Buckle praises Hatters for late Nuneaton triumph

Town and their supporters had been frustrated for long periods against their defensive-minded opponents, who had 11 men behind the ball for the majority of the game.

With time running out, Lawless escaped a congested midfield to blast a stunning long-ranger drive into the top corner, before adding a second from a breakaway move in the final moments.

Buckle said: “You have to give credit to Nuneaton to start with. To come to a place like Luton where we’ve won three of the last four games, they were resilient, got men behind the ball, tried to frustrate us, tried to waste time early in the game.

“But what we did was we played for 94 minutes, that’s how long the game is.

“It was a quality goal and I was always confident before the game that once we got the goal we’d get a second or third, it just took a long time.

“They would have been more than happy with a point, but as soon as we scored, the gaps came because they had to come out and attack us.

“They never really threatened the goal, from a set play I remember one chance, but it was all us.

“It’s very difficult to break down an 11 that just sits in a unit like they were, a rigid 3-5-2.

“But I’m very proud of the players, after heroics of the other night in terms of playing wtih 10 men for 60 minutes on a heavy pitch. Our fitness levels came through and if you think you’re ever going to get an easy game at Luton you’re mistaken.

“We’d have been out of this league a long time ago if it was easy.”

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