the bench inside the final 10 minutes.

It was to prove a key decision by boss Rob Edwards, the sub sending over a cross in the final minute that striker Carlton Morris volley past Cherries keeper Neto to secure a precious three points for the Hatters. Woodrow admitted he and his team-mates had known how important it was to pick up a result before kick-off, saying: “It’s massive, we had to win, so it’s a step in the right direction of where we need to be. It was obvious, a home game against a really good team, but a really winnable game for us, it was clear that we had to win and we got the job done.

"We’ve got (Manchester) City away next Saturday and then we’ve got some really big home games coming up which we’re going to need performances like today. It gives us a little lift, a bit of confidence, but not over-confidence as we’ve still got some really big games coming up and we need to fight harder to get some points.”

With Woodrow, Berry and fellow replacement Fred Onyedinma all introduced in the second half and going on to have major roles in the victory, the former Town graduate was happy to play his part. He continued: “To get it in the dying moments and for me to cross it and Carlton to be on the end of it is a great moment for me, but not just me, Bez as well. Both substitutes had parts to play, as subs have been important all season, so we’re delighted. It’s a team game and the lads that start the game, they work as hard as they possibly can and then as the game goes on it opens up a little bit.

"Players like myself and Bez, we’ve not started a lot of games, but we’ve come on in most games and throughout the course of the season, had big parts to play. Bez had a big part in the first goal with the tackle that fell to Clicks and then my cross to Carlton, so we’ve just got to stick together as a team and do our bit when we can.”

Gaining revenge for letting a 3-0 half time lead over the Cherries slip and lose 4-3 when the two sides met at the Vitality Stadium last month, wasn’t something that was on Woodrow and his team-mates’ mind ahead of the game though, as he said: “We were flying at their place in the first half and then lost the game 4-3. It was a really low point in our season, but not to get one back, as Bournemouth haven’t done anything wrong in the past. They’ve been fantastic, when we went back there, it was a replay for Locks, so I’m not going to sit here and see we’ve gone one back on them. We’ve just done our job and won the game, that’s all we need to do really.”

Although Town saw their proud record of finding the net in 18 successive top flight games ended by Arsenal last Wednesday night, they were back on the scoresheet twice at Kenilworth Road to make it 45 goals in 32 matches so far this term. They had conceded a 65th of the campaign prior to that when Tavernier rifled past Thomas Kaminski, but went on to show their fighting spirit and notch yet another late goal on home soil to claim the points.

Woodrow added: “In other leagues you can get away with things, but this level, if it’s 0-0 and the game’s tight, you know the other team has got quality. A great strike from nowhere, so it is really disappointing, but we can’t give up and we don’t give up. That’s why we’ve continued to keep scoring late goals and getting points. Scoring has not been our problem this season, keeping the goals out as a team has been a problem for us, but we worked really hard together and came out on top. Scoring late goals has been a big thing for us.”