West Bromwich Albion vs Luton Town FC (3rd May 2025)

03/05/2025 WEST BROMWICH ALBION 5-3 LUTON TOWN

Town relegated after 5-3 defeat

Hatters go down at The Hawthorns and results elsewhere confirm relegation

The Hatters succumbed to a second successive relegation on a disastrous afternoon at The Hawthorns.

Three wins in a row had propelled the Town out of danger and had survival in their own hands at West Brom – only needing to match Hull’s result to ensure another season of Championship football.

Instead, it will be back to League One for the first time since being crowned champions in 2018/19 as the Town were soundly beaten by the Baggies. Relegation on goal difference was confirmed after Hull earned a draw at Portsmouth.

On a goal-crazy afternoon, the Town fell behind in the seventh minute when Tom Fellows blasted past Thomas Kaminski.

The only brief moment of hope for the Hatters came two minutes later when Millenic Alli levelled with a low strike.

His goal was met by jubilant celebrations in the away end but those cheers were soon quietened in the 18th minute when news filtered through that Hull had taken the lead at Portsmouth.

With Preston also leading at Bristol City the Town knew they needed to up the ante but it went from bad to worse when two goals in three minutes had West Brom 3-1 in front. Daryl Dike – on his first start in over 700 days – nodded past Kaminski before Fellows finished well moments later.

In the second half the Town came out knowing what they had to do. However, hope – that damn thing – returned once more when Portsmouth equalised against Hull.

Any belief that the Hatters could bring survival back into their own hands was deflated further with another two-goal burst from the Baggies, this time from Albion’s Callum Styles. His first a close range flick, his second a deflected strike from 20 yards.

5-1 down the Town’s Championship chances solely rested on Portsmouth beating Hull but the Hatters reduced arrears on 65 minutes when Jordan Clark curled home from the edge of the box.

As time ticked down at The Hawthorns – never a happy hunting ground of ours – the Hatters got it back to 5-3 in the closing stages as Alli scored his second when placing a shot home from 18 yards.

But by this time, it mattered not. All eyes, ears and apps were looking south, 165 miles away. However hard you stared at the live score it would not change. 1-1.

Tahith Chong came close to making it 5-4 in the first of six added minutes as the Town tried in vain for score two goals that would keep them up.

But by the time the final whistle went it was also full-time at Fratton Park. A point for Hull kept the Tigers up and relegated the Hatters on goal difference.

A game to forget and a season to forget.

The Town have suffered a lot, lot worse down the years and have always bounced back stronger. Make no mistake, this will hurt. A lot.

That will need to happen once again when it’s time to regroup in League One come August.

We’ll see you then.

Town: Kaminski; Jones (sub Nordås 63), Bell, McGuinness, Mengi (sub Naismith 84), Makosso (sub Burke 46); Clark, Walsh (sub Fanne 63), Aasgaard; Alli, Morris (sub Chong 46).

Subs not used: Krul, Andersen, Baptiste, Nelson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23h-2tg-OXo – Matt Bloomfield interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcd4zDbBpZ8 – match extended highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O91e6RpWFsk – match highlights

Dismal Luton relegated to League One after last day Baggies' battering

Championship: West Bromwich Albion 5 Luton Town 3

A quite pathetic performance saw Luton Town relegated to League One this afternoon after capitulating to what was an utterly embarrassing 5-3 defeat at West Bromwich Albion.

Knowing a win would be enough to secure their status in the Championship, that never looked likely at the Hawthorns, with the Baggies, despite having absolutely nothing to play for, their play-offs hopes recently ended, dominating proceedings for the majority of the contest. With an hour gone, the hosts led 5-1, as although Jordan Clark and Milli Alli reduced thAe arrears late on, Hull's 1-1 draw at Portsmouth ensured the Hatters capped a terrible campaign by dropping out of the second tier, with the visitors players booed off by an increasingly angry away end at the full time whistle.

What made the outcome even more startling is that Town had gone into the game as one of the most in-form teams in the league, winning three in a row, while also tightening up significantly at the back too. However, there was absolutely no sign of that defensive solidity in the West Midlands, torn apart time and time again, as the ease in which they were breached was frightening.

With the Hatters recalling Clark to the midfield in place of Lamine Fanne, although surprisingly not restoring Kal Naismith to the starting line-up, they had actually made a decent start to the contest and looked to be in control of things, Clark doing terrifically to prevent Darnell Furlong's cross reaching its target, before they fell behind on seven minutes.

There seemed little danger when Tom Fellows cut in on his left foot, and had a crack goalwards, Thomas Kaminski well positioned, but the Belgian, despite getting a strong hand to it, couldn't prevent the ball going in at his near post. Luton were behind for just two minutes though, as the visitors made the perfect response, Thelo Aasgaard winning the ball back in midfield and feeding Alli on his left.

