A stunning free kick from Kal Naismith boosts Luton’s League One playoff hopes and relegates Northampton Town to League Two.
Early on, Luton’s Kasey Palmer saw his free-kick strike the woodwork, before the Cobblers went ahead on the half hour mark when an unmarked Sam Hoskins lobbed keeper Josh Keeley. Luton were level just before half time through Liam Walsh’s 20-yard strike.
In the second half, Ali Al-Hamadi came off the bench and also hit the post with a shot from 25 yards on 77 minutes, then came Kal Naismith, his 85th minute winner moving Luton to three points of the play-offs.
Colin Calderwood said there was hope for the future as he reflected on Wednesday night’s 2-1 away defeat at Luton Town, a result that confirmed the Cobblers will be playing in Sky Bet League Two next season.
“The group made it difficult for Luton tonight and they showed what their talents are,” he said.
“Luton are a good team with some excellent players but it was an enjoyable game and I enjoyed the performance.
“We want to see more of that in our remaining games and we want to play with that vigour.
“We had some nice moments tonight against good opposition and I thought the front two were excellent.
“It’s been a really poor 2026 so far but if there is hope for next season I think that was demonstrated by the spirit of the performance from the boys tonight.
“We gave a performance that demonstrated a good personality and that showed the love and care for the club.
“The games we lost against the teams around us really hurt us and when you add that to the quality of the other opposition that we have faced that is probably a fair summary in my eyes.
“I’ve got absolutely no complaints about what happened in January transfer window, people might look back on that and reflect on it but they have got the wrong end of the stick.
“We are obviously starting our planning now for next season but we’ve still got four games left and we will have a look at that. I think we have to reward the boys who played tonight but we will definitely have a look at everybody.”
Luton boss Jack Wilshere said, per Luton Today: “It was a special moment when we needed it, and we needed it. At times this season when I’ve tried to support Kal as much as I have, there has been question marks and I think Kal will be the first one to say at times he could have performed better, but why I love him is because of that.
“Because of his leadership, because of his ability to deal with adversity and his resilience, his leadership qualities are some of the best I’ve seen and I’ve played with some really, really good captains.
“This team needs that and he came up with a really important goal. He’s had a good week and also part of the reason why I like him so much is I know how much he loves this club. He is so happy.
“I spoke to him after the game on Sunday with his mum and his family, they all love this club and you see that in his eyes. He tries all the time, yes he can do better at times and we keep trying to help him and show him the good things and the bad things that he does, but he’s a leader and he definitely led the way tonight.
“He can bounce back and don’t get me wrong, I’m not sitting here and saying you can make all the mistakes you want and I’m still going to love you. We go through them, we sit down with him, he knows that we don’t accept that, but his ability to bounce back and stand up and hold his hands up, and this group really, really needs that.
“With the adversity we’ve faced this year, where the clubs been, Premier League, relegation, relegation, some players who weren’t here and experienced that and then step into an environment that is demanding, that there’s expectation, and rightly so.
“You need leaders who’ve been there, it’s not just Kal, Nahki (Wells), Savs (George Saville) has been amazing as well. Clicker (Jordan Clark), all these players, we really, really need their leadership, their experience and they keep delivering.
“Young players need to look at that, we’ve got some exciting young players who need to develop even more resilience and certainly having players like Kal and leaders in the group help with that.”
