Luton Town relegated again
West Bromwich Albion 5 - 3 Luton Town
Luton Town have suffered a second successive relegation and will return to League One next season following a chastening 5-3 defeat at West Bromwich Albion.
Author - James P
Stadium - The Hawthorns
The Hatters needed victory at The Hawthorns to ensure their Championship survival but were convincingly outplayed, sealing their fall into the third tier just a year after their brief stint in the Premier League came to an end.
Tom Fellows and Callum Styles each scored twice for the home side, with Daryl Dike also on the scoresheet in what proved a bruising afternoon for Matt Bloomfield’s team. Luton responded with goals from Millenic Alli, who netted twice, and Jordan Clark, but it was not enough to affect the outcome.
How Luton Town suffered more heartbreak
Luton’s fate was sealed on goal difference after they finished level on 49 points with Hull City, who drew at Portsmouth. Bloomfield’s side had shown late signs of resilience, stringing together three consecutive wins in April to drag themselves from second bottom to a position of safety heading into the final day.
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They began brightly in the Midlands and looked confident in possession, only to fall behind after seven minutes when Fellows beat Thomas Kaminski with a low finish. That early setback dropped Luton back into the relegation zone, though they responded well. Thelo Aasgaard recovered the ball in midfield and set up Alli, who evaded Kyle Bartley and fired into the far corner to level the match.
Any hope of a sustained revival was short-lived. News soon filtered through that Hull had taken the lead at Fratton Park, and within minutes West Brom had struck twice. Dike, making his first league start in over a year, powered in a header before Fellows grabbed his second goal in quick succession, leaving Luton facing an uphill battle.
Bloomfield made a bold double substitution at the interval, including the withdrawal of captain Carlton Morris and a switch in formation. It had little initial effect, although optimism briefly flickered when Portsmouth equalised against Hull.
That hope was quickly extinguished by two goals from Styles in the space of four minutes, meaning Luton’s only chance of staying up was dependent on a Portsmouth victory. Clark's curling effort offered a flicker of belief and Alli added a late goal, but despite a spirited end to the contest, the damage had long since been done.
A season that once promised revival has ended in heartbreak for Luton, who now return to League One for the first time since the 2018–19 campaign.
