BAD-BOY WALL COMES GOOD!
LUTON boss John Still admits Alex Wall is back in his good books after the striker grabbed the winner against Stevenage just second after coming on.
Last month Still branded the striker’s conduct as shocking and unprofessional when he was sent off for swearing at a referee in a development game against Bournemouth.
But Wall’s composed finish was the complete opposite.
Luke Williamson gave the Hatters an early lead before Tom Pett levelled before half-time.
Walls’ late winner places Luton in a play-off spot while Stevenage dropped to 17th.
Still said: “It isn’t about making mistakes, it’s how you react to it and Wall’s reacted very positively so fair play to him. He’s a young man, we all make mistakes and you have to accept that.
“It was well deserved. I thought it could’ve been over in 20 minutes to be honest. For the away team we started fantastic.
“They got a goal from their only chance but bar that I thought we were the team that would score.
“Being the away team in the local derby we’ve played well and we’ve won so I’m delighted.”
Wall scored the winner in dramatic circumstances.
The 24-year-old found himself unmarked at the edge of the area and curled the ball into Chris Day’s bottom corner in front of the travelling fans with just seven minutes left on the clock.
Luke Wilkinson had earlier headed the Hatters into an early lead after a free-kick from former Boro man Andy Drury found him in the area. The centreback climbed above the hosts’ defence and fired in his second in two games.
Tom Pett undid Wilkinson’s opener with a close-range strike in the 33rd minute following a decent team move.
Charlie Lee’s lofted pass found Chris Whelpdale deep in the area and the former Gillingham man headed across goal to tee-up Pett.
That same combination almost scored an identical goal on the hour mark but goalkeeper Mark Tyler recovered quickly to gather the ball between the posts to deny the duo.
Luton had far more opportunities to score. Wilkinson had an effort saved by Day in the 15th minute and Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu fired wide from close range in the eighth minute.
Jim Stevenson also had a header cleared off the line moments before Walls climbed off the bench to make himself a hero.
Stevenage manager Graham Westley said:“I think there wasn’t a lot to choose between us.They popped up and nicked it and I think they will feel they nicked it.
“It was a very difficult opening for us. For the first 20 or 25 minutes we didn’t get started at all and we deserved to concede. It could’ve been worse than it was.
“They got their noses in front. We dug in and got our game going forward and the equaliser was a fair reflection of our response. “I think we dominated the second-half, the disappointing thing is it’s our throw in we ended up conceding from.”