Cardiff City vs Luton Town FC (11th Mar 2025)

11/03/2025 CARDIFF CITY 1-2 LUTON TOWN

Town come back to earn crucial victory

Clark and Aasgaard on target as Hatters edge closer to safety with first away win since August

The Hatters fought back from a goal down to move to within two points of safety in the Championship as goals from Jordan Clark and Thelo Aasgaard earned their first win away from Kenilworth Road since September.

Trailing to Calum Chambers’ goal early in the second half, Clark hit a stupendous equaliser to get the Town quickly on level terms.

Then Aasgaard struck the winner with his first goal in Luton colours 10 minutes from time to move the Hatters closer to Cardiff at the bottom end of the Championship and seal their first victory on the road after taking just one point from their previous 15 matches.

It was no more than the Town deserved on a nervy night for both sides but in which Matt Bloomfield’s side were the better side throughout.

Showing two changes to the side that lost at Burnley on Saturday, with former Bluebird Mark McGuinness and captain Carlton Morris in from the start, the Town gradually worked themselves into the game after an uneventful opening 15 minutes.

Defender Christ Makosso headed a presentable chance over following Isaiah Jones’ right-wing cross before Elijah Adebayo made himself a nuisance for the Cardiff defence moments alter.

Cardiff, who came into the game five points above the Town in the table, had their first chance on 24 minutes but Yousef Salech curled a shot over the bar from the edge of the box.

But the Hatters came close to breaking the deadlock shortly after the half-hour mark when Liam Walsh’s brilliant low, swerving volley from 20 yards was parried to safety by ex-Hatter Ethan Horvath.

It was goalless at the break and you felt the Town needed to continue in the same vein at the start of the second half to keep up the pressure on the Bluebirds who were showing a lack of confidence in attack.

However, five minutes after the restart the hosts took the lead. McGuinness headed clear the danger from a Cardiff free-kick but the ball fell to Chambers on the edge of the box and his mis-hit strike bounced into the corner of the net.

It was harsh on the Hatters but their reaction to going behind was first class. Morris came close to levelling the score almost immediately, only to shoot at Horvath from eight yards after being found by Adebayo.

But the Town were only behind for seven minutes when they equalised in sensational style. There seemed little else on for Clark when the ball dropped his way 25 yards from goal but after taking the ball on his chest he thumped an unstoppable volley into the top corner past the helpless Horvath.

It was a magical moment and another crucial goal from the midfielder following his winner against Portsmouth earlier this month.

Bloomfield made a triple change shortly before the hour, introducing Zack Nelson, Jacob Brown and Millenic Alli but within 30 seconds of their arrival the home side came close to retaking the lead when home substitute Sivert Mannsverk curled a shot over with a shot from 15 yards.

Alli shot into the side netting as the Town began to find their attacking verve again but Kaminski then needed to be alert to keep out a low drive from Perry Ng on 74 minutes.

However, Kaminski could only look on 79 minutes when Chambers came mighty close to putting the Bluebirds back in front with a stunning volley that rattled the crossbar.

It was a magnificent effort but it would turn out to be a huge turning point as less than a minute later the Town led.

Josh Bowler, on as a substitute just four minutes earlier, saw his shot deflect into the path of Aasgaard and the midfielder made no mistake to drill home his first goal for the club from close range and celebrate his inclusion in the Norway squad for the very first time.

Ahead on their travels for the first time since the sunny days of August, the Town had 10 minutes in the cold South Wales air to hold on to three priceless points.

Kaminski pushed away a back-post header as the hosts pushed for a late leveller before Reece Burke – on as a late change in his first appearance since November – executed a brilliant last-ditch clearance in the second minute of four added.

A big claim from Kaminski relieved the pressure and that would prove to be the final crucial moment as the Hatters celebrated their first win on the road at the 17th attempt in all competitions – and first in 178 days.

The players and staff celebrated with the 400 Hatters fans who had made the trip at the final whistle, and Bloomfield left the pitch with one of the widest smiles of the season.

Nine games to go and we’re back at home against Middlesbrough on Saturday.

We’ll see you then.

Sleep well.

UTT.

Town: Kaminski, Jones, Doughty (sub Alli 57), McGuinness, Makosso, Bell, Clark, Walsh (sub Nelson 58), Aasgaard (sub Burke 87) Morris (sub Bowler 75), Adebayo (sub Brown 59).

Subs not used: Krul, Andersen, Fanne, Nordås.

Attendance: 16,641, with approximately 400 happy Hatters in the away end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEeOiEst5Qc – match highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnzm-8f9Neg – Matt Bloomfield interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaIBzzklwiM – Jordan Clark goal from every angle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiYanYyiBMM – Game day unmasked

Clark's stunner sees Luton bounce back to finally end away winless run at Cardiff

Championship: Cardiff City 1 Luton Town 2

Luton gave their hopes of staying up an absolutely massive injection of belief as they ended their long and lengthy winless run on the road in style by hitting back to beat Cardiff City 2-1 this evening.

