Bournemouth beaten by late Kal Naismith goal for Luton

Posted Saturday, January 15, 2022 by PA

Kal Naismith’s stunning goal in stoppage time saw Luton defeat Sky Bet Championship leaders Bournemouth 3-2 in a thrilling contest at Kenilworth Road.

After leading 2-0 at the break and then seeing the Cherries hit back to level during the second period, it looked like the spoils would be shared until Naismith took aim from 20 yards and found the bottom corner.

The visitors dominated the early stages, winger Ryan Christie taking aim, with his low effort gathered by James Shea.

The Luton stopper then made a terrific stop from the former Celtic attacker on 13 minutes, getting down to palm away his low volley.

Town went close themselves, Reece Burke’s header punched away by keeper Mark Travers, who then used his leg to good effect in turning Naismith’s snapshot behind.

Luton had the lead on 30 minutes in slightly fortuitous circumstances as Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu’s cross was flicked on by Sonny Bradley.

Elijah Adebayo controlled well, before his shot was saved by Travers, only to hit the unfortunate Lloyd Kelly and rebound into the net, the defender scoring his second own goal in as many games against the Hatters.

Adebayo sent a deflected effort narrowly wide, before Luton thought they had a second on 36 minutes when a corner led to some havoc in the Cherries defence and Cameron Jerome netted.

The goal was initially given and then ruled out by referee Leigh Doughty for offside after a lengthy consultation with his linesman and vociferous complaints from the visiting players.

Rather than let the decision deflate them, Luton redoubled their efforts and did make it 2-0 in the 42nd minute when Naismith found Allan Campbell, who picked out the bottom corner from 20 yards for his first goal for the club.

After the break, Bournemouth halved the deficit with their first attack, former Luton defender Jack Stacey doing superbly on the right to cross for Emiliano Marcondes who headed in.

Buoyed by the goal, the visitors hunted a second, Jefferson Lerma’s header bouncing off the top of the bar.

The Cherries were level on 78 minutes when half-time substitute Jamal Lowe tricked his way into the box on the right and his low cutback was perfect for Manchester City loanee Morgan Rogers to slam home with his first touch.

With five minutes to go, Luton almost had the lead again, Shea’s clearance taken on the run by Jordan Clark whose left-footed blast was flipped over the bar by Travers.

They did have a winner with the last kick though, Naismith curling home in the seventh minute of stoppage time to settle a wonderful encounter.