Wolves record home win as Luton relegation woes worsen

Max Stairs reports from Molineux

Wolves sealed their first win in seven matches to pile on the woes for Luton Town, despite a late comeback scare.

Luton had the opportunity to get themselves out of the relegation zone and failed as they fell to Wolves 2-1 at Molineux.

It seemed like cruise control for Wolves, as Hwang Hee-chan scored on the brink of halftime and Toti scored just five minutes after the second half started, but Carlton Morris – who was the scorer in the reverse fixture- worried Gary O’Neil’s side by pulling one back.

The Wanderers found their first win in seven and their fans made a statement on the mistreatment they feel by VAR, by chanting expletives about it after both goals.

Luton had the chance to take control of the game, as Ross Barkley found himself in plenty of space, before his effort stung the palms of Jose Sá who kept the tie at a deadlock.

Wolves replied on the 20^th minute with an effort of their own to take the lead, one coming in the 8^th minute as Hwang made a darting run in behind the line which forced a save from Thomas Kaminski as it ricocheted out for a corner.

Wolves went into a period of attacking dominance following Hwang’s near miss and, in the 38^th minute, Gomes robbed the ball from Barkley and drove at the Luton backline before firing his effort just over the crossbar.

Finally, five minutes before halftime, Wolves took the lead through Hwang – who had caused Luton troubles all afternoon. Jose Sa was the instigator of the counterattack as his goal kick found Matheus Cunha who decisively passed it onto Hwang, who twisted and turned into the penalty area and fizzed it into the bottom corner.

Just five minutes after the second half commenced, Rayan Aït-Nouri found Mario Lemina from a corner, who sent in a dangerous ball to the back stick, which found Toti – whose headed effort flew past Kaminski to put the hosts in the driver’s seat.

However, after sustained Wolves dominance, a twist in the tale came from Morris in the 79^th minute, as Alfie Doughty found substitute Cauley Woodrow who mishit his attempt on goal and found its way all the way back to Doughty who fired in a cross that was acrobatically finished by Morris which gave them a way back in the game.

Luton will be disappointed to not have taken the opportunity to claw themselves out of the relegation zone, and now rely on Manchester City to beat Nottingham Forest to keep the one-point deficit.