In another chaotic Championship game-week, Luton Town recorded a well-deserved win at Nottingham Forest, before suffering defeat at league Leaders, Norwich City.
Despite a convincing 3-0 loss against the Canaries, performance levels suggested that the Hatters will look to match even the most feared teams in the division.
Luton Town Weekly Round-up: Midweek Win and Saturday Loss
Midweek Luton Town Win Seemingly Eliminates Relegation Fears
A recurring theme in recent games has seen Luton’s inconsistent form change the opinions of Town fans week by week. A win usually eliminates the perceived pressure regarding the Championship drop, but a loss has often felt like the Hatters were being dragged into a second successive relegation dog-fight.
However, the three points secured at the City Ground, stretched the gap to 12 points from Rotherham United in 22nd and even the most pessimistic Luton fan would have sighed in relief.
After a first half that the hosts edged, Luton came out fighting in the second half. Ryan Tunnicliffe directed Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu‘s perfectly-weighted cross into the back of the net, scoring his second goal in just three days. The lead should have been doubled a few minutes later, when Jordan Clark fired narrowly wide after a well-worked Town move.
The home side offered next to nothing in the second half and the Hatters uncharacteristically held on rather comfortably for all three points.
Rotherham United Coronavirus Outbreak Postpones Tuesday Night’s Fixture
Rotherham United confirmed an outbreak of Coronavirus within their squad on Friday, subsequently postponing their Saturday fixture with Brentford and Luton on Tuesday.
The Millers, who are amidst an emerging relegation battle, have played fewer games than any other team in the division and still have 14 fixtures to fulfil before the season concludes in May. It remains unseen when the match will be rescheduled for in an already hectic schedule.
Norwich City Prove Their Class in Norfolk Visit
There are not too many times when a 3-0 loss can go down slightly well with fans, but their defeat to Norwich was one of those rare occurrences. The Hatters could have been two goals up inside the first ten minutes, but Teemu Pukki made the Bedfordshire club rue those missed opportunities when he emphatically opened the scoring in the 12th minute.
Luton continued to break forward well, but it was the Finnish striker who doubled the Canaries lead, netting his 20th league goal of the season in the 43rd minute. In the first 15 minutes of the second half, the Hatters barely got a touch of the ball but they were boosted by the arrival of Harry Cornick and Elijah Adebayo. They continued to put some good attacking moves together but as they pushed to halve the deficit, Todd Cantwell sealed the game with a brilliant strike beyond Simon Sluga in the Luton goal.
The Hatters remain 12 points from the Championship drop and although the odds are in their favour, they will still be cautious until relegation is mathematically impossible.
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