Antoine Semenyo-inspired Bournemouth’s sensational second-half comeback denied Luton any chance of moving out of the relegation zone, three months after Tom Lockyer suffered a heart attack in the original match.
It was an emotional evening for the Luton captain as he was greeted by fans from both teams before kick-off, who was, in his words, “technically dead” for 2 minutes and 40 seconds after collapsing on the pitch in December. Tahith Chong watched his side surrender a three-goal lead after Chiedozie Ogbene and Ross Barkley cruised to a comfortable victory that would put them above Nottingham Forest on goal difference.
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But a thrilling display from Andoni Iraola, who was booed at half-time, allowed Dominic Solanke, Illya Zabarnyi and Semenyo to cancel out Luton’s lead on just 14 minutes before Semenyo sealed the victory with seven minutes left, which amounted to a dream comeback . The start turned out to be a nightmare for Rob Edwards.
“There were some individual mistakes and we gave them encouragement with an early goal,” said the distraught Luton manager, who faces Forest at Kenilworth Road on Saturday in a game that has become even more important. “We are putting ourselves in a good position to win and we are all angry and hurt. But we have no alternative and must try to recover quickly.”
Solidarity between the two clubs was clearly visible throughout the Vitality Stadium 88 days after Lockyer suffered a heart attack; Bournemouth Supporters’ Trust has raised more than £2,000 to help Luton fans with their travel costs. Before the game, the Luton captain shook the hands of the medical staff who helped save his life on the pitch and received a standing ovation from both fans.
Luton, who ended their five-game losing streak with a late equalizer against Crystal Palace on Saturday, found themselves behind early goals after starting slowly in their last three games. They made no such mistake this time as Chong made a quick break downfield to nod in Jordan Clark’s fierce cross in the ninth minute. Only Arsenal have scored more goals from headers this season than Luton’s 14 goals so far.
Bournemouth’s last Premier League win came on Boxing Day, during the purple patch. After dominating the ball in the first half, they created many chances but failed to shoot. Dango Ouattara fired from a good position in what would become a recurring theme. It then took a heroic finishing move from Reece Burke to prevent Semenyo from scoring a clear goal.
Yet Luton always looked threatening on the break and this was proven just after the half-hour mark when Chong and Alfie Doughty played a delightful one-two and Ogbene’s cross to the back post was blamed for Ouattara’s loss. his man. Bournemouth continued to set up camp 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 determined defense of white shirts.
It was another mistake from Ouattara that allowed Luton to score a third goal just before half-time after Issa Kaboré had freed him from possession and burst onto the pitch, ready to slot Barkley into the net. As Bournemouth left the field to boos, the cheery visiting fans chanted “The town is on its feet”. Neither of them could predict what would transpire.
“It’s very hard to keep believing, but the players did it,” Iraola said. “Everyone knew we had to improve and we showed our strong personality in the second half.”
The Bournemouth manager sacked Alex Scott and Luis Sinisterra and the changes made an immediate difference. Solanke rose with a superb backheel through the legs of Daiki Hashioka and then curled one back past Kaminski. Chong sent the ball back into the Bournemouth net a short time later, but was ruled out for offside.
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There was a round of applause for Lockyer in the 59th minute – the first leg was abandoned with the score at 1-1 – but Bournemouth fans found their voices when Zabarnyi forced home a second despite Doughty’s desperate attempts to clear off the line. a corner. They were in dreamland moments later when Semenyo equalized by beating Kaminski at the close post, leaving Edwards scratching his head.
The visitors appeared to have done enough to hold on to a point, but it was Semenyo who had the final say as Bournemouth became the fifth team in Premier League history to win a game from three goals down.