Sluga sweet save makes a big point
LUTON boss Graeme Jones revealed keeper Simon Sluga got a round of applause from his team-mates in the dressing room after his brilliant added-time save earned the Hatters a vital point in their relegation dogfight.
A close-range shot from Wigan substitute Michael Jacobs was heading for the corner of the net until Croatia international Sluga pulled off an instinctive fingertip save to deny fellow strugglers Latics a fourth successive victory.
The point – Luton’s first away draw this season – lifted them off the bottom and ensured a happy return for Jones to the club where he was a player and later assistant to Roberto Martinez when Wigan won the FA Cup in 2013.
He said: “Simon was the last one into the dressing room and he got a round of applause off his team-mates.
“That save was as important as scoring a goal. And we’ve been blessed in the last couple of months that he has been in that sort of form. He took a while to settle in but he is really showing why we signed him last summer.
“He has grown in confidence, he is taking more responsibility and his contribution has been huge.
“And there is more to come from him.”
Wigan, two points off the drop zone, are unbeaten in six games but boss Paul Cook was left disappointed they failed to continue their winning run.
Cook said: “I thought we deserved the win.
“I’m disappointed with the result but not the performance.
“We created what few chances there were and in terms of possession and intent we were the team trying to win the game.”
ROY HODGSON says he is not worried about over-70s being banned from football grounds to combat the coronavirus threat – despite being 72 himself.
One measure under consideration is to ban over-70s from grounds because they are more at risk from infection but Hodgson said: “I must say it’s not something that concerns me much. “I presume that they are thinking of ways to protect us, because from what I have heard and read it’s the older people who are most at risk. “But I feel very healthy, certainly the things I do at the club are going to keep me healthier than the average guy. “I wasn’t aware it was the elderly people spreading the virus – I just thought we were the ones at risk from it.”