Derby County vs Luton Town; Sky Bet Championship
Derby County vs Luton Town. Sky Bet Championship.
Pride Park StadiumAttendance32,159.
Derby County 0-1 Luton Town: Millenic Alli boosts Hatters survival hopes with massive win over relegation rivals
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County and Luton Town on Good Friday; Millenic Alli scores to boost survival hopes for Hatters at home of relegation rivals.
Friday 18 April 2025 15:39, UK
Millenic Alli's early strike handed Luton a lifeline in their battle for Championship survival as they beat fellow strugglers Derby 1-0 at Pride Park.
Matt Bloomfield's men remain in the relegation zone, but the away win means they are now behind their 21st-placed opponents on goal difference alone with three games to go.
John Eustace's side recovered from a difficult start to eventually seize control of the contest. But they were unable to fashion the equaliser they probably deserved with Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski making several important saves.
It was no surprise to see Derby and Luton show signs of nerves in what was a game of critical importance to both their seasons.
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But Alli gave the visitors a huge confidence boost when, in the 10th minute, he fired past Josh Vickers from close range after Mark McGuinness had guided a corner back across the box.
It was the midfielder's second goal since leaving Exeter during the January transfer window.
Derby, who had seen Marcus Harness waste a promising opportunity moments after kick-off, quickly suffered another setback.
This one came in the shape of an injury to Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, who proved unable to continue due to injury in the 15th minute.
Already without his first choice goalkeeper Jacob Zetterstrom, the 33-year-old winger's exit forced Eustace to make another adjustment which had the expected effect upon his team's rhythm.
Luton should have taken advantage of that midway through the first period, when Derby's rearguard failed to deal with a long punt forward by Kaminski. But Lamine Fanne, seizing possession inside Vickers' area, wastefully thrashed over the crossbar.
Derby finally began to apply some pressure just before the interval.
Centre-back Matt Clarke might not be the most prolific player at Eustace's disposal but it was his presence which forced Christ Makosso to make an important clearance following a scramble in the box.
Soon after, Jerry Yates saw a shot deflected behind for a corner as Luton began to wobble.
The break did not stall Derby's momentum, with Kane Wilson and Yates both seeing attempts blocked in quick succession.
Those efforts, even though neither reached Kaminski, saw doubts begin to creep back into Luton minds.
Kaminski was called into action just before the hour mark when Yates burst into the area and his shot was parried. McGuinness then cleared a follow-up drive from Harness off the line.
Derby continued to dominate the second half as they looked for a crucial equaliser to maintain the three-point gap between the teams.
But substitute Kayden Jackson saw a low shot turned away by Kaminski after wriggling clear of his marker and the hosts could not find a way through in seven minutes of stoppage time.
The managers
Derby's John Eustace:
"I'm disappointed to lose the game and we looked a little bit anxious at the beginning. We didn't get on the front foot.
"In the second, I couldn't fault them. We had a full house behind us and we changed a few things during the interval, making slight changes in midfield and further forward.
"We just told the lads to forget about everything and not worry about the situation. Just to go out there and play their game. They did that and, genuinely, I couldn't fault their attitude at all.
"Listen, goals change games and we had some opportunities. We have spoken about the need to be more clinical in the final third and, at times of late, we have been. It's just about getting that consistency.
"It was an opportunity for us to get three important points and obviously we didn't. So there was a lot of disappointment in the dressing room. But we've got an opportunity in the next game to do that and so we've got to get straight back to it."
Luton's Matt Bloomfield:
"Our results have been very good away from home. We knew this was going to be a tough game here but we knew we could win.
"In the first half, I thought we were excellent and played so well. In the second, we had to weather the storm a bit but we did that to a man. I thought we defended incredibly when we needed it.
"We didn't actually ask for anything other than a performance today. If you put in match-winning performances then the victories are surely going to follow.
"But nothing is done yet. We are in there fighting and we have given ourselves a chance.
"I keep getting asked when the picture at the bottom will get sorted and I don't know. It could go right down to the wire and I think it probably will."
