“Am gratitude personified” Luton Town Boss cries out
Luton boss Rob Edwards has thanked AFC Bournemouth and their supporters for the ‘class’ they have shown towards Hatters fans and defender Tom Lockyer ahead of tonight’s clash at the Vitality Stadium.
Town make the trip back to the south coast for the first time since the Welsh international suffered a cardiac arrest on the field back in December, with the game abandoned on the hour mark as he received life saving treatment on the field. Thankfully Lockyer is now making a full recovery from the incident, and ahead this evening’s rearranged fixture, Cherries Trust, the independent supporters trust linked to the club and Talking Cherries have joined forces to raise funds to help with coach travel for Luton fans who are making the trip back to Dorset once more.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2023/12/21/3848655-78206028-2560-1440.jpg)
Edwards thinks the gesture is one of a number of things that has formed a unique relationship between the two teams, saying: “It was really raw at the time, but I think the two clubs will have a special bond now. Things like the Bournemouth Supporters Trust raising money to pay for the coaches for our supporters as they’re having to do the journey twice, I think that shows a lot of class from them, so a big, big thank you from me and our football club.
“I know both sets of supporters have raised a lot of money for the British Heart Foundation, some of the work that Locks has done since and both clubs will have raised a lot of awareness for CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) too. So off the back of a harrowing experience, a lot of good will have come from it and a special bond between the two clubs.”
A minute’s applause has also been planned on 59 minutes to honour the wonderful work done by the medical staff in saving Lockyer’s life, as the centre half revealed afterwards he had in fact died for over two minutes before being brought back to life by those who were treating him. Edwards continued: “It’s brilliant, fantastic and rightly so, like I said at the time, they’re the true heroes.
“It’s nice, football players are modern day heroes to a lot of children and people growing up, but it is only football in the end and there’s more important things. What those guys did in the most pressurised moment was incredible and they deserve all the attention and affection that they’re going to get on the day.”
Meanwhile, Cherries midfielder Philip Billing was also credited for his actions at the time, as he was one of the first players to Lockyer, able to alert the benches to the severity of the situation. Although unlikely to start the contest, he will no doubt receive a terrific ovation from Luton supporters if featuring, with Edwards adding: “Philip was incredible at that moment and acted very, very quickly, as did a lot of players.
“The support that they showed as well, the officials, the Bournemouth staff, Andoni (Iraola) and all his staff were incredibly respectful as were all his players. It will be a nice moment, but in the end there’ll be two teams that are fighting like mad to win the game.”
