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Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
JUST days after injury fears were allayed Zimbabwean midfielder Marvelous Nakamba was back in the thick of things as his English Championship side Luton Town snatched a vital point that kept their dream of promotion to the English Premiership alive.
The Hatters staged a dramatic comeback from two goals down to rescue a point in a 2-2 draw against promotion play-off berth rivals Millwall on Tuesday evening.
Nakamba played the full 90 minutes, just like he did the previous game against Birmingham City, which they won 1-0.
It seems the Zimbabwean has been earmarked for a key role in the Hatters campaign, after starting five of the six games since his arrival at the Championship side.
Nakamba is working to regain his best form after spending a rather frustrating season at English Premiership side Aston Villa where he was not given a run the whole first half of the season.
Villa manager Unai Emery was blunt with the Zimbabwean midfielder when he told him he was not in his plans during the January transfer window.
Nakamba has impressed at the second-tier side since his arrival from Villa. His presence in protecting the back-four has helped the Hatters become a more solid defensive unit, losing only once in the last six outings.
They still face stiff competition for a play-off place as they now occupy the last slot, with a two goal advantage over Norwich. There are six more games to play in the season.
Luton Town have to finish six to secure a playoff berth for a chance of playing in the English Premier League next season. Vincent Kompany’s Burnley lead the race and are on course for automatic promotion as they have opened a 12-point gap on top of the log standings with 76 points.
Hatters boss Rob Edwards admitted he would have taken a point when trailing 2-0 against Millwall, after witnessing his side do just that by hitting back to draw 2-2.
It looked like the victory was destined to leave with the Lions to South London after Ethan Horvath fumbled Zian Flemming’s early shot into the net and then Tom Bradshaw made it 2-0 with 52 minutes gone, although winger George Honeyman was offside in the build-up.
However, Elijah Adebayo’s impudent finish six minutes later gave Town a chance, and Luke Berry’s late equaliser ensured they picked up a well-deserved point, as on whether he would have taken the draw, Edwards said: “I think so.”
Edwards praised his team’s “strong character” as they came from two goals down, as substitute Berry scored a dramatic late goal in a tense Championship play-off battle.
Assessing the performance during his post-match interview with BBC Three Counties Radio, Edwards said: “I said to the lads because they’re a bit flat in the dressing room, to pick their heads up and say come on, that’s a really good point.
“Give a team like that, who are very well drilled and really well structured a two-goal head start and if someone offered me a 2-2 draw at the end then I would have taken it, we all would have.
“I’m really proud of the lads for the way they responded,” he continued. “We’re trying to do the right things against a really good team and I think it’s what we deserve at the very least. I’m pleased with the end result.
“I thought we played really well. There was some really good football up until that final bit, that’s always the hardest bit and that’s what we talk about. There were a few that flashed across and we didn’t quite get on the end of it, we huffed and puffed but I thought the actual building and getting to a point was very, very good.
“The response to the setback was great and you would expect that from our lads. They have strong character and they’ve shown a lot of resilience already this season, so I was pleased with the response.”
Online Reporter