Luton 1 Sheff Utd 3: Huge swing in Premier League relegation race in monster six-pointer as Blades gain ground on rivals
CHRIS WILDER breathed a huge sigh of relief as Sheffield United won this relegation six-pointer at Luton.
At full-time, the Blades boss beat his chest in front of the 1,350 travelling fans who witnessed a rare win to give them some hope about beating the drop.
It was not pretty as the Blades rolled up their sleeves and dug deep for only their third win of the campaign.
As the Kenilworth Road public address system crackled on and off, this match felt like a Championship clash rather than a Premier League game.
The quality of football served up did little to convince otherwise, with some wasteful finishing, wayward passes and dreadful defending.
Despite this victory, Sheffield United looked nailed-on to go down – irrespective of this hard-fought win.
That said, their fans are going to ensure they enjoy their relegation scrap, with the victory in this crucial battle giving them some futile hope at least.
In fairness, the visitors had a great chance to open the scoring inside 30 seconds as Gustavo Hamer set-up James McAtee but he blasted his effort wide.
The Blades were then dealt a blow when Rhys Norrington-Davies limped off to be replaced by Max Lowe.
The Welsh defender, who had a spell on loan at Luton before deciding to switch to Stoke, was booed by the home fans as he trudged down the tunnel.
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Reece Burke shot wide from outside the box for Luton while the home side – who started this game as the bookies’ favourites for the first time in the league this season – looked comfortable.
Striker Elijah Adebayo looked lively and Ross Barkely looked like the player he once was, albeit playing as a holding midfielder.
But the Hatters’ hopes of extending their good run that had pulled them clear of the bottom two, were dented with Cameron Archer put the Blades in front on 30 minutes.
He out-muscled Gabriel Osho, who was far too weak with his tackle, and Archer raced through on goal to slot past Thomas Kaminski.
Just seconds before Archer, who had been recalled to the starting line up following their 5-0 hammering by Aston Villa, had fired wide from five yards.
Sheffield United doubled their lead on 36 minutes when referee Chris Kavanagh pointed to the spot.
The ref took little time to reach his verdict after watching the VAR replay as it was clear the ball had struck Burke’s hand.
McAtee converted from the spot and Blades boss Chris Wilder celebrated on the touchline.
Luton were handed a way back into this after the break when Kavanagh awarded a second penalty.
This time Vini Souza was the guilty party in another handball decision after a quick VAR check.
Carlton Morris took the kick and buried it past Wes Foderingham to give Luton hope of snatching something from this tie.
Morris tried his luck with a fizzing shot from outside the box that sent Foderingham skidding to his right to push the ball to safety.
Alfie Doughty then fired over the bar from close range after an excellent through ball from Tahith Chong, with his effort too high for Adebayo.
Moments later, Luton were punished as Souza restored Sheffield United’s two goal cushion with a good finish.
Luton shot themselves in the foot after another moment of poor defending as they failed to clear their lines.
The loose ball broke to Ben Osborn, who teed up Souza and he made it 3-1 on 72 minutes when he drove the ball past Kaminski and into the bottom left corner.
Chong saw an effort go wide while Andros Townsend‘s long shot was saved by Foderingham as Luton tried to find a way back.
But they were condemned to their first defeat in 2024 and missed the chance to pull further away from Burnley and Everton.
See how it all happened in our live blog below…