Rob Edwards said Luton’s 1-0 victory against Newcastle was the “embodiment” of their captain Tom Lockyer as his side moved to within two points of Premier League safety.
It was Luton’s first game since Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest during last Saturday’s abandoned game away to Bournemouth.
The 29-year-old’s name was sung around Kenilworth Road throughout the contest, with the club having laid out his strip pre-match in their dressing room in tribute.
Andros Townsend headed the only goal in the first half, stealing in at the back post after Ross Barkley had flicked on a corner from Alfie Doughty and nodding beyond Martin Dubravka to a deafening roar from the home fans.
Newcastle piled on pressure in pursuit of a way back but it was Edwards’ side who came closest to adding to their tally.
First Barkley slammed an effort off the underside of the bar, a rasping 30-yard drive that beat Dubravka at full stretch, before Jacob Brown did the same in the second half after being played through by good work from Elijah Adebayo.
Alexander Isak thought he had equalised, sliding the ball into the far corner past Thomas Kaminski from Miguel Almiron’s pass, only for VAR to judge he had strayed fractionally offside.
Edwards said his team had gone into the game looking to win it for their absent captain, who was discharged from hospital on Thursday.
“I’m immensely proud of everyone,” he said. “This has been a really challenging week. They don’t teach you this on the coaching courses. I’ve needed my team around me.
“The players have been amazing, really brave. We’ve rallied around each other.
“It’s been hard to concentrate on a game of football this week. My focus has been on Tom and has family, but then there’s been a job to do, an important Premier League game. We’ve all helped each other.
“The performance was probably the most complete performances we’ve had this season.
“We’ve been playing really well. I don’t think it’s because of what’s happened that we’ve won the game today.
“We talked about it, we wanted to do it for Tom. But I don’t think there was any extra motivation there. Today we embodied everything that Tom Lockyer is.”
The result puts Luton to within a win of Nottingham Forest who were beaten 3-2 by a last-gasp goal at home to Bournemouth.
Despite an important three points, Edwards’ focus after the game was firmly on Lockyer.
“Today was about doing it for Tom,” he said. “He’s a leader and an inspiration figure for us.
“A football match pales in insignificance in that moment. It still feels a bit weird me coming in here, talking about a game of football.
“When you’re talking about someone’s life, it doesn’t matter then.”
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe reflected on a disappointing loss which was his team’s fourth in a row away from St James’ Park.
“We’ve spoken about it internally, we know how important away form is,” he said.
“We have to be consistent in home and away form. It epitomised our away form today, we didn’t compete well in the first half. We were reactive instead of proactive.
“We have an incredible group but I was disappointed with the first half, I thought we needed more emotions and energy in our performance.”
Terzic will rotate with Champions League qualification secured
Borussia Dortmund can rotate their side for this weekend's game with Augsburg after their win over Paris Saint-Germain in midweek secured Germany a fifth place in next season's Champions League.
Those are the thoughts of coach Edin Terzic ahead of Saturday's home game.
Dortmund are fifth in the Bundesliga, and with a 12-point gap over Eintracht Frankfurt and three games remaining, they are guaranteed a place in the Champions League, and can concentrate on the semi-final second leg against PSG on Tuesday, with a 1-0 advantage.
Terzic told reporters: "Obviously we are thinking about having energy and freshness tomorrow. We will rotate as we have done in the past but we will have a very good team on the pitch tomorrow.
"We will think about freshness. We will also think about giving chances, as there is no huge pressure tomorrow with our minimum goal secured."
Forward Sebastien Haller remained on the bench for the home win against PSG on Wednesday, and will be rested against Augsburg, but others who were involved should make an appearance, even if not for the full game.
"Rotation does not mean someone will not play at all but that you can spilt up participation times," Terzic said.
"We came through Wednesday's game pretty well. Only Sebastien Haller didn't feel well in the warm-up, we won't risk him for tomorrow but he is fine for next week."
Despite there being less pressure, Dortmund should still have plenty of motivation against Augsburg, especially after their 4-1 defeat at RB Leipzig last weekend and with just one win in their last four league games.
"It is a Bundesliga game at home and we have to do a bit better, especially at home. We have one month, and we have to show good performances and tomorrow everyone on the pitch can show how valuable they are for the club," Terzic added.
"If we have to talk about motivating them to play in front of 81,000 in the Bundesliga against Augsburg then we have a problem."
Dortmund are on 57 points, six behind Leipzig, while Augsburg are ninth in the standings on 39 points.
Nashville SC v CF Montreal: Smith knows strugglers must make home comforts count
Nashville SC coach Gary Smith knows his struggling side must make the most of their home games as they look to snap a five-match winless run against CF Montreal on Saturday.
