SEVEN & HELL FOR HATTERS
Semenyo wins a thriller as Luton let three-goal lead slip
BOURNEMOUTH staged one of the greatest comebacks in Premier League history to wreck Tom Lockyer’s emotional night.
The Cherries, 3-0 down at half-time to a rampant Luton side, scored four second-half goals on the night Hatters star Lockyer returned to the ground where he clinically ‘died’ earlier in the season.
After suffering a cardiac arrest at the Vitality Stadium which Lockyer said left him “technically dead” for almost three minutes, the Luton captain walked back out on to the pitch ahead of kick-off to shake hands with the medical staff who had saved his life 88 days earlier.
His presence inspired Luton to an incredible first-half performance but goodness knows what happened to them after the break.
Lockyer, who became a father last week, was all smiles as he was applauded by everyone in the stadium ahead of a key match for his side.
The smiles were not quite so visible come the final whistle after Cherries became only the third team in Premier League history to win a match after trailing 3-0 at half-time.
Manchester United back in 2001 and Wolves in 2003 were the other two.
Shellshocked Luton boss Rob Edwards said of his side’s second-half collapse: “We didn’t win enough individual duels and we didn’t defend well enough in key moments. I seem to keep saying the same things too often.
“It hurts. We had an opportunity to win a Premier League game and that’s not easy to do. From 3-0 up we should have seen the game out.”
Luton took the lead in the ninth minute when Tahith Chong headed in a beautifullydelivered cross from Jordan Clark at the far post.
Luton scored a brilliant second goal just after the half-hour mark. Lockyer was punching the air in the main stand once more as Chiedozie Ogbene capped an electric move following a quick exchange of passes between the impressive Chong and Alfie Doughty.
This was a fluid display from Edwards’ side, with Ross Barkley thriving in his role as quarterback and Chong and Ogbene causing all sorts of problems.
The Hatters were running riot and soon had a sensational third when Issa Kabore robbed Dango Ouattara and raced upfield to pick out Barkley’s driving run. The former Everton midfielder then smashed the ball into the roof of the net.
Bournemouthh boss Andoni Iraola responded with a double change at half-time and Bournemouth hit straight back as top scorer Dominic Solanke cleverly nutmegged Daiki Hashioka before dinking the ball over keeper Thomas Kaminski.
Their second came 12 minutes later when Illia Zabarnyi nodded the ball over the line.
The scores were level just two minutes later when the electric Antoine Semenyo cut in from the right flank and shot powerfully in at the near post.
Luton looked spent. And Iraola’s men completed a remarkable turnaround when Semenyo picked up the ball on the edge of the area and shot across Kaminski to complete a memorable night.