LUTON manager Matt Bloomfield hailed his team’s character after watching them ignite their bid for Championship survival today by defeating fellow strugglers Derby 1-0 at Pride Park.

Millenic Alli’s early strike proved enough to settle a contest of two distinct halves.

The forward, a January signing from Exeter, fired home after 10 minutes when John Eustace’s side failed to deal with a corner.

The visitors deservedly led at the break but came under heavy pressure during the second with Jerry Yates forcing a fine reaction save from Thomas Kaminski and Mark McGuinness, who had turned the ball back across the box for Alli to convert, clearing off the line when Marcus Harness pounced on the rebound.

Substitute Kayden Jackson also tested Kaminski but Derby were unable to fashion an equaliser.

Luton remain in the bottom three but are now behind their opponents on goal difference alone.

Bloomfield said: “Our results have been very good away from home. We knew this was going to be a tough game here but we knew we could win.

“In the first half, I thought we were excellent and played so well. In the second, we had to weather the storm a bit but we did that to a man. I thought we defended incredibly when we needed it.

“We didn’t actually ask for anything other than a performance today. If you put in match-winning performances then the victories are surely going to follow.

“But nothing is done yet. We are in there fighting and we have given ourselves a chance.

“I keep getting asked when the picture at the bottom will get sorted and I don’t know. It could go right down to the wire and I think it probably will.”

Bloomfield added: “The resilience the players showed was excellent and that’s got to continue. You can see that the belief is growing.”

Eustace, the Derby head coach, was left to rue missing a chance to pull clear of the drop zone.