Luton vs Coventry LIVE: Championship play-off final result and reaction as Luton reach the Premier League
Coventry 1-1 Luton (Luton wins 6-5 on penalties): Luton complete remarkable journey from non-league to the Premier League
Luton Town will play in the Premier League for the first time after beating Coventry City 6-5 on penalties in Saturday’s Championship playoff final at Wembley Stadium, earning a return to England’s top flight after a 31-year absence.
Coventry’s Fankaty Dabo missed the crucial penalty, blazing his shot over the crossbar, to seal the win for Luton following a 1-1 draw, then a goalless period of extra time.
The first 11 penalties of a high-quality shootout were scored before Dabo had the unenviable role of villain as he failed from 12 yards.
Jordan Clark put Luton 1-0 up in the first half before Gustavo Hamer equalised for Coventry after the break and the game headed to a shootout. Luton held their nerve to complete a journey from non-league to the Premier League in just nine years.
Relive the action as Luton beat Coventry in the Championship play-off final.
Luton vs Coventry LIVE: Confirmed line-ups
Luton: Horvath, Drameh, Lockyer, Morris, Adebayo, Nakamba, Mpanzu, Clark, Bell, Osho, Doughty
Coventry: Wilson, Doyle, McFadzean, Kelly, Norton-Cuffy, Allen, Sheaf, McNally, Gyokeres, Bidwell, Hamer.
Luton vs Coventry: Latest build-up
Coventry boss Mark Robins: “The game is one for the romantics because of the journeys both clubs have been on. Luton dropped out of the league when I started my managerial career and found it very difficult to come back from that position.
“It took them five years to get back in and they have had a phenomenal run ever since.
“We are under no illusions Luton are going to be made favourites because they finished 10 points ahead of us in the division.
“Luton are a really good team with some good technical players and have the power to go with that. That’s why they finished third.
“They are a year ahead of us in their development (Luton were play-off semi-finalists last season) and are expected to go up. No one expected us to be in this game.
“But the change of ownership has accelerated our five-year plan by five years. We’ve got to try and and finish this off, but to be in a position to do that is in itself incredible.”
Luton vs Coventry: Latest build-up
Mark Robins has praised Coventry for being “one game away from achieving a dream” at the end of a season in which he accepts he might have been sacked.
Yet Coventry - who played seven of their opening nine league games away from the CBS Arena this season after the Commonwealth Games’ Rugby Sevens wrecked the pitch - were bottom of the Championship on October 19 and still in the relegation zone as November began.
“We are one game away from achieving a dream and changing the club’s future very quickly,” said manager Robins. “This season has been exceptional in terms of the start we were handed and all the well documented issues that we had.
“The fact I remained in post when others didn’t. Bottom of the league in October, it’s generally unacceptable. That’s been something you look back on and say, ‘OK, that could have happened but it didn’t’.
“We managed to navigate our way through a really difficult period and come out the other side. The supporters understood the situation and really backed it, and without them it wouldn’t have happened.
“That’s why it makes it so special because, for me, the biggest achievement since I came through the door is the reconnection between players and supporters and long may that continue.”
Luton vs Coventry: Latest build-up
Luton boss Rob Edwards: “We will have 36,000 or so people behind us so I feel we will be supported even more, I know Coventry will have the same but it will make for a great atmosphere.
“So far this season the lads have risen to these big games and occasions, it’s brought the best out of them and last week (win over Sunderland) is the best example of that. Watford and Sheffield United away too, but hopefully one more and we can perform in the biggest game of them all.
“Hopefully (there will be) the feelgood factor and they (the fans) will have a day out, they’ll hopefully have their best singing voices on and get into the mood.
“A lot of it will be down to our performance I suppose and how it goes on the day during the game with goals and that sort of stuff, what will swing the atmosphere one way or another I am sure.
“Everyone around this club and who is connected to this club, it means so much, to come from where it was to bring it back, there’s a lot of love there, it’s more than just football, it’s people’s lives.”
