Luton pay the penalty as Huddersfield climb to third

Huddersfield climbed to third in the Sky Bet Championship table and maintained their slim automatic promotion hopes with a 2-0 victory over Luton.

A beauty from Jon Russell gave the hosts a slender lead after 59 minutes, which was kept intact when Hatters striker Elijah Adebayo skewed a penalty wide shortly afterwards.

And Naby Sarr came off the bench to wrap up the important victory, when he lost his marker and headed in a corner in the final minute of the 90.

Carlos Corberan’s Terriers are now four points behind second-placed Bournemouth – albeit having played two games more – while Luton remain fifth, two points above seventh-placed Blackburn with five games to play.

How Huddersfield made a statement in the promotion race

As a flurry of hailstones poured down upon the players, it was Huddersfield who settled the quickest at the John Smith’s, passing with purpose and pressing with intensity.

That brought chances, the best of which fell to Danel Sinani, whose close-range shot was beaten away smartly by James Shea after Lewis O’Brien and Russell had blazed over from distance after being urged on by the crowd.

Luton boss Nathan Jones was forced to make a change just after the half-hour, with stalwart Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu helped off the pitch with an unspecified leg injury; his replacement Robert Snodgrass almost created the opener, when he found the otherwise quiet Harry Cornick, who dug out a low drive that was pushed away by Lee Nicholls.

Mere seconds after Henri Lansbury had been taken off in another injury blow for Luton, Huddersfield struck in style when Russell waited for the opportune moment to strike Pipa’s throw – and when he did, he lifted the ball beautifully over Shea and into the bottom left corner.

The visitors piled bodies forward in an attempt to try and force an equaliser and almost got it when James Bree was caught by Danel Sinani in the box, but against the backdrop of intense booing, Adebayo fired wide of the left-hand upright.

But it was Huddersfield who applied the killer blow in the 89th minute, when Sarr arrived in the box untracked to connect with a Sorba Thomas cross and head over the line, via a touch from Shea.

What’s next?

Both teams are back in action on Good Friday, April 15. Luton host Huddersfield at Kenilworth Road at 12.30pm, while Huddersfield take on QPR at the John Smith’s Stadium at 5.30pm.

Both matches will be available to watch live on Sky Sports Football.