Greg Tansey scored a last-gasp penalty to cancel out Brian Smikle's first-half opener, but the most remarkable event came five minutes from the end when Hatters fans invaded the pitch and held a sit-down protest in the centre-circle.
Mathias said: "It was an emotional day and I think it really got to our players.
"In the first half we just didn't compete and I really had a go at our lads at half-time. The second half was better, we were a bit more threatening going forward and the persistence paid off at the end.
"They can complain about the penalty, but I'm sure they`ve had decisions in their favour this season as well, and we certainly feel that we've been hard done by refereeing decisions on a number of occasions."
He added: "The protest was disappointing but I have to compliment the players on the way they came out after the stoppage and showed a lot of character. I can understand the fans' frustrations, they're only feeling like any fans would in this situation, but the club could get a fine now so it only causes more problems."
Source: PA
