Mick Harford dedicated
Luton’s Wembley appearance to their long-suffering fans as the Hatters won a dramatic penalty shoot-out to reach the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final.
Luton and
Brighton drew 1-1 at Kenilworth Road after a goalless first leg to set up a shoot-out, which Luton won 4-3 to set a final date with Scunthorpe on April 5.
It is their first Wembley appearance for 15 years and for a club that is rock bottom of the Football League and 19 points adrift of safety, it was quite an achievement.
“It’s great for the fans obviously,” said Harford. “They’ve been great and have been on a rollercoaster ride for years and have been rewarded for sticking by the club.
“I’m delighted for the players, too, as they have come to this football club knowing the situation we are in and now they have the opportunity to play at Wembley, which is fantastic for them.
“They deserve the opportunity not only because of the situation here but because of the way they have performed in the competition this season. I thought over the two games we deserved it. I thought we controlled the game well, moved the ball well and got balls into dangerous areas. To be fair to Brighton I thought they defended very well in the second half.”
The mood was in stark contrast to the Brighton camp where manager Micky Adams was contemplating his future. The Seagulls are locked in a relegation battle in League One and this defeat left Adams scratching his head
“This interview is directly after the game so anything I say is in danger of being taken out of context somewhat, but the way that I am feeling at the moment I will be sitting down with the chairman and the board to see where we go,” he said.
“Whether that meeting takes place now or on Thursday or Friday I haven’t put a timeframe on it but I am sure that I will be sitting down with the chairman to discuss things.
“They piled men forward and out crosses into our box and what we did do – which we have not seen for a while from a Brighton team – is that we won headers and put our bodies on the line.
“If I am brutally honest we have not seen that all season and if one good thing has come out of tonight it is that we have shown we can defend resolutely when we need to,” he added after they were reduced to ten men following the dismissal of Dave Livermore.
“I think that the spirit we showed leaves me confident that the football club will not be relegated this season.”