After an instantly forgettable first period, it looked like the Hatters' misery outside of Bedfordshire would carry on with Calum Chambers breaking the deadlock just five minutes after the break. However, in what as quite simply a must-win contest for the visitors, they finally showed some of the character and resilience that saw them get out of the division they last time they were in the second tier, Jordan Clark scoring a truly magnificent equaliser and then Thelo Aasgaard winning it with his first goal for the club, to complete wonderful night that started with him earning a first senior international call-up by Norway.

Ahead of kick-off, boss Matt Bloomfield made two changes from the 4-0 loss at Burnley, Carlton Morris and Mark McGuinness recalled, the centre half making a first return to the club that Luton signed him from back in August, Kal Naismith suspended and Zack Nelson dropping to the bench. The game was drastically low on any quality at all in the opening 15 minutes, with both sets of players clearly affected by the importance of the fixture, simple passes going astray or out of play in a contest that you had to check was in fact a Championship match.

Dimitrious Goutas stuck a left leg out to divert wide of the target in what as the game's only real opening, before a flurry of what could be deemed as excitement finally followed, a short free kick worked out to Izzy Jones, his deep cross headed over at the back post by Christ Makosso. Elijah Adebayo then didn't fully believe when played in by Aasgaard, looking to find Morris when he should have driven on himself, before the Norwegian midfielder's ill-advised backheel led to a break by City that ended with Yousef Salech sending his first time sidefoot off target.

As the home fans began to get disgruntled with their team's efforts in keeping hold of the ball and not getting it forward at the speed they wanted, there was finally a moment of real class from Liam Walsh who chested down a clearance on the half hour and slammed his volley goalwards, ex-Hatter Ethan Horvath parrying away.

That moment though saw the game revert to type with what was bordering on an appalling watch for those who made the trip to Wales for the evening. As bad as Luton were in the first period, Cardiff were marginally worse, which meant what happened with five minutes gone of the second half even more frustrating, Morris trying and failing to let the ball run of play only ending up losing possession which saw City burst forward, Clark giving away a free kick.

Lofted into the box by the Bluebirds, McGuinness's clearing header was met on the volley by Calum Chambers who was able to break the deadlock and deliver what appeared a hammer blow to Town's Championship status. With the spirits boosted, Will Fish's hopeful crack from 25 yards was easy for Kaminski, but out of nothing, the Hatters were level on 57 minutes.

Alfie Doughty’s deflected cross was headed out to the edge of the box where Clark took it down on his chest and then hit a stunning reverse volley past a statuesque Horvath and into the net for a quite brilliant equaliser. Luton had been readying a triple sub before the goal and they still went ahead with it, Milli Alli, Jacob Brown and Nelson on for Doughty, Adebayo and Walsh.

Town might have seen their hard work in getting back into the game undone straight away, as Sivert Mannsverk missed the target when left unmarked, before their changes almost worked too, Alli dummying two men impressively only to fire low into the side-netting. The January signing continued to look a real threat, ghosting past his opponents with real ease, letting fly with another attempt that was blocked, Izzy Jones also starting to come into the game on the right with his blistering pace.

With 70 on the clock, Cardiff made three changes of their own, top scorer Callum Robinson one of the trio to come on, with Perry Ng having two attempts, one free kick over the top and another saved by Kaminski, as there definitely looked like there was a winner out there. A pivotal 60 seconds then occurred as Chambers almost topped Clark's effort when he unleashed a volley from 25 yards that clipped the top of the bar with Kaminski well beaten.

Unperturbed, the Hatters went down the other end and had what could be a massive goal in the season, with 10 minutes to go, Josh Bowler on for Morris as the substitute cut on to his left foot to have a go, the ball rebounding into the path of the onrushing Aasgaard who kept his composure to lift the ball over Horvath and put Town in front.

In the closing stages, Luton appeared comfortable in holding on to their lead, Reece Burke coming on for his first outing since September and making a crucial intervention, as Kaminski was alert to beat the ball away from a corner, the Town stopper flying out to claim an over-hit cross, with McGuinness making a brilliant clearing header too.

Four minutes of stoppage time were added, but Town were able to see them out with precious few alarms, as boss Bloomfield was finally able to celebrate an away success that has breathed some much-needed life into their battle to stay up.

Clarets: Ethan Horvath, Will Fish, Dimitrios Goutas (Yakou Meite 85), Aaron Ramsey (Sivert Mannsverk 50), Callum O'Dowda, Calum Chambers, Alex Robertson (Isaak Davies 69), Yousef Salech, Rubin Colwill (Chris Willock 69), Will Alves (Callum Robinson 70), Perry Ng.

Subs not used: Matt Turner, Jesper Daland, Joel Pagan, Cian Ashford.

Hatters: Thomas Kaminski, Christ Makosso, Mark McGuinness, Amari’i Bell, Izzy Jones, Liam Walsh (Zack Nelson 58), Jordan Clark, Thelo Aasgaard (Reece Burke 87), Alfie Doughty (Millenic Alli 59), Elijah Adebayo (Jacob Brown 59), Carlton Morris (C, Josh Bowler 75).

