Championship: Luton earn deserved point against West Brom
Luton Town 1 - 1 West Bromwich Albion
Luton Town fought back to secure a well-earned point, extending West Bromwich Albion's winless streak in the Championship to seven games.
Josh Maja opened the scoring for Albion with a clever flick in first-half injury time, marking their only shot on target before the break.
Luton equalised on the hour through former Birmingham City player Tahith Chong, who fired in a composed low left-footed strike on the counter-attack.
Carlos Corberan's Baggies have now recorded five consecutive draws, while Luton have managed just five points from their last seven games. Luton's brief escape from the relegation zone depends on Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle failing to win on Saturday.
A closer look at what happened
Corberan was forced to reshuffle his line-up due to injuries following the 0-0 draw with Cardiff City. Semi Ajayi and Paddy McNair were sidelined, prompting Callum Styles’ second start at left-back and allowing Torbjorn Heggem to move into central defence alongside Mason Holgate, who made his first start since returning on loan from Everton. Corberan also reinstated club captain Jed Wallace and Karlan Grant, with John Swift and Mikey Johnston dropping to the bench.
Luton’s changes were down to suspensions, with Tom Holmes and Alfie Doughty absent after last weekend’s defeat to Coventry. Amari'i Bell and Teden Mengi returned to the backline.
The first half was a lacklustre affair, enlivened only by the team selections and extended by five minutes of injury time. Albion's opener came in the fourth minute of added time, their first real attack. Grant took on his marker and sent a low left-foot cross into the box, where Maja, facing away from goal, wrong-footed the Luton defence with a clever Cruyff-style flick that deflected off Jordan Clark and trickled into the bottom-right corner.
Luton's equaliser came out of nowhere after another subdued start to the second half. Alex Mowatt lost possession cheaply, allowing Chong to break down the left. Reaching the edge of the box, he unleashed a powerful low drive into the same corner of the net, with Albion keeper Alex Palmer perhaps thinking he could have done better. Moments later, Chong tested Palmer again with a low right-footed shot through Darnell Furlong’s legs, forcing the Albion keeper into a smart save.
Daiki Hashioka struck the outside of the post for Luton, while Albion had a late surge in a much-improved second half – but a draw was a fair result in the end.
The view from the terraces
We didn’t lose.
— Luton Town Fans (@LutonTownFans) November 1, 2024
That’s about the only positive I can think of tonight.
Ultimately is was another below average performance against what was a beatable side on the night.
Tommy, a Luton fan, was more positive. He told us: "More frustration for our fans and the manager Rob Edwards. However, you've got to take every positive that you can. The second-half performance was much better and there were some positive signs. I hope we can put a good run together as the results haven't been great since the win against Watford."
Jerry, a West Brom fan, added: "I don't think we managed the game well enough to achieve the win. However, we're still in 5th place. This is a good position after a poor run of form. Once we're back to our best, I am confident we can finish the season in the top 6."
