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“Timing is everything” is a maxim applied in many walks of life.
And in Luton’s case, one point which may work in their favour in League One next season is that Birmingham City and Wrexham will not be in it.
A number of third-tier bosses expressed the view during the campaign that the presence of those two clubs had made the division the best it had ever been.
Hard to
It took Luton Town, a significant force in the top flight of English football in the 1980s and 90s before a prolonged period of decline, 10 years to climb back from the National League to the Premier League.
There were unforgettable scenes after Rob Edwards’ side beat Coventry City on penalties at Wembley in the 2023 play-off final.
But the great adventure lasted only one season and now they are
Luton boss Matt Bloomfield told BBC Three Counties Radio:
“The industry we are involved in is going to throw so many challenges your way and you have to try and stay calm and think clearly.
“We had the momentum, we hit the post, their goalkeeper has made a couple of incredible saves, but the ball doesn’t go in so there’s a risk of frustration.
“All of those things go into
While both Burnley and Sheffield United finished below that Hatters in the Premier League when they were relegated together last season, Luton have continued to plummet as the other two clubs are looking make immediate top-flight returns.
Victory against John Eustace’s resurgent Rams, however, has given their hopes of staying in the second tier a huge boost.
For Derby – who handed goalkeeper Josh Vickers his first start in eight
After a tense but poor first half in which Sam Gallagher’s on-target header for Stoke and Theo Aasgaard volley’s for Luton were the only moments worthy of mention, it quickly livened up after the break.
Big Luton striker Carlton Morris’s crude block on Stoke defender Ashley Phillips got the home fans angry – and things started to get a more heated.
Mark McGuinness headed just wide for Luton, followed by
Hull City head coach Ruben Selles told BBC Radio Humberside:
“You can lose matches, that can happen. I’m more disappointed in our reaction after going 1-0 down.
“The goal was an action we can avoid, but it took us more than 30 minutes to react and start to build up the pitch and put them under pressure.
“We lost a little bit of our identity in these moments. I’m disappointed
An up-tempo and confident Hatters were on top from the off, creating and missing five early chances.
Liam Walsh twice went close and Aasgaard wasted the first of two wonderful opportunities to come his way when he smashed a shot over from close range after great work by Elijah Adebayo.
And the Norwegian midfielder, eyeing a second goal in two games having found the net in the away win at
The chorus of boos at the final whistle were an indictment of this latest setback for a Bluebirds side who have picked up just four wins in their past 24 league games.
This had all the hallmarks of an angst-ridden relegation scrap, with Luton coming into the game second-bottom after one win in 14, while Cardiff were hovering above the relegation zone with one win in their past seven.
The
But Luton held on, surviving a nervy six minutes of stoppage time, to go up to 22nd in the table – and to within two points of safety as they attempt to avoid back-to-back relegations.
Clark’s goal came just after the midpoint of the first half and was a deserved reward for an impressive opening 45 minutes.
An angled Alfie Doughty shot almost doubled the lead before the break, but
Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl told BBC Radio Sheffield:
“I will not be too critical with the first half because it was exactly what I expect from this game – a team who will fight for every inch and try to bring us down to set-pieces and second balls and it is not easy to play against such a team. For this of course you need a clean sheet.
“I