Sheffield United 2-3 Luton
CARLTON MORRIS CLIMBED off the bench to create two own goals in four minutes for Luton as they beat Sheffield United 3-2 in a crucial Premier League basement battle.
The Blades were on course for an important victory as goals from Oli McBurnie and Anel Ahmedhodzic overturned Alfie Doughty’s first-half opener for the Hatters.
But substitute Morris was the orchestrator as Jack Robinson and Anis Slimane put through their own net to give Luton back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time.
The match was also notable for being the first Premier League match to be officiated by a black referee for 15 years as Sam Allison took the whistle and he mainly stayed away from controversy, apart from a contentious decision to award a corner in the build-up to Robinson’s own goal.
Luton were not complaining as the festive season which began with a win over Newcastle on Saturday added another vital three points and they will believe survival is a real possibility going into the second half of the campaign.
It looks like the Blades will need a miracle to get themselves out of the bottom three as they have just nine points at the halfway mark and this could be a damaging loss.
The Hatters took the lead in the 17th minute, though Blades goalkeeper Wes Foderingham will not want to see it again.
Doughty received the ball on the right wing, breezed by Gus Hamer on his way into the area before firing a low shot, which should have been a routine save for Foderingham at the near post, but the ball squirmed through his legs and into the back of the net.
The hosts tried to respond, with Hamer’s 20-yard free-kick palmed away by Thomas Kaminski while James McAtee whipped an effort just wide after a jinking run.
They kept the pressure up before the break and Andre Brooks was denied a certain goal by Elijah Adebayo’s block before Auston Trusty headed the resulting corner against the crossbar.
Half-time provided little respite for Luton as the Blades were straight back on to the attack, with Teden Mengi slicing George Baldock’s cross just over his own crossbar while Albert Lokonga produced a goal-saving block to deny Max Lowe.
The deserved leveller came just after the hour-mark as McBurnie raised the roof.
It was down to the good work of McAtee, who surged into the area after Cameron Archer’s chest down and recovered well from a tackle to slide the ball to McBurnie while still on the floor.
The Blades striker did the rest, converting from close range.
The hosts sensed blood and they turned the match around eight minutes later as Ahmedhodzic converted from close range after a goalmouth scramble.
Luton responded well and levelled things up in the 77th minute.
United could not clear a hotly-disputed corner and Morris swung the ball back in, which Robinson could only flick into his own net.
Four minutes later Morris jinked into the area and his cross was diverted into the corner by an unlucky Slimane, with Luton seeing it out for a huge victory.
Bournemouth 3-0 Fulham
Dominic Solanke continued his impressive scoring form with a second-half penalty as Bournemouth secured a 3-0 victory over Fulham at the Vitality Stadium.
Andoni Iraola made two changes from the Cherries’ win over Nottingham Forest, and they combined to create the opener as a fine run by Alex Scott set up Justin Kluviert’s opener just before half-time.
Solanke made Joao Palhinha pay for bringing down Antoine Semenyo inside the box shortly after the hour mark, before Luis Sinisterra put the icing on the cake with a third goal in stoppage time.
Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s frustrations got the better of him late on as he appeared to push a ball boy, later returning to apologise to the youngster who seemed to take the incident in stride.
It was Bournemouth’s first home contest since Luton captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch on December 16, and a pre-match on-screen tribute honoured those who had come to the Welshman’s aide, including Cherries midfielder Philip Billing who was widely praised for his alert response.
The Denmark international began his afternoon on the bench in favour of Kluivert, with Scott slotting in for the injured Lewis Cook.
It was a back-and-forth beginning to the encounter, Solanke with his first crack at a fifth goal in as many league appearances against the Cottagers and 12th of the Premier League campaign blocked by Tosin Adarabioyo.
The hosts, with boss Iraola watching from the stands as he served a one-game touchline ban, maintained their slight edge in the opening exchanges, with Fulham winning a handful of set-pieces but creating little in the way of chances.
A neat move from Semenyo to feed Kluivert nearly set up an opener but they were thwarted by an excellent intervention from Adarabioyo, who was also in the right place to deny a second decent opportunity for Bournemouth after Leno spilled a cross.
Adarabioyo’s headed clearance avoided any embarrassment, but the hosts were ahead at the stroke of half-time thanks to a brilliant run into the 18-yard box from 20-year-old Scott from near the centre circle and pass to Kluivert, who finished underneath Leno into the far corner.
Fulham, who had enjoyed a near-equal amount of possession in the first half, returned with more purpose to start the second as Antonee Robinson quickly called Neto into action from a tight angle.
It was just past the hour mark when Joao Palhinha sent Semenyo tumbling inside the area and the response from referee Tim Robinson was immediate, Solanke sending Leno the wrong way to double his side’s advantage.
Rodrigo Muniz had a chance to claw one back with a close-range volley, while Leno found himself in late trouble and was treated to a chorus of jeers when he appeared to push the ball boy.
Sinisterra’s cross was inches away from the outstretched foot of David Brooks as the Cherries sought a third.
Brooks had two more chances of his own, but it was Sinisterra who curled past Leno to seal a convincing home triumph.
