Andros Townsend Haunts Old Club Newcastle as Luton Earn Emotional Premier League Victory

Andros Townsend scored the only goal of the game as Luton Town clinched a vital Premier League win over Newcastle United, just seven days after Hatters captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest in the abandoned match at Bournemouth. 

Callum Wilson missed a fine opportunity to equalise in the first half when his header was saved by Thomas Kaminski, but Ross Barkley could have doubled the hosts’ lead when his rasping long-range effort hit the underside of the crossbar. 

Luton rattled the bar once again in the second half as Jacob Brown’s strike was saved by Martin Dubravka. The Magpies thought they had equalised when Alexander Isak found the net, but the goal was chalked off following VAR review, and Luton withstood late pressure to grab all three points. 

With four minutes on the clock, all 11,042 fans at Kenilworth Road rose to their feet to applaud the convalescent Luton captain Lockyer. And this emotionally charged atmosphere set the tone for an inspired Hatters performance. 

Brown hit the post in the early stages after Elijah Adebayo reached the byline and passed across goal, however Adebayo was adjudged to have dribbled the ball out of play. Minutes later, Brown’s shot from the left flank was comfortably caught by Dubravka. 

Newcastle responded when Sean Longstaff robbed Doughty on the right flank and centred for Lewis Miley, but Town’s players threw their bodies in front of the ball to protect Kaminski’s goal. First, Issa Kabore lunged to block Miley’s shot, then Miguel Almiron’s attempt deflected off Albert Sambi Lokonga towards Callum Wilson who headed wide under pressure from Teden Mengi. 

Eddie Howe’s side were growing in confidence when Bruno Guimarães had a goalbound shot deflected behind by the diving Gabe Osho. From the resulting short corner routine, Anthony Gordon crossed from the left for Wilson, whose header from six yards out was excellently saved by Kaminski and cleared over the bar by Amari’i Bell. 

The momentum swung in Luton’s favour on 25 minutes when Doughty raced down the left and won a corner from which he picked out Barkley. The midfielder flicked a header across goal towards the back post where Townsend was waiting to head home from three yards. The 32-year-old winger celebrated his first Premier League goal since October 2021 by racing to the home dugout and holding Lockyer’s Town shirt aloft. 

Luton almost doubled their lead in spectacular fashion when Brown passed infield to Barkley. Emboldened by his exceptional recent performances, the midfielder took aim and fired a shot from over 30 yards which smashed the underside of the crossbar and rebounded onto the sprawling Dubravka. 

Minutes later, Barkley collected Kaminski’s clearance, raced through midfield and slid Adebayo through on goal. The forward’s first-time finish was low and hard, but too close to Dubravka who stuck out a left leg to boot the ball clear. 

Rob Edwards’ side continued to chase a second goal after the interval when Adebayo controlled Mengi’s clearing header and fed Brown, who lashed against the bar from the left side of the penalty area. Replays showed Dubravka may well have got his fingertips to the ball. 

With an hour on the clock, Newcastle probed to find an equaliser when Anthony Gordon dribbled through midfield and passed to Almiron who poked through the legs of Mengi to Isak. The Magpies substitute set himself before shooting beyond Kaminski, but the linesman was quick to raise his flag and disallow the goal for offside.

Town were back on the front foot when Brown skilfully flicked past Kieran Trippier to Ryan Giles. The Hatters substitute raced down the flank and fired across goal, forcing Dubravka into a save. From the following phase of play, Barkley’s drive was headed behind by Sven Botman. 

Minutes later, Giles was caught out of position when Longstaff passed behind the Luton defence for Guimarães to poke towards the bottom right corner, but Kaminski was covering his front post and blocked with his feet. 

In one final attempt to seal victory with a second goal, Doughty passed infield to Brown who prodded towards Barkley. Luton’s talisman dragged narrowly wide from the edge of the box, but the Hatters were able to hold on to claim a vital win for their ailing captain. Just their third Premier League win of the season. 

For Newcastle meanwhile, this was their fourth successive away defeat in the league, a record which needs to be quickly reversed if Howe is to avoid the scrutiny of the club’s demanding owners.