There was still plenty to do for the January signing, but he did it wonderfully, bamboozling Kyle Bartley and then sidefooting beyond the dive of Josh Griffiths to immediately level the scores. With news from the south coast seeing Hull City go 1-0 up against Pompey, the visitors dropped back into the bottom three once more, with the Baggies looking the more likely of a second, Alex Mowatt flashing wide on 22 minutes.

Town were hit by a double blow on the half hour as with Preston going 1-0 up at Bristol City, they then fell behind again, a high and hopeful cross seeing Daryl Dike easily outjump Amari'i Bell at the far post and place his header inside the post, the striker scoring his first goal in over two years. Before the Hatters could draw breath they were 3-1 down though, as a simple pass through the midfield saw Town carved open later in a manner they hadn't been under Bloomfield in recent games, Fellows going clean through on Kaminski to confidently beat the keeper and leave the Hatters praying for a Portsmouth victory.

The worrying thing was that it was the Baggies who looked by far the better side as Town were nowhere near the team who had won six from 11 to boost their chances of staying up, Fellows and Grant causing further problems inside the visitors' area which saw Isaac Price sky his effort. Alli, who had been Luton's only real source of attacking threat, then had half a chance, when Elliot Styles’ backpass looked to have sold keeper Griffiths short but he was able to slide out and tackle the Town attacker inside the area.

Looking to change things at the break, Bloomfield responded by bringing on Reece Burke and Tahith Chong for Christ Makosso and the clearly struggling Morris. Alex Mowatt looked to add to Town's misery from range, his volley arching just wide, before news came through that Portsmouth had levelled against Hull, leading to chants of ‘Play Up Pompey’ from the now revitalised away end.

All attention turned to the south coast after Luton let in their fourth goal on 57 minutes when a slick move ending with Furlong’s cross slammed into the net by Callum Styles. Karlan Grant then headed against the post as Town's previously resilient back-line was getting absolutely torn to shreds, adding an embarrassing fifth when Styles rifled home from 30 yards via a deflection off Aasgaard.

Luton had one back on 65 minutes, Clark cutting on to his left foot and curling expertly into the bottom corner, while they almost reduced the deficit further in bizarre fashion when subs Lasse Nordas and Lamine Fanne did well, Alli’s cross headed up and Price kneeing back to his goalkeeper, only managing to hit the outside of the post.

Town did make it 5-3 with five minutes left, Alli doing brilliantly to fashion a shooting chance and bend his attempt inside the far corner, as with seven minutes of stoppage time added, a single goal for Portsmouth, or two for Luton would have been enough. Chong almost had one back, Griffiths saving well low down, as Fanne’s header glanced wide, but with neither side able to find the net, it meant that the Hatters, who were in the Premier League last term, are now in the third tier for the 2025-26 campaign.

Baggies: Josh Griffiths, Darnell Furlong, Kyle Bartley (C, Semi Ajayi 53), Torbjorn Heggem, Callum Styles, Isaac Price (Harry Whitwell 78), Ousmane Diakite (Jayson Molumby 62), Alex Mowatt, Tom Fellows (Grady Diangana 78), Daryl Dike (Adam Armstrong 62), Karlan Grant. Subs not used: Joe Wildsmith, Mikey Johnston, Will Lankshear, Devante Cole.

Hatters: Thomas Kaminski, Christ Makosso (Reece Burke 46), Mark McGuinness, Teden Mengi, Izzy Jones (Lasse Nordas 62), Liam Walsh (Lamine Fanne 62), Jordan Clark, Thelo Aasgaard, Amari’i Bell, Milli Alli, Carlton Morris (C, Tahith Chong 46). Subs not used: Tim Krul, Mads Andersen, Zack Nelson, Shandon Baptiste.

Referee: Darren Bond.

Booked: Aasgaard 72; Ajayl 73; Furlong 90; Clark 90.

'Painful moment' for Bloomfield as Luton are relegated from the Championship

Town chief asked to sum up dropping down to League One

Luton boss Matt Bloomfield conceded that relegation back to League One this afternoon was a ‘painful moment’ for the club.

The Hatters had gone into their last day contest at West Bromwich Albion in confident mood they could retain their Championship status, last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Coventry City making it three successive wins and lifting them out of the bottom three. However, they were swiftly back in it, as despite Milli Alli levelling on nine minutes, Town trailed 3-1 at the break, the Baggies extending that advantage to an embarrassing 5-1 by the hour mark.

Although Jordan Clark and Alli pulled back two more goals, Hull’s 1-1 draw at Portsmouth ensured they were able to leapfrog Luton and stay up at the expense of the Kenilworth Road club, who suffered a second successive drop in divisions, as they were booed off by an angry away end of just over 2,500 travelling supporters at the final whistle.

