FootyChatter.com

Shandon Baptiste's winner came in the final seconds of normal time Shandon Baptiste's 90th-minute winner secured a dramatic victory in a fiery, incident-filled match against Coventry City and took Luton Town three points clear of the Championship relegation zone. Both sides finished a man down with the play-off chasing Sky Blues having Jay Dasilva sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity on 13 minutes. Luton, who now have a good chance of survival following a third consecutive win, piled on the pressure and had numerous chances - twice hitting the woodwork. The game evened up numerically with just over 20 minutes left when Liam Walsh was sent off for petulant shove on Luis Binks. But, having regained their composure, Baptiste took advantage of a mix-up between keeper Brad Collins and Liam Kitching to slot home a priceless winner and spark wild celebrations from boss Matt Bloomfield at a packed Kenilworth Road. Follow Saturday's Championship action The job is not yet done despite Luton moving up to 20th place, as the Hatters have an inferior goal difference to all their closest rivals. But they are level on points with 18th and 19th-placed Preston North End and Oxford United, prior to their 15: 00 BST kick-offs. And Bloomfield's side are now two points ahead of Hull City and three points above Derby County - with those two sides also in action on Saturday afternoon. At the other end of a fascinating division, Coventry's fourth away defeat in five means they remain sixth and their hopes of clinching a top-six will go down to a play-off showdown with rivals Middlesbrough. Hatters keeper Thomas Kaminski, who played despite the death of his father this week, did not have a save to make with Frank Lampard's Sky Blues on the back foot from the outset and managing just three off-target attempts throughout. The pressure never relented, following Dasilva's unfortunate dismissal, he was scampering back towards his own goal but unintentionally tripped Alli, who would have been one-on-one with keeper Bradley Collins, and was sent off. Lampard quickly adjusted his line-up, with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto making way for full-back Jake Bidwell and inevitably Luton looked to exploit the extra man with a typically high-tempo, direct approach. Coventry defended with impressive organisation and determination for the remainder of the half and managed to limit Luton's chances. Carlton Morris headed wide from six yards, Thelo Aasgaard's fierce strike was brilliantly tipped over by Collins, Alli dragged a shot off target and a powerful Lamine Dabo shot was deflected off away from danger. The pattern continued following the resumption as Collins reacted swiftly to block a Morris attempt, and the keeper then made an outstanding save to push Liam Walsh's powerful 25-yard effort onto the crossbar, while a deflected Alli strike hit the post. Walsh's red card - his third of the season - evened up the numbers but after a frantic spell which saw Lampard furious that Luton's Isaiah Jones was not sent off for kicking out, Baptiste ensured a crucial victory that takes the Hatters's tally to 18 points from their last nine games. Matt Bloomfield left a promotion challenge with Wycombe Wanderers to become Luton boss mid-way through the season Luton boss Matt Bloomfield told BBC Three Counties Radio: "The industry we are involved in is going to throw so many challenges your way and you have to try and stay calm and think clearly. "We had the momentum, we hit the post, their goalkeeper has made a couple of incredible saves, but the ball doesn't go in so there's a risk of frustration. "All of those things go into the pot and for us to find a moment right at the end is incredibly pleasing. "Shandon is a boy who is really diligent about his work, I think he's a fantastic player and for him to have that moment after some of the disappointments he's had this year is fantastic. " Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski, remembering his late father: "He was there every day, he pushed me to the limit, he never gave me a day off. "It's thanks to him that I'm here, thanks to him that I've got a career, he was not a man of many words but was direct in his approach for me and my brother. "He watched every game till I was 18, 19, 20, he never missed a training session, he worked at night so he could take me to school and bring me to training, he did everything for me. "For me, it's very difficult, because I used to get a message after the game and I will not get that message any more, but he is with me forever. " Coventry boss Frank Lampard told BBC CWR: "We gave absolutely everything, we dug in with 10 men for a long, long time, I know it levelled out but the effort they put in against a team that goes direct, and cross it a lot, when you're a man down it's a long afternoon and the lads' spirit was brilliant. "It was probably a red (for Dasilva) - he said he didn't mean to but he clips his heels and pretty much every referee, even thought they're hard to predict at the minute, will give those and he was very quick with his card. "There's a great spirit in the group, that's why we've been able to amass points and move up the table because of spirit first and quality second. "It's not easy to change gear from desperation and defending but (after their sending off) we got on the ball in different situations, didn't create massive chances but they should have gone down to nine and I thought the game was ours - but you can't legislate for a late mistake that leads to their goal. " Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 26th April 2025 at 17: 01 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Matt Bloomfield Formation: 3 - 4 - 3 Manager: Frank Lampard Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Matt Bloomfield Formation: 3 - 4 - 3 Manager: Frank Lampard Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Luton have lost just one of their last 10 league games against Coventry (W4 D5), though it was in the reverse fixture in October (3-2). Following their 3-2 win in October, Coventry are looking to complete their first league double over Luton since 2005-06. Luton have won consecutive league games for the first time since September. They last won three in a row in March 2023. Coventry have lost three of their last four away league games (D1), having won four in a row on the road before this. Haji Wright has scored five goals in his last seven Championship appearances, while he also scored Coventry’s 90th minute winner against Luton in the reverse fixture. Match ends, Luton Town 1, Coventry City 0. Second Half ends, Luton Town 1, Coventry City 0. Offside, Luton Town. Carlton Morris is caught offside. Jordan Clark (Luton Town) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Joel Latibeaudiere (Coventry City). Kal Naismith (Luton Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Joel Latibeaudiere (Coventry City). Corner, Coventry City. Conceded by Kal Naismith. Foul by Shandon Baptiste (Luton Town). Matt Grimes (Coventry City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Fourth official has announced 6 minutes of added time. Substitution, Coventry City. Brandon Thomas-Asante replaces Luis Binks. Goal! Luton Town 1, Coventry City 0. Shandon Baptiste (Luton Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Corner, Luton Town. Conceded by Josh Eccles. Attempt blocked. Jordan Clark (Luton Town) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Tahith Chong. Corner, Luton Town. Conceded by Jack Rudoni. Substitution, Luton Town. Tahith Chong replaces Millenic Alli. Substitution, Luton Town. Reece Burke replaces Teden Mengi. Isaiah Jones (Luton Town) is shown the yellow card. Josh Eccles (Coventry City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.