The second half of the game between Bournemouth and Luton was an exciting turnaround, as Antoine Semenyo led Bournemouth in a comeback to prevent Luton from escaping the relegation zone. This match was a re-do of one played three months ago, when Tom Lockyer experienced a heart attack.
The Luton team captain was moved by the events of the evening. Before the game began, both groups of fans expressed their support for him. He had experienced a harrowing moment on the field in December where he had been “technically dead” for 2 minutes and 40 seconds. However, despite the initial triumph, his team ended up giving up their three-goal advantage. This loss came after Tahith Chong, Chiedozie Ogbene, and Ross Barkley seemed to secure an easy win that would have boosted their position over Nottingham Forest based on goal differential.
However, despite being heavily criticized by the crowd at halftime, Andoni Iraola’s team put on an impressive performance that resulted in goals from Dominic Solanke, Illya Zabarnyi, and Semenyo within a span of 14 minutes to overturn Luton’s lead. Semenyo’s goal in the final seven minutes secured a victory, but it was a drastic turnaround for Rob Edwards’ team.
According to the disappointed Luton manager, there were a few errors made by individuals and the early goal gave the opposing team motivation. This loss places even greater importance on the upcoming game against Forest at Kenilworth Road on Saturday. While the team is upset and feeling the pain of this defeat, they have no choice but to regroup and move on quickly.
The comradery between the two teams was evident at the Vitality Stadium, 88 days after Lockyer’s heart attack. The Bournemouth Supporters’ Trust raised over £2,000 to assist Luton fans with their travel expenses. Before the game, the Luton captain shook hands with the medical professionals who aided in reviving him on the field. He was also met with a standing ovation from both teams’ supporters.
After experiencing five consecutive defeats, Luton managed to break the streak with a late goal against Crystal Palace on Saturday. In their past three matches, slow starts resulted in conceding early goals. However, this time they avoided the mistake and took an early lead thanks to Chong’s headed goal from Jordan Clark’s cross in the ninth minute. Luton has scored 14 goals from headers this season, second only to Arsenal.
Bournemouth’s most recent victory in the Premier League at this location was on Boxing Day, during their successful period. Despite controlling the ball, they missed multiple opportunities in the first half due to imprecise shots. Dango Ouattara also missed from a good position, which became a frequent occurrence. Reece Burke had to make a critical defensive move to prevent Semenyo from having a clear shot at goal.
Yet Luton always looked menacing on the break and so it proved just after the half-hour when Chong and Alfie Doughty played a delightful one-two before the wing-back’s cross was tapped in at the far post by Ogbene, with Ouattara guilty of losing his man. Bournemouth continued to camp out in Luton’s half and Lewis Cook’s piledriver from long range forced Thomas Kaminski into action again but they were frustrated by dogged defending from a committed phalanx of white shirts.
It was another mistake from Ouattara that allowed Luton to score a third just before half-time after Issa Kaboré had relieved him of possession and burst down the field, setting up Barkley to smash into the net. “Town are staying up” rang out from the buoyant visiting supporters as Bournemouth left the pitch to a chorus of boos. Neither could have foreseen what was about to unfold.
“It’s a challenge to maintain belief, but the players persevered,” Iraola stated. “We were all aware that we needed to improve, and our solid character was evident in the second half.”
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The Bournemouth coach substituted Alex Scott and Luis Sinisterra, which quickly impacted the game. Solanke skillfully scored with a backheel between Daiki Hashioka’s legs and then curled the ball past Kaminski, bringing the score closer. Soon after, Chong scored another goal for Bournemouth, but it was disallowed due to being offside.
In the 59th minute, there was a round of applause for Lockyer as the first match was stopped with a tie score of 1-1. However, Bournemouth supporters became vocal as Zabarnyi scored a second goal, even though Doughty tried desperately to clear it from the corner. Soon after, they were overjoyed when Semenyo scored a goal at the near post, tying the game again and causing Edwards to be puzzled.
The spectators appeared to have done sufficient to preserve a draw, however it was Semenyo who had the last word as Bournemouth became only the fifth team in the Premier League’s history to win a game after being down by three goals.
Source: theguardian.com
