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RTHK
03-05-2025
- Sport
- RTHK
Luton, Plymouth relegated, Leeds promoted as champions
Luton, Plymouth relegated, Leeds promoted as champions Leeds take the Championship title after beating Plymouth. Photo: Reuters Luton suffered a second successive relegation as their slump from the Premier League to League One was confirmed with a 5-3 defeat at West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the Championship season on Saturday. After their fairytale rise to the top-flight in 2023, the Hatters have plunged into the third tier in the space of just two seasons. Tom Fellows and Callum Styles both scored twice for Albion and Daryl Dike also netted as the hosts raced into a 5-1 lead. Millenic Alli's double and Jordan Clark's goal were rendered irrelevant as Luton faced up to their first season in League One since 2018-19. The Hatters are the first club since Sunderland in 2018 to drop from the top-flight to League One in consecutive seasons and only the fourth in the Premier League era after Swindon in 1994-95 and Wolves in 2012-13. Furious Luton fans chanted "you're not fit to wear the shirt" at their crest-fallen players after the final whistle. Matt Bloomfield's side started the day just outside the relegation zone. But their loss at the Hawthorns and Hull's 1-1 draw at Portsmouth condemned them to relegation on goal difference. Matt Crooks put Hull in front and the Tigers survived by the slenderest of margins despite Christian Saydee's second-half equaliser. Plymouth were already effectively relegated due to their three-point gap to safety and vastly inferior goal difference heading into the last round of matches. A 2-1 loss to Leeds at Home Park confirmed Plymouth's demise and wrapped up the title for Daniel Farke's team. Leeds finished on 100 points, level with second-placed Burnley, who had also confirmed promotion prior to the last weekend. On-loan Tottenham forward Manor Solomon bagged Leeds' winner in stoppage-time after Wilfried Gnonto netted in the 53rd minute to cancel out Sam Byram's 18th-minute own goal. Scott Parker's team beat Millwall 3-1 at Turf Moor to ruin the Lions' hopes of sneaking into the play-offs. Coventry sealed their place in the play-offs thanks to a 2-0 home win against Middlesbrough. Jack Rudoni scored both goals as Frank Lampard's side booked a play-off semi-final against Sunderland, who lost 1-0 against QPR to make it five successive defeats. Bristol City finished in the final play-off berth after a 2-2 draw with Preston at Ashton Gate secured sixth place. Ross McCrorie struck twice for City after Emil Riis and Milutin Osmajic scored to put Preston two up. City's play-off semi-final opponents are third-placed Sheffield United, who drew 1-1 with Blackburn at Bramall Lane. Derby and Stoke celebrated survival after the strugglers played out a 0-0 draw at Pride Park. (AFP)
BBC News
03-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Luton relegated to League One after West Brom loss
Luton Town suffered a second successive relegation and will play in League One next season after slumping to defeat at West Bromwich Hatters needed a win to guarantee their Championship survival but were instead well beaten at the Hawthorns to fall into the third tier, only a year after they dropped out of the Premier Fellows and Callum Styles both scored twice for Albion along with a header from injury-hit striker Daryl Dike, rendering Millenic Alli's double and Jordan Clark's strike for Luton with Portsmouth unable to bail Matt Bloomfield's side out by beating Hull City, it was Luton who tumbled into League One due to an inferior goal difference after they and the Tigers both finished on 49 points. Luton looked doomed in mid-April but three successive wins - a timely, season's best run of Championship form - lifted them from second bottom to one place outside the relegation zone, putting their fate in their own hands heading into the final began confidently but their positive start was punctured when Fellows squeezed a shot past Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski just seven minutes plunged Luton into the bottom three but their response was almost instantly to climb back out of it Aasgaard regained possession in midfield and released Alli, who tricked his way past Kyle Bartley before firing Luton's equaliser into the far the visitors' afternoon, and defence, quickly and disastrously fell Hull went ahead at Portsmouth to plunge the Hatters back into the drop a header from Dike on the half-hour - his first league goal since March 2023 on his first league start since April 2023 - followed by Fellows' second goal just three minutes later, left Luton with a mountain to climb. Luton's situation was desperate and Bloomfield took the drastic step of making a double substitution, which included withdrawing captain Carlton Morris and changing formation at made little initial difference though Luton were boosted when news of a Portsmouth equaliser filtered two Styles goals in four minutes left Bloomfield's men needing Portsmouth to complete their comeback and beat Hull at Fratton curled in a second Luton goal just four minutes later before Albion's Isaac Price almost scored a bizarre own goal and Alli did make it 5-3 with two minutes to the fightback was too little, too late for Luton who will be back in League One for the first time since 2018-19. Revival came just too late for Hatters It took Luton Town, a significant force in the top flight of English football in the 1980s and 90s before a prolonged period of decline, 10 years to climb back from the National League to the Premier were unforgettable scenes after Rob Edwards' side beat Coventry City on penalties at Wembley in the 2023 play-off the great adventure lasted only one season and now they are facing life back in League One following back-to-back summer, Edwards expressed the hope that he had a squad capable of challenging at the top end of the table, but a series of injuries, especially in defence, and a dismal away record undermined his was sacked in January after a run of four successive defeats, leading to the instalment of Bloomfield, plucked from a third-tier promotion challenge with Wycombe Wanderers, as his replacement. A 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday finally ended a run of 11 away defeats in a row but it took time for Bloomfield to steady the ship, failing to win any of his first eight games in charge despite the addition of new faces, some like Thelo Aasgaard and Millennic Alli from his old League One 'stamping ground'.Victory over Portsmouth on 1 March finally got things moving in the right direction and back-to-back-to-back wins over Derby County, Bristol City and Coventry finally lifted them out of the bottom three with one game to go. They came up short on the final day, but with plans approved for a brand new 25,000 seater stadium, which may be ready to stage matches in 2028, the Hatters will rely on Bloomfield's League One knowhow to reverse their fortunes and start them moving in an upwards direction once again next season.