Luton vs Coventry: Latest build-up
Luton boss Rob Edwards talked up “remarkable” Mark Robins’ success as Coventry manager days before their two sides meet in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
Luton and Coventry are one game away from potentially claiming Premier League status despite both clubs playing in Sky Bet League Two together in 2017. Promotion would spell Luton’s fourth in 10 seasons.
Edwards heaped praise on Robins for Coventry’s resurgence under his management, which has seen them move to within a game of the Premier League.
“What Mark Robins has done with his staff, players and everyone that has helped him as well is remarkable,” Edwards said. “I couldn’t have done that.
“It sounded like it was so tough, especially in those early days of League Two with different stadiums and all sorts of things they had to go through, so he does deserve a lot of credit and he got a lot of recognition this season. So if they do it would be an amazing story for them.
“Both teams were playing each other in League Two not long ago, so it is not the play-off final people would have picked at the beginning of the season - but now it is here and it’s these two teams.
“Both clubs have been through a lot and it’s great for me to be a part of Luton now, to spend time in this position at the right end of the table.”
Luton vs Coventry: Why the play-off final is about more than money
For Coventry City and Luton Town, how do you even begin to quantify the enormity of Saturday’s Championship play-off final?
Financially, of course, the prize is seismic. The winner can expect additional revenues between £170-285m over the next three seasons, depending how long they stay in the top flight. When you consider that both clubs’ annual income is around £17-18m right now, those are transformative, lottery-ticket numbers.
Money is certainly part of the story here. These two clubs have been to the brink and faced serious existential threat. Luton were docked 30 points amid financial woes in 2008-09 and fans still sing about being let down by the FA. Coventry’s holding company went into liquidation in 2013.
But this game is also about the resilience of football clubs, especially those historic institutions that are part of the fabric of their place. It is about how they keep springing back to life however hard they’re trampled, and about what might one day blossom from a lot of graft and a little hope.
Luton vs Coventry big-match preview, by Lawrence Ostlere
Coventry and Luton are proof the play-off final means more than just money
Both Coventry and Luton were in League Two as recently as 2018, now they are a game away from the Premier League and a £285m lottery ticket – but their journeys are proof it stands for so much more
Luton vs Coventry: Odds and prediction
Coventry win 2/1
Luton win 7/5
Prediction
A tight play-off final could be decided in extra time. Coventry 1-2 Luton a.e.t.
Luton vs Coventry: Early team news
Gustavo Hamer has trained with the Coventry squad this week and appears likely to be fit after his decisive semi-final role. Tyler Walker remains absent with an undisclosed injury, but Casey Palmer has made an ahead-of-schedule return to training after initially being ruled out for the remainder of the season. His recovery from a hamstring issue could still force him out of the game.
Luton would appear to be in good health and could well name an unchanged side from the semi-final second leg.
Predicted line-ups
Coventry City XI: Wilson; McNally, McFadzean, Doyle; Norton-Cuffy, Allen, Kelly, Hamer, Bidwell; Sheaf; Gyokeres.
Luton Town XI: Horvarth; Osho, Lockyer, Bell; Drameh, Clark, Nakamba, Mpanzu, Doughty; Morris, Adebayo.
Luton vs Coventry: When is the Championship play-off final?
Coventry vs Luton is due to kick off at 4.45pm BST on Saturday 27 May at Wembley Stadium in London.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage from 4pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via the Sky Go app.
Good afternoon
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the Championship play-off final as Luton Town play Coventry City for a place in the Premier League.
Both clubs were in League Two as recently as 2018 and are looking to complete remarkable journeys with promotion to the top-flight, in what is often known as football’s “richest game”.
Luton were a non-league club just nine years ago but their incredible rise through the divisions means they are just 90 minutes away from hosting the likes of Man City, Arsenal and Manchester United at Kenilworth Road next season.
But Coventry’s story is just as compelling - under Mark Robins they have battled back from the brink and are now on the verge of returning to the Premier League for the first time since 2001.
Only one team can make it on what is set to be a thrilling afternoon at Wembley.
Follow live build-up as Luton face Coventry in the Championship play-off final.
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