Coventry City vs Luton Town. Sky Bet Championship.
Wembley StadiumAttendance85,711.
Luton Town win 6-5 on penalties.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship play-off final between Coventry and Luton Town at Wembley as the Hatters prevail on penalties to reach the top flight for the first time in 31 years
Sunday 28 May 2023 08:16, UK
Luton Town will play in the top flight for the first time in 31 years next season after beating Coventry 6-5 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Wembley.
The Hatters, relegated in 1992 in the final season before the Premier League was formed, took the lead in the first half through Jordan Clark in the Championship play-off final, before Gustavo Hamer hit back for Coventry in the second, although the Hatters eventually prevailed in the shoot-out after Fankaty Dabo missed in sudden death.
This was a League Two game as recently as 2018, while Luton have also become the first side to drop from the top division in England down into non-League and back again. They were outside the EFL just nine years ago.
Coventry, meanwhile, will see their 22-year wait for Premier League football go on for at least another year. But that takes nothing away from an incredible season for Mark Robins and his side, who had also completed their own meteoric rise.
Even after losing captain Tom Lockyer - their hero from the semi-final - after he collapsed off the ball early on, it was still Luton who dominated the first half and took the lead on 23 minutes. Elijah Adebayo's brilliant work and silky play saw him beat Kyle McFadzean all ends up before teeing up Clark to power a strike past Ben Wilson.
With Coventry completely outplayed in the first half, Robins introduced Matty Godden at the start of the second to try and switch things up. And the move had the desired impact as Coventry found themselves level on 66 minutes.
Just like Luton's opener it came from a swift counter, as brilliant work from Viktor Gyokeres teed up Hamer, who finished smartly from the edge of the box. It was the first equaliser scored in a Championship play-off final in 11 years.
It was a goal that was enough to take the game to extra-time, and in the dying embers Luton thought they had won it as substitute Joe Taylor capitalised on a Jonathan Panzo error to race through and score, only for VAR to correctly rule that the ball had struck his hand on his way through to find the back of the net.
All 10 penalties were then converted to take it to sudden death. Luke Berry scored Luton's sixth, before Dabo sent his penalty over to send the Hatters faithful wild and their side into the Premier League.
Luton manager Rob Edwards on Sky Sports Football:
"It feels incredible but the only thing I'm thinking of right now is Tom Lockyer. He's been immense for us this season. Health and family is the most important thing and I don't care right now until he is alright - I know he's alright. A few of the guys have spoken to him in hospital. He's getting really well looked after. That's where my head is at the moment. It felt a little bit wrong to celebrate at the time. I just felt emotional.
"I've got to say huge credit to Mark Robins and Coventry, and commiserations. I know how much they've been through and the job he's done has been incredible. It was so tight. You've not been able to separate us over three games, all the way to penalties. He deserves so much credit. The job he's done, I couldn't have done that. I know they'll be back stronger. Unbelievable fanbase, an amazing club. It was our day but I do feel for them as well.
"I am incredibly proud of my group of players. For Locks, who's been our best player this season, to go off after four or five minutes, for the lads then to organise themselves, deal with seeing their captain coming off like that emotionally in this atmosphere on the biggest day they dealt with that so well. Our performance after that in the first half was incredible."
Coventry manager Mark Robins on Sky Sports Football:
"Congratulations to Luton and their supporters, this is about them now. They've been fantastic all season. We gave them a game in the second half, we couldn't have played much worse in the first half. We got a goal and they were starting to rock, you could feel it.
"We gave everything. This has to be fuel for us moving forward. It takes a feeling like this to make the good times feel better. There is pain now but we have to acknowledge it's been a magnificent effort. We've lost one of the last 20 games in normal time, there is no shame in that."
On future of key players such as Gyokeres and Hamer:
"I haven't got an answer now but there is work to do in a rebuilding phase of what we're about to embark upon. We have to let the pain pass first before we talk about what may come in the future.
"Luton lost in the play-offs last season and came back and won. We know how hard the Championship is so we need to build a team to get us back here one day."
Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu on Sky Sports Football after becoming the first player to rise from non-League to the Premier League with the same club:
"I've completed football! I'll retire this summer! It's been a journey, through the highs and lows but you've got to believe in yourself. Here I am, a Premier League player.
"The party is tonight, tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then Thursday - VEGAS!"
Jobi McAnuff on Sky Sports Football:
"Last year Luton had the huge disappointment of missing out when everyone said they over-achieved to even get into the play-offs. To regroup, go again, add to the group with the right personnel and actually be better again - you look at some of the other clubs that didn't even get close to getting into the play-offs - West Brom, Watford - is an incredible achievement.
"[Rob Edwards] might say all the managers that have gone before him laid the foundations, yes, but he had huge shoes to fill. He had a bruising experience at Watford, came back very quickly and clearly identified what he needed to do to make this team better than last year - and he's been able to do that."
Don Goodman on Sky Sports Football:
"Getting over losing in the play-offs is one of the hardest things I ever had to do. You've got to pick yourself up and get yourself through pre-season to go again.
"So for Luton to get over the disappointment of last season, and to get over losing their leader Nathan Jones at the time they did and buy into the new man. It's not always as straightforward as that.
"You buy into somebody because you have a feeling about the way they are. You get first impressions and the first impressions of Rob Edwards are his humbleness and how he wants his teams to play. He's got these boys to buy into what he wants, and the continuation of what was already there.
"All credit to each and every one of them."
Luton's Elijah Adebayo on Sky Sports Football:
"This group is special. We've been practising all week on penalties and stuck to the routine. A special day.
"Days like today are for the fans, especially those that saw the team relegated to the Conference."
Keith Andrews on Sky Sports Football:
"I think the next week could be very, very lively. The players are so humble and I think that goes back to their recruitment. You've got to recruit the right people.
"What they have achieved is absolutely incredible."
Having achieved promotion, Luton will play in the Premier League during the 2023/24 season, which starts on the weekend of August 12-13.
Coventry, meanwhile, will remain in the Sky Bet Championship, which begins a week earlier on August 5-6.
