Great result. Luton played very well first half but should have had their keeper sent off for flattening Vetokele. In the second half we were all over them like a cheap suit. Penalty looked a bit soft but Vetokele and Taylor's second were first class. To all those people not going get along there and cheer the boys on.
Fantastic second half performance. Outstanding performances from Sarr and Bielik, with Cullen and Taylor close behind. Phillips had his easiest 45 of the season. 6 of the starting eleven are due to leave at the end of the season, which makes it an incredible achievement by Bowyer, who is also out of contract.
The best atmosphere I have seen inside the Valley in the last 4 years. After a slow first half, with Aribo struggling and Phillips kicking us into trouble, we went behind to a fine Luton strike. Taylor hit the crossbar for us. We came out a different team in the second half, and roared on by a packed and vociferous Covered End, scored three goals in quick succession. A soft penalty, a smart finish by Vetekole after good work by Bielik (MOM), and the a star jump finish by Lyle Taylor. Luton went down to ten men but it should have been nine, their keeper should also have seen red for a terrible first half foul. The fans were magnificent today - I have a feeling that we are going to win our last 4 games and finish on 91 points...but will that be enough?
Proper celebrations with all goals like being back on a terrace again. This is such a fun season I am loving it, be great to nick 2nd as not sure I could handle the stress of playoffs Anyway time for sippage to wallow in the warm glow of victory
Momentum suggests that we could do it, this was THE game we needed to win. However, the odds are against us as we must win all four games and that is a tough ask. That aside, we will be going into the play-offs on a massive up surge so things are looking good. Enough of this s***, I'm off to the Two Doves.
Back to the Luton game. @ForestHillBilly and I were commenting at half time about Dillon's terrible kicking yesterday (certain try hards on CL have already made it a "boo boy" subject zzzzzz). Two or three times he needlessly put his defenders under pressure with under hit passes out from the back. Opposition scouts will pick up on this if Dillon is not careful - put pressure on him and you will get chances. He urgently needs to work on this aspect of his game over the summer, because his shot stopping ability is top class. Joe Aribo took too long to get into the game yesterday, and I suspect he got a rocket from Bowyer at half time. If he aspires to play at a higher level next season (its unlikely to be with us) then these are the sort of games that he needs to put his stamp on. He could learn from Bielik, who was outstanding in the second half in the way he won the ball and carried it forward. The big difference between Bielik and the likes of Fosu, Williams and Aribo is that he uses his possession to create dangerous goalscoring chances. The Pole will be a huge loss to our midfield next season.
Dillon's kicking has always been suspect. Same when he was in the u-18's. Maybe he should resort to the old fashioned way of lumping it up the park from hand. We've got a good goalkeeping coach and they must have worked on it. Aribo seemed to be doing just enough to get by. Better in the second half, but I don't remember him getting into the box. Maybe his mind is elsewhere.
When Taylor went down like a sack of potatoes after minimal contact the ref had the choice of giving us a penalty or giving Taylor a second yellow. Fortunately he bottled that one as well. Mind you we had a much stronger shout for a penalty turned down when Williams was taken out in the box.
City were in a totally different class. The score doesn't do them justice. It was as though they had two extra players.
I hope that City win the title. It is amusing the longer it goes on that a big boy does not win the league(since 1990 with the scousers).
The only risk for City now is that their game in hand is away at Man Utd Please United - Roll over and don’t let those Scouser bastards win it
Danny Murphy has an influence on who I would like to see win the Premiership this year! …. Comm'on Pep However, the Scousers do have a much easier run in
Not bovvered who wins the title, although I loved it when Leicester won it. The so-called Champions League has made a farce of the Premier League. The gulf in class between top and the rest is ridiculous, so much so that it considerably lessened the pleasure in seeing Palace beaten, compared to when I saw Southampton beat them. City play beautiful football, but their team and manager are bought by Arab oil money, they have a fantastic Academy but don't play their own despite hoovering up any promising kids who play well against them, same as the other CL clubs do. Good luck to their fans though, who mostly come from Manchester, unlike their neighbours'.
