Yesterday's result was disappointing for the Hatters as they were defeated 3-0 by Birmingham City at the St Andrews Stadium. A setback in Luton's unexpected playoff push saw them drop three places over the weekend after the loss. However, Luton have a chance to redeem themselves in front of their home fans this upcoming Saturday against West Brom, who were relegated from the Premiership last season.
Birmingham's win at the weekend saw them do the double against Luton this season as they put eight goals past the Hatters across the two fixtures. Nathan Jones saw his side overpowered in a 5-0 thrashing at the start of the season back in August.
Jones would've expected a better result this time around, due to Luton's recent run-in form however, there was a sense of déjà vu as they lost 3-0 in this weekend's reverse fixture away in Birmingham.
Luton made one change in their starting eleven that got the better of Barnsley on Tuesday night, which saw Gabe Osho make way for Tom Lockyer in the defensive department. Making a lively start to the game, Luton found themselves dominant in the oppositions half of the pitch, until Blues fans launched tennis balls onto the field of play in protest against their ownership. The bizarre scenes saw a steward step in the way of Elijah Adebayo as he looked to cross the ball into the Birmingham box. The game was momentarily stopped by the referee so they could remove the balls.
Shortly after the referee cleared the field, Birmingham found themselves 1-0 ahead as Blues attacking midfielder Juninho Bacuna slotted home the game's first goal. Luton attempted to rebound and find an equalizer immediately from the kick-off, but their attack saw them hit the woodwork not the back of the net.
Coming out for the second period, things went from bad to worse for the Hatters, as new signing Lyle Taylor scored within fifteen seconds of the half to double the lead for the Blues. Later on in the game, Jones made a few substitutions in an attempt to revive the game and salvage a point for the Hatters however, there was no way back when Birmingham grabbed their third goal of the game in the sixty-ninth minute of the match. Onel Hernandez put himself on the scoresheet and claimed all three points for the Blues as he slotted his shot past James Shea after picking up the ball at the far post.
A frustrating afternoon for Luton, but the support from the Hatters was brilliant yet again as 1700 traveling fans made the trip to the West Midlands.
Full Time- Birmingham City 3-0 Luton Town
Next Game- West Brom (H)
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