A Myles Peart-Harris injury-time winner consigned ten-man Luton to their ninth straight away defeat, ending what boss Rob Edwards called a “horrible” 2024 on the road where they’ve won just once in two different leagues.
This Championship result was perhaps little surprise – given Swansea’s dominance of the ball (72 per cent possession) and their nine shots on target to Town’s one (22 to 4 in total), plus one that hit the woodwork from City – but it was one of the most devastating.
Teenager Joe Johnson, 18, was dismissed for a second bookable offence on 68 minutes with the score at 1-1 after Carlton Morris’ accepted a late Christmas gift in the fifth minute, but Gonçalo Franco bagged just before half time to level for hosts.
But despite seeing out normal time with a one-man disadvantage, they couldn’t hold out in time added on.
It means that across a whole calendar year, in both the Premier League and now the Championship, Millwall remain the only team that have succumbed to Town on the road, and Luton boss Edwards said: “Look at the run. It’s horrible away from home. The run, the results. No hiding from that, but the performances haven’t been. Not all of them, and especially not lately.
“The group were committed. They gave absolutely everything. It was a good performance.
“Swansea are really, really good and complicated with the way they play, but especially in the second half we were the better team.
“The red card’s completely changed it and that’s it, we’ve lost the game. But, performance-wise, there was a lot of good things to take. But people won’t care and won’t want to hear that.”
Despite Morris’ thumping home a misplaced pass from Swansea stopper Lawrence Vigouroux, Town had were decidedly second best in the opening period but, despite being pegged back, they improved in the second half until academy product Johnson was given his marching orders.
“People have their own opinions. They can be critical. I’m not at all,” Edwards told the BBC of Johnson’s first professional dismissal.
“I think he’s trying to avoid it (the contact). The lad’s running at him at full speed. It’s a difficult position for Joe to be in, so I don’t think it was (a second yellow card).
“I think the lad’s tried to avoid contact and gone over, but it happens very quickly, and the ref’s made a decision, and that’s his call.
“And then, obviously, it changed the game completely. Then it was backs to the wall because of the way they play. They’re going to dominate the game at that point because they’ll find the spare man if we start jumping out all over the place. We defended really, really well. And one moment (cost us).”
Town tried to shut up shop and eke out a point, with striker Elijah Adebayo replaced by defender Reuell Walters, for his first appearance since a broken foot was discovered in the early part of October.
But disaster struck one minute after the fourth official showed that seven minutes were to be added on at the end. Peart-Harris converted and Town were left to look back on a familiar outcome to a disastrous year of away-days.
“We switched off for the one moment where they scored and ultimately that’s cost us. We all feel very, very flat, dejected right now, because we put a lot into that performance today,” said Edwards.
“Even when we’re down to ten right towards the end, if everyone then just does that job right when we defend in the box, which we did 99.9 per cent of the time, then we get something from the game. We didn’t.”
The defeat also edged Luton one point closer to the relegation zone, with just four points separating them and Cardiff, who ended Watford’s unbeaten home record and still have a game in hand on the Hatters.
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