Tottenham Hotspur vs Luton Town FC (30th Mar 2024)

Report | Town fall to late Son strike at Tottenham

Bruised and down to the bare bones like never before, the Hatters came within four minutes of securing a vital, battling point at Tottenham – only to be beaten by Heung-Min Son’s deflected late strike.

It was tough to take after an exhausting 90 minutes of Premier League action that ultimately left the Town finish the day inside the division relegation’s zone.

The afternoon started so positively when Rob Edwards’s side took the lead in the third minute when former Spurs winger Andros Townsend teed up Ross Barkley inside the box. The midfielder’s cute pass into the path of Tahith Chong was perfect and the former Birmingham man drove a wonderful left-foot effort into the corner of the net.

The early goal sparked Spurs into action. Timo Werner flashed a shot wide and on 20 minutes the Hatters somehow survived when Son’s shot came off both posts before two follow-up shots were blocked by Issa Kaboré and Teden Mengi.

As the host continued to attack the Hatters defence stood tall but there was a half-a-chance for a 2-0 half-time when Alfie Doughty’s volley was blocked behind for a corner and Luke Berry headed wide from the resultant flag-kick.

Leading at the break the Town were rocked by yet another injury as Reece Burke needed to be withdrawn and Daiki Hashioka was introduced.

However six minutes after the restart the home side were level when half-time substitute Brennan Johnson’s low right-wing cross was put through his own net by Kaboré.

Spurs laid siege on the Town goal but shortly after the hour Jordan Clark came mighty close to restoring the lead when his low shot from the edge of the box was tipped away by home stopper Guglielmo Vicario.

Tottenham upped the ante as time ticked down and with 12 minutes left the Hatters somehow survived another goalmouth melee. Johnson’s shot from close range was stopped by Kaminski and Doughty hacked clear with the ball all but over the line.

But the Town were not so lucky with four minutes left on the clock when Spurs countered following a Hatters corner with Son striding clear. Werner’s pass from the left found Johnson whose layoff was hit home by Son, via the aid of the unfortunate Hashioka.

The Hatters couldn’t force an equaliser in the nine added minutes leaving them to reflect on another spirited display that ended in defeat.

On we go to Arsenal on Wednesday.

See you there.

Town: Kaminski; Townsend, Doughty (sub Woodrow 83), Mengi, Burke (sub Hashioka 46), Kaboré; Mpanzu, Barkley, Berry; Chong (sub Onyedinma 73), Morris.

Subs not used: Shea, Krul, Clark, Johnson, Nelson, Piesold.

Attendance: 61,534, including 3,038 proud Hatters in the away end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ii63dqN6Hw – Rob Edwards interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9rZDdPrLQI – match highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2WzCkxIFTc – extended match highlights

Son scores a late winner as injury-hit Luton are cruelly defeated at Spurs

Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur 2 Luton Town 1

Luton's back luck in their attempts to remain a Premier League side this season shows absolutely no signs of ending as they once more conceded late on and suffered three further injuries to lose 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon.

As in their last away game at AFC Bournemouth, the Hatters held the lead at half time, Tahith Chong making it 18 top flight games in a row that Town had found the net in. However, they then lost Reece Burke at the break, before Chong and Alfie Doughty followed him off, as Spurs hit back through an Issa Kabore own goal, Heung-Min Son scoring the winner with four minutes to go.

Town brought in former Tottenham winger Andros Townsend and Luke Berry for his first top flight start, with Jordan Clark dropping the bench and Chieo Ogbene injured, while Fred Onyedinma was involved in a match-day squad for the first time since the Championship play-off final victory. Such is their character and fighting spirit, the Hatters made the perfect start, ahead after just three minutes.

Townsend was able to nick the ball away from Son and set off on an adventurous burst up the right, eventually finding Ross Barkley who in turned picked out Chong, the midfielder scoring a third goal in five games with real aplomb. Spurs looked to hit back quickly, Pape Matar Sarr heading a cross wide, while Thomas Kaminski was out to grab the ball ahead of Dejan Kulusevski after a good move through the middle.

Ange Postecoglou's team should have been level on 15 minutes, Kulusevski releasing Timo Werner on the left and he was able to advance into the box , turn Kabore inside and out but then having done the hard work, dragging off target with just Kaminski to beat. Luton looked for a second themselves, Burke of all people finding himself on the byline and his cross was just nicked away from Carlton Morris by the covering James Maddison.

With 20 minutes gone, Luton were somehow not pegged back, when Son got away from the Town defence and rounded Kaminski, his shot hitting the near post, run across the line and then hit the far post before bouncing out. Still the danger wasn't clear though, Werner seeing his blast blocked by Kabore, as Meng did superbly to stand his ground on the line and repel Sarr's fierce follow up, the ball quite unbelievably not ending up in the back of the Hatters net.

Although the hosts had a monopoly on session, as was expected, they struggled to really create anything noteworthy during the remainder of the half, too many passes going astray or straight through to Kaminski. In fact it was Luton who went closest to doubling their advantage with 43 gone, Townsend sending over a deep cross that was met by Doughty at the far post, his well-hit volley cannoning behind off Pedro Porro.

The wingback took the set-piece himself, Town threatening again as Berry's towering header dropped agonisingly wide. Luton's defending, which had been terrific, continued right until the final seconds, Chong throwing himself in front of Son's shot as the South Korean international looked destined to make it 1-1.

