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Luton Town 1-5 Brentford: Yoane Wissa double boosts visitors’ survival hopes

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Luton Town 1-5 Brentford: Yoane Wissa double boosts visitors' survival hopes
Yoane Wissa is Brentford’s leading scorer in the Premier League this season

Forward Yoane Wissa scored twice as Brentford made easy work of Luton to pull 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Wissa met Bryan Mbeumo’s pass first time to curl in the opener emphatically from the edge of the box with 24 minutes on the clock.

The DR Congo forward grabbed his second on the stroke of half-time, reacting quickest to a loose ball after Luton failed to deal with Mbeumo’s low cross.

Defender Ethan Pinnock, making his first start since 10 February, headed in a Sergio Reguilon corner in the 62nd minute to put the Bees firmly in the driving seat.

Luton looked dejected and devoid of ideas when Keane Lewis-Potter was afforded space at the far post two minutes later, heading in Mbeumo’s cross, before substitute Kevin Schade rounded off the scoring for the visitors.

The home side rarely threatened but were gifted a chance in injury time when the ball fell to the feet of Luke Berry, who side-stepped goalkeeper Mark Flekken and finished from a tight angle.

Brentford have climbed above Crystal Palace into 14th and are 10 points clear of the relegation zone with four games left to play, while Luton remain 18th and one point from safety.

Another heavy loss for Hatters

Chances were few and far between for Rob Edwards’ side, who looked disjointed, and belief that they can secure a second successive season in the Premier League might be just starting to drain away.

They have four games left to pull themselves out of the relegation zone but have won just one of their past 13 in the league, losing nine during that sequence, and have conceded 10 goals in their past two games.

A lengthy injury list has to be taken into account, with nine senior players in the treatment room, but Luton have often put up a fight on home soil, something they failed to do against Brentford.

Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Edwards said: “Brentford were very good and we were poor. They deserved to win the game. In spells in the first half, it looked a very even game. We had moments. It’s all ifs buts and maybes. We didn’t show enough, certainly in the second half.

“We’re fighting for our lives to stay in the Premier League. It shouldn’t be hard [to be motivated]. It’s a tough day.

“Our supporters are incredible, I’m sorry they had to go through that. We owe them a performance now.”

Survival in sight for Brentford

Thomas Frank’s side have become accustomed to playing without Ivan Toney, who was banned during the first half of the season for breaking FA betting rules, and they did not skip a beat without the injured England striker at Kenilworth Road.

Wissa and Mbeumo formed an almost telepathic partnership in attack, with Lewis-Potter showing that he also has plenty to offer.

In between Wissa’s two well-taken goals, which saw him hit double figures in a league season for the first time since 2020-21 when he was in France with Lorient, Mbeumo crashed a shot off the crossbar.

Lewis-Potter also caused problems in the first half, forcing goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski to claw the ball off the line before another goalbound effort was deflected behind by the head of defender Teden Mengi.

The game was ended as a contest just after the hour mark when Pinnock and Lewis-Potter scored in the space of two minutes, while Schade’s late strike demonstrated the strength Brentford have in reserve.

It is the first time that the Bees have scored five goals in a league game since beating Leeds 5-2 in September 2022.

With just 12 points left to play for, Brentford, who are 10 clear of the bottom three, can start to plan confidently for another season of Premier League football, having extended their unbeaten run to five games.

Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Frank said: “We’ve finally got a bit of momentum. We had some very good performances recently, especially against Manchester United and Aston Villa.

“I respect Rob Edwards and his staff and they make it difficult for every team that comes here. We were very dominant and on top throughout the game.”

Player of the match

CollinsNathan Collins

Luton Town

  1. Squad number24Player nameKaminski

  2. Squad number6Player nameBarkley

  3. Squad number15Player nameMengi

  4. Squad number45Player nameDoughty

  5. Squad number14Player nameChong

  6. Squad number28Player nameSambi Lokonga

  7. Squad number16Player nameBurke

  8. Squad number32Player nameOnyedinma

  9. Squad number30Player nameTownsend

  10. Squad number18Player nameClark

  11. Squad number2Player nameOsho

  12. Squad number9Player nameMorris

  13. Squad number12Player nameKaboré

  14. Squad number27Player nameHashioka

  15. Squad number17Player nameMpanzu

  16. Squad number8Player nameBerry

Brentford

  1. Squad number22Player nameCollins

  2. Squad number11Player nameWissa

  3. Squad number19Player nameMbeumo

  4. Squad number6Player nameNørgaard

  5. Squad number24Player nameDamsgaard

  6. Squad number9Player nameSchade

  7. Squad number5Player namePinnock

  8. Squad number12Player nameReguilón

  9. Squad number8Player nameJensen

  10. Squad number23Player nameLewis-Potter

  11. Squad number20Player nameAjer

  12. Squad number27Player nameJanelt

  13. Squad number1Player nameFlekken

  14. Squad number30Player nameRoerslev

  15. Squad number33Player nameYarmoliuk

  16. Squad number7Player nameMaupay

Line-ups

Luton

Formation 3-4-2-1

  • 24Kaminski
  • 16BurkeSubstituted forBerryat 45′minutes
  • 15Mengi
  • 2Osho
  • 12KaboréSubstituted forOnyedinmaat 35′minutes
  • 28Sambi LokongaSubstituted forHashiokaat 71′minutes
  • 6Barkley
  • 45DoughtyBooked at 88mins
  • 18ClarkSubstituted forMpanzuat 81′minutes
  • 14ChongSubstituted forTownsendat 71′minutes
  • 9Morris

Substitutes

  • 1Shea
  • 8Berry
  • 10Woodrow
  • 17Mpanzu
  • 23Krul
  • 27Hashioka
  • 30Townsend
  • 32Onyedinma
  • 38Johnson

Brentford

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1Flekken
  • 20AjerSubstituted forRoerslevat 76′minutes
  • 22Collins
  • 5PinnockBooked at 38mins
  • 12Reguilón
  • 24DamsgaardBooked at 48minsSubstituted forNørgaardat 71′minutes
  • 27Janelt
  • 8JensenSubstituted forYarmoliukat 82′minutes
  • 19Mbeumo
  • 11WissaSubstituted forMaupayat 82′minutes
  • 23Lewis-PotterSubstituted forSchadeat 71′minutes

Substitutes

  • 6Nørgaard
  • 7Maupay
  • 9Schade
  • 13M Jorgensen
  • 14Ghoddos
  • 15Onyeka
  • 21Strakosha
  • 30Roerslev
  • 33Yarmoliuk

Referee:
Jarred Gillett

Attendance:
11,877

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