Subs not used: Tim Krul, Mads Andersen, Lamine Fanne, Lasse Nordas,

Referee: Andy Davies.

Booked: O'Dowda 67, Jones 78.

Attendance: 16,641

Bloomfield hails Bluebirds victory as a 'big result' for the Hatters

Town finally end lengthy wait for away success

Hatters boss Matt Bloomfield hailed tonight’s 2-1 victory at Cardiff City this evening as a ‘big result’ for his side.

After a first half desperately low on quality, the visitors then fell behind just five minutes into the second period, Calum Chambers finding the net when a free kick was cleared to him. However, Luton hit back courtesy of a quite magnificent volley from Jordan Clark just seven minutes later, going on to enjoy that sweet taste of victory with 10 minutes to go, Thelo Aasgaard keeping his composure to beat ex-Hatter Ethan Horvath from close range, just 60 seconds after Chambers had struck the woodwork from range.

Speaking afterwards, Bloomfield, who saw his side move to within two points of safety now, said afterwards: “It’s a really pleasing moment for us. The character and the personality of the victory is really important. To go a goal down and still find a way, a big moment for Clicks, I mean, what a strike to get us back in the game. Thelo has been threatening to get goals for us, he’s a boy with a lot of ability. It’s been a while away from home as you guys keep reminding me, so it was nice to get one.

“At half time, I think the stats were we had 15 touches in their box to their two to ours so I felt like although there wasn’t too much created, I thought we had good control of the game. Then to go a goal behind through a second phase on the edge of the box was really frustrating and disappointing for us, when we felt like we were fine.

"We had to dig deep and it was a nervous game, it’s that time of the year when there’s a lot riding on the games. I’m not sure there’s going to be too many free-flowing or attacking games as everyone would hope to watch, but we came up with some big moments and they went in our favour, so it’s a big result for us.”

Bloomfield thrilled to see the smiles return to the faces of Luton's long-suffering travelling fans

Hatters end lengthy search for an away day victory

A beaming from ear-to-ear Luton boss Matt Bloomfield was ecstatic to finally see some smiles amongst the long-suffering travelling Hatters fans as Town ended their horrific run of away form with a much-needed 2-1 win at Cardiff City last night, as they boosted their hopes of staying in the Championship this term.

Since beating Millwall last September, the club’s visiting supporters had turned up at away grounds up and down the country increasingly in blind hope rather than any kind of expectation of a result, losing 14 out of 15 league encounters, taking just one point out of a possible 45 in that time when drawing with Sheffield Wednesday. In fact, a more detailed look at the stats showed just how depressing it has been outside of Bedfordshire, as other than that 1-0 victory over the Lions, Town had suffered 22 defeats from their 28 matches on the road in the Premier League and second tier since 2024 rolled round.

After a scrappy first half, it looked like there was going to be further misery as well, Luton falling behind to a Calum Chambers strike that bounced past Thomas Kaminski just five minutes into the second period. However, things were different this time, as the 400 visiting fans saw Jordan Clark volley in an absolute screamer seven minutes later to restore parity.

It got even better too, January signing Thelo Aasgaard in the right place to take advantage of a poor clearance to slam home his first goal for the club, meaning Town just had the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time to secure the triumph, which they did without any major alarms to secure a first victory on the road having conceded first since a 2-1 success at Huddersfield Town in January 2023.

With Bloomfield and his players able to celebrate in front of the away end, the clearly thrilled Hatters chief unveiled a delighted fist pump celebration too, as speaking about the feeling of a long overdue victory, having failed to his his previous five away matches, he said: “It’s incredible as I do this job because I love those moments. It’s like a drug you chase. Once football management gets in your system it’s in.

"You have to endure tough moments and I dare say there will be some tough moments to endure between now and the end of the season, but we have to use this as I believe there will be lots of moments like that. That’s why I do it. It was lovely to share that, as I’ve not been able to do that enough with our supporters. They’ve been following us and we haven’t given them enough to cheer, so it was lovely to see those smiles. They’re incredible supporters and I really, really hope and I really, really believe that we’ll give them more to cheer between now and the end of the season.”

For Bloomfield too, there was no wiping the widespread grin off his face when he went back to the tunnel or when facing the press in the confines of the Cardiff City Stadium afterwards, as he added: “When I came in, it’s mid-season, you don’t get to know everyone as well as I’d like to. I want to get to know everyone a bit more, I want to share that smile and have those moments with people as I care about the job.

"Those supporters care about their club and I’m trying to do them proud. That’s what gets me up every morning, I want to do them proud, Gary (Sweet, CEO) and the board have put incredible faith in me and I’m doing everything I can to repay them. It was a lovely moment to share with them and we have to make sure we turn on up on Saturday and share another one.

“We’re not getting carried away, we have to enjoy the moment as football is about these moments. It’s about using it as confidence and belief, but we’ve got a tough game on Saturday against Middlesbrough and we want to use this as momentum. Going into the international break we want that momentum to be continued, so the only way we do that is get our feet on the floor, work hard and be ready to go Saturday.”