Luton boss Jack Wilshere revealed that the fantastic ovation Town’s players received from their 4,000 travelling fans at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening left a number of the squad feeling ‘emotional.’
Roared on an outstanding away following throughout the entire 90 minutes of their Carabao Cup second round tie against Chelsea, the Hatters put up quite a fight with a splendid defensive rearguard performance against the likes of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers, before being breached twice in the second half through Danny Welbeck’s first Blues strike and an own goal from the unfortunate Hakeem Odoffin, to lose 2-0.
Following the final whistle, the visiting players then went over to the massed ranks of fans behind the goal, where they were greeted by a superb response from their supporters, who showed just what they had thought of their brave and committed display. It was a world away from the kind of reception Town’s players had been getting at times last season under previous boss Matt Bloomfield, and also in the early parts of Wilshere’s reign it must be said, when a poor run of form, particularly on the road, saw a number of those who attended matches regularly let their disappointment be known regarding what they were witnessing.
Jack Wilshere applauds the Luton fans at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night - pic: David Horn / PRiME Media Imagesplaceholder image
Jack Wilshere applauds the Luton fans at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night - pic: David Horn / PRiME Media Images
However, Wilshere and his players began to fully win them round during the final stages of the campaign, putting together an excellent unbeaten run, and with some impressive business done in the summer transfer window so far, plus a decent start to the season, then the unity, which was so important to Town’s amazing climb to the Premier League, appears to be back once more.
It led the former Arsenal and England star to say when asked about those who made the trip from Bedfordshire: “Outstanding. I stood there at the end and was looking in the players' eyes, some of them were quite emotional. I think you come on a long journey, I’ve been here nine, 10 months, it has been a long journey within ourselves to find our way, find an identity, but also again to reconnect with the fans and we need that, the players need that, so really grateful for their support.
"We speak about it a lot, it wasn’t always easy and we understand why. The club over the last couple of years have been through some tough times. The fans were frustrated, some of our performances weren’t where they should have been and the fans stuck with us. We’ve worked really hard on that connection and credit to the players as well because they’re the guys that have to go out there.
"They’re the guys that feel the environment at times last year and that was a big part of us growing as a team, overcoming that, keeping confidence in tough moments, showing belief and we’re really proud of that connection we have with the fans now. We need to keep growing, we need to keep building it, but it’s in a good place and I understand what the fans want to see. They want to see a team compete, that are aggressive, that give everything for the badge and these players certainly do that.”
On-loan Newcastle United defender Harrison Ashby, who was making his first start for the club on the night, and has come into the campaign without any of the baggage from last term, was eager to talk up the support he and his team-mates received, saying: “When you lose 2-0 and you come to the end and there’s a full stand of 4,000 up there, it shows the kind of fanbase we had. The kind performance, I hope they’re happy with it. I know we lost 2-0, but I hope they can look at that and go, the lads put in a right shift and hopefully the same performance on Sunday (against Mansfield).”
Several Luton players also took to Instagram to thanks those who had made the trip, as Odoffin wrote: “Some shift last night away at the Bridge. Backed by world class support in the away end. Onto the league.” As Josh Keeley put: “Battled hard against a top team. Thank you to our fans, who as always we heard from start to finish. Full focus on the main goal.”
While Wilshere was hugely enthused by what he saw off the pitch, he was also more than satisfied with what he witnessed on it, Town showing a different side of their game to dig in and frustrate their lofty opponents for a good 50 minutes before summer signing Welbeck broke the deadlock. It was a far cry away from the defensive outing in the first half at Reading during Luton’s opening League One game of the campaign, as they trailed 3-1 only to bounce back and win 4-3, and on the way in which his players stuck to their task, he added: “I thought the lads were excellent with that, killing spaces, denying them, being aggressive when we could and inside passes.
"The first goal is a really good goal, the ball into the box is really good, the movement’s really good and sometimes at this level, it’s okay, that can happen, but overall the back five can be proud of their performance and they can take confidence from it as well. They’re playing against top players, Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Danny Welbeck, his experience and he knows the game, so they can be proud of that.
“I said to the players, we have to do that at times in the league we’re in (defend) and against certain opposition, but we won’t have to do it for as long as Chelsea made us do it. We talk about control and having the ball, but that is also now a way to control the opposition when sometimes it’s not going your way or sometimes in the game when the opposition gets a little bit of momentum, that is what we need to see.
"That type of energy, that type of desire and that type of mentality to defend. We have a lot of players who probably their first thought is not to depend, and that’s okay, I was like that as a player as well, but you have to change your mentality a little bit and the players showed that they can execute that.”