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Luton must take care of business at West Brom

Luton must take care of business at West Brom

BBC News30-04-2025

So it's one final push for Luton Town. A win at West Brom guarantees Championship football next season, a draw could be good enough and even defeat might not mean relegation if Hull slip up at Portsmouth. Three wins out of three has helped put the Hatters in this situation as has the longer spell of decent form - one defeat in nine.But it still always comes down to fine margins. On Saturday, at a tense Kenilworth Road what made Coventry goalkeeper Brad Collins inexplicably attempt to punch the ball 16 yards from his goalline with a minute to go? And even after that misjudgement, how did Luis Binks not manage to clear Shandon Baptiste's resulting shot off the line? That's football. Around 2,500 Luton fans will now head to The Hawthorns believing their side can pull off another great escape like they did 35 years ago at the Baseball Ground when Kingsley Black scored the winner against Derby and 42 years ago at Maine Road when Raddy Antic's goal led to David Pleat's famous jig. Those were very special days as was the Championship survival five years ago when Luton looked doomed as Covid hit. After the enforced break the Hatters produced similar form to this time around but the supporters didn't get the chance to celebrate the achievement. It's in Luton's hands and if they do stay up the club should toast the success but then quickly analyse what went wrong this season in preparation for the next campaign. Luton need to make best use of the final parachute payment money which gives them such an advantage over the majority of the other clubs. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Luton need to get the job done. They come up against a West Brom side short of morale and confidence after missing out on the play-offs. The atmosphere among the home supporters could be hostile after the previous match there saw them ship three to another relegation candidate Derby.Luton fans don't want to worry about what's going on at Fratton Park. Take care of business against the Baggies, play as they have been doing for the past eight weeks and take all three points back to Bedfordshire. If only it was that simple.Commentary on West Brom v Luton Town is on BBC Three Counties Radio

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