West Brom 3 Luton Town 2 - Report

Valerien Ismael took charge of Albion at The Hawthorns for the first time and oversaw a remarkable Championship clash against Luton.

For 70 minutes the Baggies were brilliant with a Kal Naismith own goal together with strikes from Callum Robinson and Karlan Grant putting them 3-0 up.

Luton pulled one back when a Conor Townsend error led to Harry Cornick firing in.

Then following a hugely distressing injury picked up by Luton's Jordan Clark - who received oxygen whilst being stretchered from the field - referee Tim Robinson issued 16 minutes of stoppage time.

And in that time, Luton put the Baggies under relentless pressure.

Only an outstanding save from returning goalkeeper Sam Johnstone prevented Admiral Muskwe from scoring.

The Hatters then did get a second with five minutes still to play when Pelly-Ruddock-Mpanzu fired on.

To Albion's credit, though, they defended excellently from that point to claim a win that - after 80 or so minutes really should never have been in question.

Report

Ismael confirmed at his pre-match press conference Sam Johnstone would return to Albion's starting XI for the visit of the Luton.

And that proved to be the case with the England international replacing David Button in goal - with the 28-year-old having recently opened talks about extending his contract at The Hawthorns.

Ismael also opted to make a change in defence where Matt Clarke made his Baggies debut.

Elsewhere, Albion lined up as expected in their 3-4-3 formation.

Darnell Furlong and Conor Townsend operated as wing-backs with jake Livermore and Alex Mowatt the midfield two.

Up front, Callum Robinson was the central striker with Grady Diangana on the right and Karlan Grant on the left.

Luton unsurprisingly kept faith with the team that thrashed Peterborough on the opening day.

Lining up in a 4-3-3 formation, former Walsall man Elijah Adebayo led the line with Fred Onyedinma and Harry Cornick out wide.

Albion showed Ismael demands high intensity from the very first minute with the Baggies absolutely flying out the blocks.

Inside the opening 60 seconds, Robinson saw a powerful 25-yard strike flash wide before Livermore saw a shot blocked.

And in the fifth minute, Albion got themselves in front, albeit thanks to a huge helping hand from Naismith.

Furlong sent in a long throw which everyone expected the centre-back to clear.

But despite not being under that much pressure, the Scotsman glanced a header into his own net.

From that point on, the Baggies really were relentless.

A corner routine straight from the training ground ended with Grant seeing a shot blocked from just six yards.

The excellent Furlong then turned sharply in the box before curling a strike wide.

It really was one-way traffic with the Baggies having had eight shots to Luton's one as the clock ticked past the half-hour mark.

But with Ismael's side continuing to play incredibly high up the pitch, they needed that second goal with Luton, in flashes, looking dangerous on the counter.

The chances for Albion kept coming though, with Clarke having two quick-fire opportunities to grab a debut goal.

First, the defender met a long throw from Furlong only to see his header tipped over by Simon.

Then from a corner, Clarke brilliantly flicked the ball towards goal only to be denied by Sluga yet again.

Luton, though, simply couldn't cope with the pressure they were being put under.

And in the 36th minute, Albion got the second goal their overall performance had more than deserved.

Again an excellent corner from Mowatt caused all sorts of problems in the Hatters' box.

And waiting to nod home at the back post was Robinson for his second goal in as many games.

Ismael's men really should have been further ahead at the interval when Livermore won the ball high before finding Grant.

He charged into the box with a simple square pass giving Robinson a tap-in.

But the former Huddersfield man sent is cross against the legs of a defender.

From the resultant, corner, Furlong saw a header clip the top of the crossbar.

Luton's Jordan Clark picked up a nasty injury in the early stages of the second half after colliding with Johnstone as the goalkeeper went to punch clear the ball.

The former Shrewsbury man received lengthy treatment on the field from both sets of medical teams with Johnstone left visibly upset.

Eventually, Clark was stretchered from the field with the midfielder moving but apparently receiving oxygen.

Albion made it 3-0 shortly after the re-start in a move that started with Mowatt winning the ball high up the pitch.

Robinson then found Grant in the box who turned before calmly holding off Naismith and firing in from close range.

The scoreline at this point didn't flatter Albion at all.

But they gave Luton a lifeline with 20 minutes remaining when Conor Townsend dallied when making a clearance.

That hesitancy saw the ball charged down and ricochet across the area.

And it fell for Cornick who, just yards out, slotted the ball beyond Johnstone and into the net.

It wasn't until the clock ticked towards the 90th minute that Luton truly started to put Albion under pressure.

But with 16 minutes added on due to the treatment received by Clark, they began piling forward with Jones' side producing wave after wave of attack.

They should have pulled a goal back when James Bree sent a wonderfully inviting low cross into the box.

That was met by Admiral Muskwe whose low strike was spectacularly kept out the net by the outstretched leg of Johnstone.

Still Luton came forward and with five mins still remaining they made it 3-2.

A lack of communication between Bartley and Johnstone ultimately led to Mpanzu firing into an empty net.

From that point, though, Albion somehow managed to restrict Luton to very little thanks in part to some excellent defending from Kyle Bartley and the relentless work rate of Mowatt.

Teams

Albion: Johnstone, O'Shea, Bartley, Clarke (Ajayi 84), Furlong, Livermore, Mowatt, Townsend, Diangana, Robinson (Phillips 71), Grant (Zohore 71).

Subs not used: Button,, Kipre, Reach, Tulloch.

Luton: Sluga, Bree, Osho, Naismith, Bell, Campbell (Kioso 74), Mpanzu, Clark (Muskwe 62), Onyedinma (Lansbury 46), Adebayo (Jerome 89), Cornick.

Subs not used: Shea, Mendes-Gomes, Pereira.