Speaking afterwards, asked to sum up the result, but more the woeful nature of the performance on a day when Town needed to be at their best, Bloomfield said: “Disappointment, frustration, it’s a particularly painful moment for us and everyone associated with our football club. It’s a really disappointing performance considering the day and the performance that we needed to get ourselves out of where we were, so particularly painful. I’m sorry to our supporters for travelling up and down the country supporting us this season, and we understand their disappointment and anger right now.

“I don’t know (why it was so bad), the distances from front to back weren’t enough, we didn't get close enough and win our duels, very, very disappointing. The goals we gave away were so disappointing. We’ve been incredibly resilient in the last few months to really shore up at the back and unfortunately today it just wasn't there. We need to analyse that and find out why, because it has been on show for two months. We spoke about the defensive resilience that we’ve had, but today it wasn't good enough.”

Town were cut open on their left hand side for the majority of the contest, as Teden Mengi and Amari’i Bell in particular struggled massively to deal with Tom Fellows, who scored twice, the Hatters’ defending constantly leaving plenty to be desired. Bloomfield added: “He (Fellows) carried a massive threat, he’s a very good player. We didn't shuffle laterally enough as a five to become a three and four when we needed to to release a wingback, so that was disappointing.

"We've worked hard on our shape in the last three months, and today it wasn’t on show. At that point (3-1 down) they looked a little bit shocked, the psychological aspect was tough for them to take on at the moment. We needed to get in at half time and regroup, make another plan, but we gave away two more really disappointing goals which gave ourselves a mountain to climb.”

Luton boss answers why he didn't bring on Naismith earlier during Baggies loss

Experienced defender left on the bench until the 84th minute

Luton boss Matt Bloomfield will go back and analyse whether he made mistakes during the Hatters’ relegation from the Championship after he opted to leave Kal Naismith on the bench for the majority of the final day 5-3 defeat at West Bromwich Albion yesterday.

Going into the game knowing a win would be enough to ensure they stayed in the division, it was expected that the on-loan Bristol City defender would return in some guise such is his clear influence and leadership on the rest of the side, something that, without Tom Lockyer available, team-mate Jordan Clark had specifically mentioned in the build-up.

It was only a few weeks ago in the 1-0 victory at Derby County that the manager had discussed his need to put Naismith in the side wherever possible, as he had played in the holding midfield role at Pride Park, before then missing out against his parent club due to the terms of his move. He was then a substitute for the victory over Coventry City, coming on a half time, but for most rocking up at the Hawthorns, it was a surprise to see just one change made by Bloomfield to last weekend’s thrilling triumph, that being Clark in for Lamine Fanne.

It meant Naismith was left on the bench once more, Amari’i Bell staying in his left wingback role and Teden Mengi on the left of a back three, despite looking uncomfortable in that position just seven days previously. With Town falling behind 1-0 down on seven minutes, both Mengi and Bell failing to cover themselves in glory with their defending for Tom Fellows’ opener. Milli Alli restored parity moments later.

However, the visitors’ back-line fell apart again, particularly on their left hand side, where Bell was timidly outjumped by Daryl Dike for the Baggies’ second, as the pair couldn’t deal with Fellows again, allowing him to go clean through and beat Kaminski. With Luton 3-1 down at the break, they still had a chance of getting back into the contest, but rather than turn to the 33-year-old Naismith and sort out the left side of his defence, Bloomfield brought on Reece Burke for Christ Makosso and Tahith Chong for Carlton Morris, leaving the rest as it was.

Any realistic hopes the Hatters had of making a remarkable comeback were scuppered when Callum Styles scored a brace around the hour mark, as once more Town’s defending, particularly on that troublesome left flank, left a lot to be desired. Fanne and Lasse Nordas were then introduced for Liam Walsh and Izzy Jones, as it took until the 84th minute for Naismith to get the nod, replacing Mengi, who was jeered off by the travelling Luton supporters, with his future at the club for next season surely coming into question.

When he did come on, the Scotsman immediately showed the Hatters what they were missing, particularly when throwing himself into one tackle to win the ball back, displaying the kind of fight and aggression that had been severely lacking from the visitors up until that point. It was too little too late unfortunately, as Hull’s point at Portsmouth meant Luton suffered their second successive relegation, and will now spend the 2025-26 campaign playing in the third tier of English football.

When asked if he had mistakes with his selection for the contest in the West Midlands, a downbeat Bloomfield said: “I’ll go back and analyse it. I think it will probably be naive to make any rash statements right now. It’s particularly painful to take the result and the performance, but as I always do, I look in the mirror first.”

Meanwhile, pushed as to why Naismith hadn’t come on earlier after not being named in the starting XI, especially with the way the game was going, the boss added: “We were trying other things. Of course with hindsight you can go back and analyse it, we absolutely will. We wanted to get Lasse on, get a forward on the pitch and to bring on a defender, but then Kal comes on and has a good influence, so we’ll look at everything we did.”