Luton fightback falls short after defeat at Reading

Luton Town were beaten 3-2 away at Reading despite a comeback that saw them wipe out a two goal deficit.

The Hatters had been 2-0 down in Berkshire to goals by Lewis Wing and Jack Marriott, but goals by Jordan Clark and Nigel Lonwijk saw Luton come back to equalise.

Within two minutes of equalising, however, Luton fell behind again as Reading retook the lead through Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan.

There was no way back for the Hatters this time, who suffered a first defeat in 5 League One outings.

Luton had arrived in Berkshire for a match brought forward to enable a live TV broadcast chasing a response, as although they were unbeaten in their preceding 4 games, they had also registered 3 draws in a row, including one against bottom side Port Vale last time out.

But it was a bad start for the visitors, as Reading opened the scoring inside 8 minutes. Daniel Kyerewaa went down in the box under a challenge from Luton keeper Josh Keeley, and from the consequent penalty, Wing beat Keeley to make it 1-0 to the Royals.

The next phase of the game saw the visitors rally, with home keeper Joel Pereira having to stop a corner bouncing in off Wing, before the Reading goalie also intervened to save a strike from Nahki Wells.

Pereira would then be involved again to stop Cohen Bramall’s strike, but there was a disappointment for Luton as Kal Naismith was taken off injured.

Reading doubled their lead 7 minutes into the second half. Marriott, who once played for Luton, grabbed the goal for the Royals as the striker collected a pass to feet and lashed a strike from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.

Six minutes later, Luton would halve the deficit. Wing’s attempt to clear substitute Shayden Morris’ cross ended up setting the ball up for Clark, who drilled a shot into the back of the net and made it 2-1.

Luton would then duly equalise with 76 minutes on the clock. The ball fell to wing-back Lonwijk, who saw a low strike fly into the bottom corner to bring the visitors back on level terms.

Parity would only last for 2 minutes, however. Derrick Williams’ through pass was picked up by sub Ehibhatiomhan, who was initially forced wide but was able to drill a strike past Keeley to put Reading back in front.

The visitors pushed for an equaliser and their best chance came in the fifth minute of seven added on, as George Saville saw a drive bounce just wide.

But there was no salvation for the visitors, who slid to defeat in their last game before Christmas.

Luton are next in action on Boxing Day, when they welcome Wycombe Wanderers to Kenilworth Road.