Luton had to make their first change at the break, Burke unable to reappear, with Daiki Hashioka on, but importantly Spurs introduced Welsh international Brennan Johnson, who was to have a key role in proceedings. As at the Vitality Stadium, Luton couldn't replicate their defensive solidity in the second period, the lead gone in the space of six minutes, Johnson's cross badly shanked into his own net by Kabore at the far post.

Spurs were hungry now, as they brilliantly cut Luton open and Porro's low cross tested Kabrore again, but this time he got his angles right to slam the danger away. A second looked on the cards, the home side slicing through with the ease they couldn't manage in the opening 45 minutes, Porro scampering away on the right and finding Son, Kaminski using his legs well.

Kabore proved he was able to put the mistake behind him, another brilliant intervention stopping Johnson's cross being tucked home. Luton brought on Jordan Clark for Berry, the midfielder almost having an instant impact with 66 gone, winning a corner that Guglielmo Vicario punched out to him, his low drive heading for the net, only for the Italian to fingertip it behind.

With Chong down for treatment and unable to continue, Onyedinma was called upon for the final 15 minutes, Spurs a millimetre away from moving 2-1 in front on 78 minutes, Kaminski making a stunning close range stop from Johnson, Doughty completing the job on the line. It looked to the 61,000 inside the ground that he hadn't done so in time, everyone expecting referee Jarred Gillett to point to his watch to signal the goal, but replays showed that the slightest part of the ball hadn’t in fact crossed and it remained all square.

Doughty became the latest player to go off, Edwards looking on enviously as opposite number Postecoglou could make tactical changes to bring on Richarlison, Town winning a corner with four minutes to go, which was to unfortunately prove their downfall. Cleared out to Clark, his pass was easily cut out and Spurs went for the jugular, the visitors unable to commit a tactical foul to stop the attack which ended with Son sweeping home via a cruel deflection.

Luton almost pulled something back in nine minutes of stoppage time, but Clark's ball back to Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu didn't have enough on it, as Town lost a sixth game in eight to drop back into the relegation zone after Nottingham Forest's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace and now have the small task of going to Arsenal on Wednesday night.

Spurs: Guglielmo Vicario, Radu Dragusin, Heung-Min Son (C, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg 88), Yves Bissouma (Richarlison 85), James Maddison (Rodrigo Bentancur 68), Timo Werner, Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski (Brennan Johnson 46), Pedro Porro, Pape Matar Sarr (Giovani Lo Celso 68), Destiny Udogie. Subs not used: Brandon Austin, Emerson Royal, Ben Davies, Micky van de Ven.

Hatters: Thomas Kaminski, Andros Townsend, Teden Mengi, Reece Burke (Daiki Hashioka 46), Issa Kabore, Alfie Doughty (Cauley Woodrow 83), Ross Barkley, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, Luke Berry (Jordan Clark 63), Tahith Chong (Fred Onyedinma 74), Carlton Morris (C). Subs not used: James Shea, Tim Krul, Axel Piesold, Zack Nelson, Joe Johnson.

Referee: Jarred Gillett. Booked: Barkley 30, Burke 35, Mpanzu 46, Mengi 90, Hojbjerg 90, Lo Celso 90.

Attendance: 61,534.

Hatters boss left feeling 'sick' as Town's hopes are dashed by late Spurs winner

Luton are beaten in the closing stages

Luton boss Rob Edwards admitted he was left feeling ‘sick’ after the Hatters conceded yet another late goal as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at top four chasers Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon.

The visitors had led 1-0 at the break thanks to Tahith Chong’s third goal in five games, but then saw Reece Burke have to go off at half time with an Achilles problem. Brennan Johnson entered the fray to reignite the hosts into action, as his cross was powered into his own net by Issa Kabore in the opening stages of the second period, before Luton, who also lost Chong and Alfie Doughty to injury, looked to have claimed another precious point in their efforts to stay up.

That all changed when they won a corner with four minutes to go, and once Jordan Clark’s pass was cut out, Spurs broke, Son Heung-Min firing home via a deflection to rescue a point for Ange Postecoglous’s side. Speaking afterwards, Edwards said: “I’ve seen a little video of Nathan when he was here in the past saying he feels sick, I feel sick right now. Let's have it right, Tottenham are a brilliant team, fantastic manager and really, really good players, but to lose so late from our own attacking set-piece is difficult to take right now.”

Going through the contest in more detail, he added: “It was a brilliant goal (from Chong). I thought the plan was great, the lads executed it really well as well. We pressed high man to man when we could, when they forced us low I thought we looked really compact, difficult to break down and the big chance they had in that first half came from our mistake, from a free kick we gave the ball away.

“There was that mad moment where there were blocks and all sorts going on, they had a threat because they’re Tottenham and they've got great players, but we were relatively comfortable. We were forced into another chance with Burkey coming off, and they brought Brennan Johnson on. I think it lifted their energy and tempo a little but we could have defended the goal better, we were too narrow, body shape for the clearance, could have been in position a little bit earlier, but at 1-1 you’re thinking, okay which way is this one way going to go?

“We were at Anfield when Liverpool went bang bang and got a couple more, but we managed to settle the game down. Okay they've got more of the ball, they’re Tottenham, they’re going to have more of the ball, especially with what we’re missing at the moment, but we calmed the game down and then for us to be pushing and to concede like we did is difficult right now.”