Rob Edwards heaped praise on Ian Evatt and Wanderers following Luton’s narrow victory at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

Edwards, who played alongside Evatt at Blackpool, has been impressed with what he has seen from the Whites during the recent FA Cup ties and in League One this season.

“I said to Evo at the end, what they are doing is brilliant,” said the Luton chief. “They are winning games of football in a brilliant way.

“He had a great plan and it did cause us problems. They missed the press out, because they knew we were going to press aggressively, and looked to try to link in the front and run off our midfield players. They were a real threat on the counter-attack.

“When we went 2-1 up, they probably had too much of the game for my liking but, naturally, we were probably thinking, ‘Let’s not lose this position we are in’.

“There was lots there to like, but too many things that I was a little bit frustrated with.

“But it was about winning and that was what I challenged the lads to do before the game, so in the end I couldn’t fault them too much.”

A major talking point was Dion Charles’ disallowed goal in the second half after a very late offside call from the officials.

VAR was in use for the initial tie at Kenilworth Road, but current rules dictate that the technology is only available at current Premier League grounds for this season’s FA Cup.

When asked about the incident, Edwards replied: “It was tight but I have just quickly looked at it back and I think it was the right call. Thankfully, it’s the right decision because there was no VAR to check or overturn it.”

Luton joined in with the tributes to Iain Purslow before kick-off and during the game after the lifelong Wanderers supporter tragically passed away at the weekend.

Edwards said: “We are sending our best wishes to Iain’s family, friends and everyone at Bolton Wanderers. They have been through a really emotional time and our hearts go out to his family, it is really sad.”