Fans in the world of football were not only occupied with catching live actions of the top-tiered European club football competitions in the UEFA Champions League Last 16 second leg, but the English Premier League encounter between AFC Bournemouth and Luton Town also caught their attention last night.
The league clash may have been overlooked in the English top-flight football, but what happened during the game was truly unlike something football enthusiasts have seen in the past, since the home team of AFC Bournemouth were able to stage one of the biggest comebacks in football by scoring four second-half goals to beat their visitors with the score line of 4-3 after going three-nothing down at the end of the initial 45 minutes.
Luton Determined to Leave the Relegation Zone with Three Early Goals Versus AFC Bournemouth
The visiting Luton Town, led by Rob Edwards, were eager to get out of the final three positions of the English Premier League table with a win over AFC Bournemouth in this midweek league fixture, and they performed decently in the first 45 minutes, racing to a 3-0 lead by the half-time break. Former Manchester United academy graduate and player Tahith Chong was unmarked when Jordan Clark delivered a cross into the six-yard box, and the Dutchman had no issues to head home the first goal of the evening for the visiting Luton Town.
The 1-0 lead stayed for a good 20 minutes, until Edwards’ team doubled their lead, this time courtesy of Chiedozie Ogbene. Chong was again involved in the buildup of the goal when the versatile footballer sent Alfie Doughty through to the dangerous zone, who then set up the Republic of Ireland international Ogbene. There was not a doubt that the 26-year-old could not meet the pass in time, as he squeezed the ball past the AFC Bournemouth captain and goalkeeper Neto at the bottom right corner for Luton’s second goal of this Premier League game.
Andoni Iraola’s AFC Bournemouth looked down and out before the half-time whistle could even save them from further embarrassments, with Luton Town once again knocking the home team’s door for more goals. Issa Kaboré was benefited by a counterattack in the first minute of the opening-half stoppage time, travelling a great distance and giving the ball away to Ross Barkley as a result. The ex-Everton and Chelsea midfielder then smashed a wonderful strike into the back of the net to triple Luton Town’s lead, and all 3 points on enemy’s territory seemed to only be a matter of time for the visitors.
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🚨🏴 GOAL | Luton 3-0 Bournemouth | Ross Barkley
WHAT A FINISH FROM ROSS BARKLEY!https://t.co/1WnmEe0JT6
— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) March 13, 2024
AFC Bournemouth Hit Four in the Second Half to Win the Game 4-3
Despite going 3-0 down, Iraola’s AFC Bournemouth chose to believe in there was an opportunity to rally themselves back into the game, and whatever uttered during the Spaniard’s half-time team talk must have worked as the home side pulled one back five minutes upon the restart following Dominic Solanke’s shot. The English striker who used to play for Liverpool caught the ball inside the dangerous zone, and showed tremendous individuality in beating his defender with a decent turnaround and scoring past the shot stopper with a dinked shot.
Solanke’s brilliant personal effort ignited AFC Bournemouth’s hopes of returning to the game, and they soon found another one after the hour mark. Lewis Cook’s corner set piece delivery from the left flank caused a chaos inside the penalty box, which was capitalised on by Illia Zabarnyi, whose header seemingly crossed the line before Luton Town’s clearance. The referee had a look at his watch and indeed AFC Bournemouth had scored another goal and were within striking distance to equalise with approximately 30 minutes remaining in the game. What AFC Bournemouth were praying, an equaliser, turned into reality seconds after the fifth goal of this English top-flight football fixture.
Without being given time to recover from letting past the second AFC Bournemouth goal, the visiting Luton Town were hit with a long ball that was met by Antoine Semenyo, who then beat his defender and cut in to level things up for AFC Bournemouth via a remarkable left-footed shot. The 24-year-old Ghana striker then completed AFC Bournemouth’s turnaround when he played a one-two with substitute Enes Ünal, followed by Semenyo beating Thomas Kaminski for the second time in the game. The home fans almost tore the roof down while the away camp were stunned when the final whistle ended with AFC Bournemouth winning 4-3 from a 3-0 deficit versus Luton Town.
Words on AFC Bournemouth’s Fairytale Come-From-Behind Victory
Luton Town head coach Edwards looked like a despaired man during the post-match conference. He noted: “Looking back at it, we didn’t defend enough defensive duels well enough. I’m not doing dig out any of the players here, but there were individual mistakes and we didn’t cope in the one-versus-one duels. We gave AFC Bournemouth encouragement with the early goal and we couldn’t cope with the barrage and forward play, their running and power. I’m really, really frustrated. I can go through all four goals and each can be avoided, there were three or four mistakes for each one.”
A win against AFC Bournemouth last night would have allowed Luton Town to escape the relegation zone with only nine league games remaining, but the 4-3 comeback defeat meant they are still within the drop zone. “We put ourselves in such a good position to win a Premier League game, so sitting here talking about a defeat is tough. I’m angry and upset. I feel numb. We’ve lost our fair share this season but the manner of tonight does hurt. We’ve got a huge game on Saturday. If we can’t pick ourselves up for a game like this then there’s something wrong but we won’t allow the lads to dwell on it,” added the ex-England U-16 manager.
Edwards’ spirits obviously were not echoed by the winning manager Iraola, who is about six months younger than his opposing manager yesterday. After his AFC Bournemouth side became just the fifth Premier League team and the first to win a game which they trailed by a hattrick of goals since 2003, the Spaniard said: “The important thing is that the players showed a strong personality because it is easy to hide when you are losing 3-0 at home. It was important to have the precedent of the last game. The key was to score early. I think Dom’s goal made us believe and the players showed a lot of character.”
Meanwhile in the Spanish La Liga: Arda Güler Scores His First Real Madrid Goal in Los Blancos’s 4-0 Triumph Over RC Celta de Vigo
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