B’mouth 4 – 3 Luton

Bournemouth completed a stunning second-half comeback to fight back from 3-0 down to beat Luton 4-3 on Wednesday night.

The remarkable result marks only the fifth occasion in Premier League history a team has come from three goals down to win.

In the game replayed after Tom Lockyer’s cardiac arrest during the initial tie in December, the Hatters stormed into a shock 3-0 lead at the Vitality Stadium.

Tahith Chong put Rob Edwards’ side in front, with Chiedozie Ogbene and Ross Barkley extending the lead before half-time, when Andoni Iraola’s players were booed off the pitch by the furious home crowd.

But the second half was a different story. Dominic Solanke pulled one back and Illia Zabarnyi added another, before Antoine Semenyo’s brilliant double finally took the game away from a shell-shocked Luton.

The Hatters were on course to move out of the relegation zone and above Nottingham Forest when they were leading, but instead, they stay 18th, three points from safety with 10 games to play.

Bournemouth, meanwhile, boost their hopes of a first top-half finish since 2016/17 and move to within five points of Newcastle in 10th.

How brilliant Bournemouth won a true game of two halves

It was an emotionally charged night on the south coast, given the reason for the game being replayed, particularly with a fully recovered Lockyer in attendance and able to show his thanks to the medical staff who saved his life.

It seemed to give Luton a boost and they had the lead inside the first 10 minutes, when Jordan Clark darted into the box untracked and hung the ball up perfectly for Chong – who had escaped the clutches of Lewis Cook – to head home just inside the six-yard box.

Bournemouth looked threatening when they came forward to try and restore parity as quickly as possible, with Luis Sinisterra a particular livewire on the left, but Luton piled players back to soak up the inevitable pressure, which provided ample protection for goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski.

The same could not be said for the hosts, who went two behind when Chong’s peach of a pass caught their backline off-guard, allowing Alfie Doughty to stay onside and quickly deliver a square ball that Ogbene converted at the back post.

And, with only their fourth shot of the game, Luton extended their lead in first-half stoppage time. They expertly moved the ball from front to back, with Issa Kabore playing the ball to Barkley, who raced into the box and thumped a shot past Neto before he even had a chance to react.

Bournemouth were booed off at the break and sent out five minutes early for the second half, no doubt after some choice words from Andoni Iraola. Whatever he said worked wonders.

Under five minutes after the restart, Solanke held up the ball after Chris Mepham’s header into the box, skilfully flicked the ball through the legs of Daiki Hashioka and coolly lifted the ball past Kaminski, though a VAR review initially put celebrations on hold.

They had another just after the hour mark, when Zabarnyi’s header crossed the line despite Doughty’s last-ditch hooked clearance off the line – and within two minutes, they completed their comeback.

Semenyo was allowed to cut inside Hashioka onto his favoured left before he unleashed a low drive to send the previously flat home crowd into delirium.

The Ghana international had the final say, too. When substitute Enes Unal slipped the ball through to him, he glided into the box and past Barkley, before lashing in to seal three of the most unforgettable points in Bournemouth history.

Edwards: I don’t want to make excuses – this hurts

Luton manager Rob Edwards:

“We didn’t win enough individual duels [in the second half]. They have either overpowered us or we’ve not defended well enough. I seem to be saying similar things.

“We put ourselves in a good position. Of course it hurts. We had an opportunity to win a Premier League game. I don’t want to make excuses. We had enough quality and to go 3-0 up.

“We gave them the encouragement to get an early goal back. We were the ones to blame. Me. We should have seen the game out.

“We’re still in the fight. Clearly now you start running out of games and the pressure will build. We have got to accept that. But if we win on Saturday, we’re out of the bottom three.”

Bournemouth’s unforgettable night in numbers – Opta stats

• Bournemouth became the fifth team in Premier League history to win a match in which they trailed by three goals, after Leeds United (v Derby in November 1997), Wimbledon (v West Ham in September 1998), Manchester United (v Tottenham in September 2001) and Wolves (v Leicester in October 2003).
• Bournemouth became the third team in Premier League history to win a match in which they trailed by three goals at half-time, after Manchester United (v Tottenham in September 2001) and Wolves (v Leicester in October 2003).
• Bournemouth are the fourth team in Premier League history to avoid defeat having gone 2+ goals behind in consecutive home games, after Liverpool (May 1999), Derby County (September 2000) and Reading (January 2013).
• Dominic Solanke scored his 15th Premier League goal of the season, just the second Bournemouth player to net as many in a single top-flight campaign after Josh King (16 in 2016-17).

What’s next?

Bournemouth must wait nearly three weeks for their next game after the postponement of their Premier League fixture at Wolves due to Gary O’Neil’s side’s FA Cup participation this weekend, which is then followed by an international break.

The Cherries return to action with another game against a relegation-threatened side as Andoni Iraola’s side host Everton on March 30; kick-off 3pm.

Luton, meanwhile, are in action this weekend as they face a crucial home game against fellow relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.

The Hatters then end the month after the international break with a game at Champions League-chasing Tottenham on March 30; kick-off 3pm.

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