Nashville sit a lowly 14th in the Eastern Conference standings with just eight points from nine matches, their only league victory of 2024 coming against Charlotte FC in mid-March.
They were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes last time out as the pressure on Smith intensified further, and he knows they are running out of time to turn things around.
"We're all very appreciative and understanding of the fact the home games represent the very best opportunity to earn points," Smith said.
"But I wouldn't say that I feel any more pressure than I have done for any other home game or any other fixture."
Montreal, meanwhile, have seen their preparations overshadowed by reports that star midfielder Mathieu Choiniere has requested a transfer after entering the last year of his contract.
While boss Laurent Courtois is none the wiser as to Choiniere's intentions, he is keen to see the homegrown talent stay put.
"Everyone loves Mathieu, everyone wants him to be valued, everyone wants him to stay here," Courtois said.
"Everyone wants him here to lift the club as high as possible, for as long as possible.
"There will be discussions between players and the club to improve their contractual situations everywhere, and it doesn't always need to be in the public eye.
"I don't know the accuracy of the rumour that came out. The club hasn't told me anything."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nashville SC – Hany Mukhtar
Mukhtar scored with one of his six shots against San Jose last time out.
He has taken a total of 388 shots since joining MLS in 2020, 100 more than any other player in the league in that time.
CF Montreal – Bryce Duke
Montreal managed just eight shots in their scoreless draw with the Columbus Crew last time out. Only Austin FC (7.8) have averaged fewer shots per match than Montreal (9.6) in MLS this season.
Duke has created nine chances for team-mates this campaign, a tally only matched by Choiniere among Montreal players. If they are to improve their attacking output, he will have a key role to play.
MATCH PREDICTION – NASHVILLE SC
Nashville have only managed three wins in 21 MLS matches since the end of the Leagues Cup last August (10 draws, eight losses, including playoffs).
They are also winless in their last five, drawing two and losing three, but the visit of a Montreal team who do not travel well could be a boost for Smith's men.
Montreal have gone four away games without a victory, failing to score in any of their last three and conceding 10 goals throughout that run. This game may just come at a good time for the hosts.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Nashville SC – 49.4%
CF Montreal – 23%
Draw – 27.6%
Houston Dynamo v St. Louis City: Carnell eager to get going after extended break
Bradley Carnell is eager to get going again when St. Louis City return to MLS action against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, two weeks on from their last game.
St. Louis were last in action on April 21, when Tomas Totland's last-gasp equaliser saw them claim a 3-3 draw against rivals Sporting Kansas City.
Carnell's team have only lost one of their last eight MLS games, though five of those have finished level to leave them ninth in the Western Conference standings, one point behind the Dynamo.
Speaking about the challenges of their long wait for a game, Carnell said: "The week off was nice, it gave us some time to plan and prep for the next few weeks and where we're going.
"There's going to be a ton of games so it's really important for us to do that. We can't change the calendar and it is what it is.
"We're excited about the games coming up, there's a lot of good teams among our opponents in the next couple of weeks."
Houston, meanwhile, have lost three of their last four league games including each of their last two, both of which came against Texas rivals in Austin FC (0-1) and FC Dallas (0-2).
Despite their downturn, boss Ben Olsen is choosing to remain upbeat and is certain things will turn, saying: "I can take a loss and I will say the guys gave everything, they continue to fight.
"We'll get back to work and try to make the fans proud next week.
"We prepare for St. Louis the same way we prepared for Dallas. We'll just get back to work and keep going.
"It's very early in the season. The last two games didn't go the way we want so we have to learn from it."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Houston Dynamo – Ibrahim Aliyu
Aliyu is the only Houston player with more than one goal to his name in MLS this year, netting three times. However, he has failed to score in their last three games, so he will be desperate to end that mini-drought here.
St. Louis City – Joao Klauss
Klauss is St. Louis' joint-leading scorer this season, his three goals only matched by Celio Pompeu after both players were on target against Sporting KC last time out.
The Brazilian has attempted a team-high 29 shots this term as well as creating 12 chances for team-mates, a tally only bettered by Pompeu (17).
MATCH PREDICTION – HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN
The Dynamo's first victory over St. Louis came in the second leg of this year's CONCACAF Champions Cup first round, a 1-0 home win that saw Houston into the round of 16.
St. Louis had previously gone unbeaten in the first three meetings between the teams (two wins, one draw), including winning both matches in Missouri.
After winning their first three away matches in club history last year, St. Louis have only managed three wins in 22 road trips (six draws, 13 defeats). Houston, meanwhile, have won two of their last three at Shell Energy Stadium so enter Saturday's game as favourites.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Houston Dynamo – 42%
St. Louis City – 29.7%
Draw – 28.3%
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