AFC Bournemouth 4-3 Luton Town (13 Mar, 2024) Game Analysis

Luton Town squandered a three-goal lead to lose 4-3 at Bournemouth as they missed their chance to move out of the Premier League relegation zone on Wednesday.

It looked so good for Luton with first half goals from Tahith Chong, Chiedozie Ogbene and Ross Barkley putting them in complete control on the South Coast.

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That score would have lifted Luton above Nottingham Forest into 17th place, but Bournemouth, booed at half-time, transformed after the break.

Dominic Solanke struck immediately after the break and they were level before halfway through the second half thanks to goals from Illia Zabarnyi and Antoine Semenyo.

Luton were in shock and there was a sense of inevitability that Semenyo would score the winner in the 83rd minute.

Bournemouth, who remain 13th with 35 points, are the first team in 21 years to win a Premier League match in which they trailed by three goals.

They also came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Sheffield United last weekend.

“I’ve never been in a game like this before,” Semenyo said. “Even when we are down at halftime, we know that our play, man to man, is about courage.

“So in the second half, whether we're down or up, we're going to pressure the same way. We know we're going to have chances and the second half today was incredible.”

The match was rescheduled after the original match was abandoned after 59 minutes in December when Luton captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch.

Lockyer was in attendance Wednesday and received a standing ovation before kickoff as he met the doctors who saved his life.

Luton remain in 18th place with 21 points from 28 games, three points behind Nottingham Forest.

“It's going to hurt but we have to get back up,” said Luton's pessimistic manager Rob Edwards. “We have another huge game in a few days and we have no choice but to pick ourselves up and go again.”

“We are not out of this fight. We are three points behind the team in front of us and our job is to try to win the game on Saturday.”

The focus was all on Lockyer before kick-off as he returned to the stadium where he almost lost his life.

“I'm pretty numb to it all, but back here I got to the tunnel area and I saw the paramedics who saved my life,” Lockyer said. “I recognized them straight away.

“What do you say in this situation other than thank you? They're heroes, they saved my life. I got a little emotional.”

Lockyer, who was wearing an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), stood to applaud when Chong headed in after eight minutes following a cross from Jordan Clark.

Chong was involved again in the 31st minute when his clever pass found Alfie Doughty who then teed up Ogbene to make it 2-0. And when Barkley finished superbly just before half-time, Luton were in dreamland.

Bournemouth came early for the second half after a lick from boss Andoni Iraola and gave themselves a lifeline when Solanke broke away from Daiki Hashioka after a deft check and finished in style.

The crowd cheered in the 59th minute for Lockyer, but at almost the same time Zabarnyi's header was judged to have crossed the line.

Minutes later, Semenyo fired a low shot past Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski and it was Semenyo who produced an incredible comeback with another powerful finish as the Luton defense collapsed.

Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams came on in the 71st minute for his first Premier League appearance for the south coast club. The United States captain, who was named to the national team earlier today for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, underwent hamstring surgery last October.

Information from Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.