West Bromwich Albion’s winless run was extended to seven Championship matches after Tahith Chong’s superb equaliser helped Luton to a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road.
A cagey affair was blown wide open by Albion’s Josh Maja, whose creative flick inside the area saw him score his eighth of the season just before the break.
Chong’s surging run and finish may have bought the manager, Rob Edwards, more time after a difficult return to the second tier had seen Luton start the evening in the relegation zone. The hosts dominated the ball in the early stages as their intensity and physicality prevented Albion from getting a foothold in the game on an atmospheric night.
Despite enjoying the bulk of the possession, Luton initially struggled to find the final pass to unlock the backline, but a neat ball through to Carlton Morris saw the striker test keeper Alex Palmer before Victor Moses scuffed the first-time rebound wide of a post. After a break in play which saw emergency services attend an incident in the West Brom away end, Luton continued their attacking start. Chong looked the Hatters’ brightest spark and the former Manchester United academy graduate consistently took command.
West Brom’s stoppage-time goal at the end of the half came against the run of play. A speculative long pass into Luton’s territory was controlled by Maja, who passed the ball on to Karlan Grant in space. Grant returned the favour with a low cross which was deftly backheeled into the bottom right-hand corner by the in-form Maja. Luton needed a response and they got just that through the quality of Chong, who grabbed magnificent solo goal on the hour.
The left-sided midfielder countered with pace, forcing West Brom’s defence to backpedal before he delivered a drilled finish with his left foot into the bottom-right corner. Daiki Hashioka came closest in the second half for Luton but a post denied the defender after a headed effort from a corner.
