Luton Town 2-0 Sunderland: Luton Town qualified for promotion to the Premier League for the final of the play-offs on Tuesday evening. The number three in the Championship, who played in League Two five years ago, was too strong for Sunderland in the return.
Dream Sunderland falls apart: Luton Town to final at Wembley
Sunderland were promoted to the Championship last season and, thanks to an advance in the rankings, could dream of a return to the Premier League after a six-year absence, but The Black Cats have to postpone that return for at least a year. After the 2-1 win in the first leg, Luton Town was too strong at home on Tuesday evening.
Halfway through, The Hatters were already on course for Wembley. Gabriel Osho equalized the score over two duels after ten minutes by shooting in front of Sunderland’s goal in a messy situation. Two minutes before the break, fellow defender Thomas Lockyer made it 2-0 by heading in from a cross from Alfie Doughty.
Sunderland tried to do something back, but was lucky that Patrick Roberts took a ball off the line after the break. In extra time, Luton Town missed another dot of a chance when goalkeeper Anthony Patterson came forward, but it didn’t matter for the result. Rob Edwards’ team goes to Wembley.
The winner of the other semi-final between Middlesbrough and Coventry City awaits in the London football temple on Saturday 27 May. Luton Town can then assure themselves of a season in the Premier League for the first time in club history. In 1992, the year of its foundation, the club was relegated from the First Division.
Code red at Leicester: “I think there’s no turning back”
We shift our focus from the promotion playoffs to the relegation specter that is haunting Leicester City. The Foxes have two more games to save the day, but the signs are not very promising.
Leicester lost a chance against Liverpool (0-3) at home on Monday. The champion of the 2015/16 season must seriously fear relegation. The competition, consisting of Nottingham Forest, Everton and Leeds United, has an easier program on paper. Leicester will visit Newcastle United and close at home against West Ham United.
“If you look at the last two games of those teams. Leicester has by far the most difficult program,” concluded analyst Jamie Carragher at Sky Sports. “At Nottingham, Everton and Leeds there is still a kind of feel-good factor. Forest are on a good run, Everton had some good results before defeat to City. And Leeds have the support of the crowd with Allardyce. I don’t know how Leicester will charge for the away game against Newcastle.”
Colleague Gary Neville fears the worst for Leicester. He said, “I think there’s no turning back. And that most fans know that too. I could be wrong, but I think it’s played. They have yet to win both games… Even getting four points can’t be enough. That’s a massive struggle. Everton is also in a good position.”
