Hatters are brought back down to Earthy
AGOODBYE from David Moyes and farewell to Luton Town. In his final home game as West Ham manager, Moyes watched his players overcome an awful start to run out comfortable winners which leaves the Hatters ready for a return to the Championship.
And the highlight for a manager considered to be conservative when blooding youngsters came when academy graduate George Earthy tapped in their third a minute after coming on.
The midfielder, 19, was hospitalised having sustained a head injury on his debut against Fulham last month.
But the roar that greeted his goal was both a moment to cherish and a nod to the future on an afternoon defined by bidding adieu.
Earthy produced the killer blow for Luton, who were unable to capitalise on being gifted an early lead.
At full-time their gutted players stood motionless in front of an away support that never stopped singing.
Yet manager Rob Edwards will rue their failure to capitalise onwest Ham’s awful start.
Luton were in front inside six minutes as Albert Sambi Lokonga was afforded the freedom of the hosts’ penalty area to head home Alfie
Doughty’s outswinging cross from the left.
Moyes looked furious with the lackadaisical effort but the concession providedwest Ham with a wake-up call.
Still, they only threatened sporadically throughout a turgid opening half.
Jarrod Bowen, again their best performer, looked the only likely candidate to level and twice went close.
There were loud jeers from disgruntled West Ham fans at the interval and that seemed to bring the desired response upon the restart.
Their equaliser originated from a Bowen charge down the right. His delivery was awkward for the Luton defence, leading to goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski making a decent save with his legs.
Yet his team-mates were slow to react and, having failed to clear, James Ward-prowse arrived to drill low and hard into the bottom-left corner.
From that point onwest Ham were dominant.
Tomas Soucek clinically volleyed home another weak clearance, this time from Ward-prowse’s cross, to make it 2-1.And Mohammed
Kudus went on a dribble soon after, pulling the ball back for Earthy (left) to score.
WEST HAM: Areola 6; Coufal 6, Zouma 7, Ogbonna 6 (Casey 90), Emerson 6 (Cresswell 84); Soucek 6, Ward-prowse 7, Paqueta 5 (Ings 84); Bowen 7, Kudus 6, Antonio 5 (Earthy 75, 6).
LUTON: Kaminski 7; Burke 6 (Woodrow 87), Mengi 6, Osho 6; Onyedinma 6 (Ogbene 73, 5), Lokonga 6, Barkley 5 (Clark 39, 5), Doughty 6 (Berry 87); Morris 6, Chong 6; Adebayo 7.
MAN OF THE MATCH: JARROD BOWEN - yet again West Ham’s best player.
REF: M Oliver