Luton out of relegation zone ahead of Championship finale after beating Coventry City

Luton Town will begin the final day of the Championship season out of the relegation zone after a 1-0 win over Coventry City at Kenilworth Road.

A dramatic game saw both sides have a player sent off before Shandon Baptiste’s 90th minute goal won the day for the Hatters, who have now won three games in a row.

Victory took Matt Bloomfield’s side out of the relegation zone ahead of the 3pm games, and they ultimately stayed outside the dropzone as a consequence of those results. With one more game to go, Luton sit 21st in the table, ahead of Hull City by one point.

A busy final day beckons, with Luton one of six teams aiming to avoid joining Cardiff City in being relegated. Plymouth’s goal difference means they are all-but down, while just one point splits Hull from Luton, Preston and Derby all in the places immediately above the bottom three.

Having maintained their survival hopes with Easter wins over Derby and Bristol City, Luton now faced a big test in the form of Coventry City, two years on from playing the Sky Blues at Wembley in the play-off final that sent them to the Premier League.

Coventry arrived chasing points in pursuit of a play-off place, while Luton needed the results to keep hopes alive that they would avoid a second successive relegation.

The game had a tricky build-up, however, with first choice keeper Thomas Kaminski granted absence after the death of his father, although the Belgian would play as intended.

Luton also had a fire break out in a washing machine at their ground on Friday night, although the issue was deemed dealt with by the fire department and the game went ahead as planned.

The hosts had begun on the front foot, with Carlton Morris having an early strike blocked. But the game seemed to tilt in Luton’s favour when Coventry were reduced to ten players with 13 minutes on the clock. Wing back Jay DaSilva, who had been in Luton’s academy as a youngster, was deemed to have tripped Millenic Alli and denied the Hatters man a goalscoring opportunity, earning himself a dismissal.

With a man advantage, Luton began to press. Morris would miss the target from six yards, Mark McGuinness had an effort blocked and Thelo Aasgaard’s strike was well saved by Brad Collins.

For the most part, however, Coventry were able to keep the Hatters out, and the game would be played even more in the Coventry half after the break as Luton had multiple chances to open the scoring.

Isaiah Jones had a strike denied by Collins, Aasgaard’s shot was deflected wide, Liam Walsh saw a firm strike tipped onto the bar by Collins, the Coventry keeper made a fine stop to deny Lamine Fanne, and Alli saw a deflected drive strike the post.

Just when it seemed like it was a question of time before Luton broke Coventry’s resistance, however, the game went to ten-a-side. Luton had won a free-kick when Walsh had an altercation with Liam Binks, which saw the Luton midfielder shove over the Coventry defender and earn a red card.

The Walsh red was the prelude for things becoming scrappy, with a flurry of yellow cards shown and chances beginning to dry up.

Just when it looked like a goal might not come, however, there was a dramatic twist in the final minute of the 90. A long ball forward by Jones lead to Collins colliding with Liam Kitching in trying to deal with it. The loose ball bobbled to Baptiste, whose shots went in despite Binks’ attempts on the line to block.

Pandemonium was duly induced amid the Luton fans, while Coventry City were unable to recover, allowing the Hatters to squeeze out what could be a vital victory.

Results elsewhere mean that Luton’s fate is in their own hands, where the Hatters know that victory in the final game away at West Bromwich Albion next Saturday will confirm their survival.