Tottenham Hotspur vs Luton Town. Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur StadiumAttendance61,534.
Report and free match highlights as Tottenham complete comeback home win over relegation strugglers Luton; Heung-Min Son scores late winner to get Spurs' Champions League hopes back on track; Tahith Chong gave Luton shock early lead; Issa Kabore own goal brought Spurs level
Saturday 30 March 2024 20:35, UK
Heung-Min Son scored a late winner to get Tottenham's Champions League qualification hopes back on track with a 2-1 comeback win over relegation strugglers Luton.
The Spurs captain's 86th-minute deflected strike kept Ange Postecoglou's side three points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa - who later saw off Wolves - while the South Korean became the fifth highest goalscorer in the club's history with his 160th goal.
Luton, who drop into the bottom three, threatened a shock result at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when Tahith Chong scored a third-minute opener.
But half-time substitute Brennan Johnson made an instant impact to provide the cross which Luton defender Issa Kabore turned into his own net in the 51st minute.
Spurs looked to be heading for a damaging draw as one of the closest goal-line technology decisions in Premier League history denied Johnson in the 78th minute, with the ball just millimetres from going in after Alfie Doughty's clearance from behind the line.
But Son's late heroics rescued a relieved Spurs, who bounce back from their disappointing defeat at Fulham, while Luton drop to 18th with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest ahead on goal difference.
The two-week international break had been a contrasting one for both teams with Tottenham stewing on their poor defeat at Fulham, while Luton climbed out of the relegation zone thanks to Nottingham Forest's four-point deduction following their breach of Premier League profit and sustainability rules.
Luton immediately took advantage of their newfound momentum and a poor Dejan Kulusevski pass to grab a shock third-minute lead through Chong.
Kulusevski's loose ball allowed former Tottenham winger Andros Townsend to launch a counter-attack as he crossed for Ross Barkley who then squared for Chong to fire home into the bottom corner and stun the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Chong's goal was the earliest Tottenham had conceded at home in the league for a decade but it was nearly cancelled out in the 15th minute as Timo Werner put his finish wide of the far post.
Spurs' frustrations grew even further four minutes later when an incredible passage of play saw Son round Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski only to hit both posts with Werner's follow-up blocked and then Pape Sarr's shot cleared off the line by Teden Mengi.
Spurs struggled to create any more meaningful chances in another scoreless first half for Postecoglou's side - their eighth in their last nine first halves - which unsurprisingly led to boos at half-time.
Postecoglou made a half-time substitution as he introduced Johnson for Kulusevski and the Welshman made an instant impact to help Spurs level in the 51st minute as his low cross was turned in by Luton defender Kabore.
The equaliser kicked Spurs into gear with Kaminski much busier in the Luton goal as he initially denied Son's first-time shot before clawing away Pedro Porro's deflected cross at his near post.
Kaminski's opposite number Guglielmo Vicario was then forced into action as the Spurs goalkeeper produced a superb low save in the 64th minute to keep out Jordan Clark's fierce strike.
Postecoglou's substitutions nearly worked immediately again as Giovani Lo Celso came off the bench to cross for Johnson but his close-range effort was saved by Kaminski and then incredibly cleared off the line by Doughty, with the ball just millimetres from crossing the line.
There was more drama, though, as Spurs eventually found a late winner. Werner led a counter-attack which saw him cross for Johnson who then teed up Son to fire home and give the home side a crucial win in the race for Champions League football.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou in his post-match press conference:
"I thought the performance was good. I think we made the game pretty difficult for ourselves.
"We certainly had enough chances and we controlled the game pretty much from start to finish, but obviously when the scoreline is as it is, disappointing goal we conceded - that was the highly disappointing point of the day and I just thought it was preventable.
"But aside from that I thought the lads handled it really well in the second half. There was a bit of anxiety around the place, every game now for every club has that extra significance, but I thought the lads stayed really calm during that process, kept playing our football, kept probing and eventually got their rewards."
Luton boss Rob Edwards in his post-match press conference:
"I feel sick right now. Tottenham are a brilliant team, a fantastic manager and really good players but to lose so late from our own attacking set-piece is difficult to take right now.
"I've got to give the players so much credit. To be competitive with the amount of players we're missing, the lads deserve a lot of credit.
"The effort was there and played really well when we could. Tottenham are right up there with Liverpool for quick regains so I can't fault the lads. We made some mistakes but the effort was amazing and to push them all the way."
Tottenham travel to West Ham on Tuesday, kick-off 8.15pm, in a London derby, before hosting Nottingham Forest a week on Sunday, live on Sky Sports with kick-off at 6pm.
Luton stay in north London as they travel to Arsenal on Wednesday night, kick-off at 7.30pm - before hosting Bournemouth at Kenilworth Road next Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.
