Andros Townsend scored his first goal for Luton Town against his former club Newcastle United as the Hatters won 1-0 at Kenilworth Road to move two points from safety.
Townsend headed in at close range in the 25th minute, celebrating with a tribute to captain Tom Lockyer, and Luton then kept their first clean sheet of the season to secure a vital victory.
How the match unfolded
Before the match, both sets of fans unveiled banners in support of Luton captain Lockyer, who suffered a cardiac arrest in their fixture against AFC Bournemouth last Saturday, which was abandoned. There was also a minute of applause for the player and those who helped him in the fourth minute.
Although Luton started on the front foot, they had to make three blocks in quick succession to stop Newcastle from scoring in the 14th minute.
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Thomas Kaminski then produced a brilliant reflex save five minutes later to deny Callum Wilson’s header from close range.
Newcastle were made to pay for their missed chances when their former player Townsend gave Luton the lead in the 25th minute. Ross Barkley flicked the ball on from Alfie Doughty’s corner and Townsend was unmarked at the back post to head home.
Barkley came close to doubling Luton’s lead with a thunderous strike from distance in the 33rd minute, but the ball crashed off the crossbar and into the control of Martin Dubravka.
The Newcastle ‘keeper then made a crucial save just two minutes later with his foot to keep out Elijah Adebayo after Barkley played him through on goal with a great pass.
Eddie Howe’s injury list continued to grow as Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles was forced off the pitch before the break.
Luton hit the crossbar for the second time in the match just three minutes into the second half as Jacob Brown’s effort cannoned off the woodwork.
Bruno Guimaraes missed a huge chance for Newcastle two minutes later after he fired wide from a well-worked corner routine.
The visitors had the ball in the back of the net just after the hour-mark through substitute Alexander Isak, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Newcastle piled on the pressure in the closing stages in search of a late equaliser, but they were unable to find a way past Kaminski.
Luton remain in 18th place on 12 points while Newcastle are now in seventh on 29 points.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
38 | -18 | 32 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
38 | -33 | 26 |
| 19 |
Burnley
BUR
|
38 | -37 | 24 |
| 20 |
Sheffield Utd
SHU
|
38 | -69 | 16 |
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
38 | +14 | 63 |
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
38 | +23 | 60 |
| 8 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
38 | -1 | 60 |
| 9 |
West Ham
WHU
|
38 | -14 | 52 |
Key facts
- Townsend scored his first Premier League goal for Luton – he’s now scored for six different sides in the competition (also QPR, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and Everton), with only Craig Bellamy scoring for more (7).
- Luton kept their first ever clean sheet in the Premier League (17th game), while they’ve now scored in eight of their nine home games this season.
- With his assist for Luton’s goal, Barkley has now been involved in more Premier League goals against Newcastle than he has vs any other opponent (6 – 5 goals, 1 assist).