Myles Peart-Harris hits late Swansea winner as Luton travel sickness continues

Phil Blanche
Press Association
Myles Peart-Harris scored Swansea’s late winner against Luton (Barrington Coombs/PA)
Myles Peart-Harris scored Swansea’s late winner against Luton (Barrington Coombs/PA)

Swansea piled on the away-day misery for Luton as Myles Peart-Harris struck a stoppage-time header to secure a 2-1 victory for the hosts.

The Hatters seemed as if they would survive the 68th-minute dismissal of Joe Johnson to end a run of eight straight away defeats in the Sky Bet Championship.

But Peart-Harris, on as a 77th-minute substitute, bulleted home a header at the start of seven minutes of added time to move Swansea up to ninth in the Championship – four points from the play-offs.

Carlton Morris had earlier accepted a late Christmas gift from Swansea goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux to put Luton ahead after five minutes before Goncalo Franco levelled matters before half-time.

Luton had not won on the road since beating Millwall in mid-September, but Morris gave them early hope of ending that awful run.

Vigouroux tried to lift the ball over his head. but the keeper’s kick went straight to the Hatters striker, who had time to set up a tidy volley for his seventh goal of the season.

Thomas Kaminski was also in charitable mood at the other end in spilling a Matt Grimes cross, allowing Eom Ji-sung to stab against a post before gratefully collecting at the second attempt.

Swansea built pressure without testing Kaminski as Mark McGuinness snuffed out Ronald’s cross with Liam Cullen waiting to pounce in front of goal.

Eom went down in the penalty area caught by Tahith Chong’s outstretched leg, Cullen headed wide from a well-worked corner routine, and Ronald dragged a shot when well placed.

The pressure eventually told from a 38th-minute goalmouth scramble, with Franco again the right place having opened his Swansea account on Boxing Day.

Cullen had an effort blocked and Kaminski pushed out Ronald’s follow-up effort, but Franco beat a posse of Hatters defenders to the loose ball from two yards out.

Ronaldo planted Eom’s cross onto the roof of the net, and Swansea had another penalty appeal turned down after Florian Bianchini went down theatrically under Tom Holmes’ challenge.

McGuinness failed to make proper contact with a half-chance as Luton sought to profit from the withdrawal of the influential Franco, who left the action through injury and in a flood of tears.

There was an even clearer sight of goal at the opposite end when Harry Darling was left unmarked from Grimes’ free-kick and Kaminski leapt to his right to push the point-blank header to safety.

Swansea put the Luton goal under siege after Johnson, cautioned in the first half for dragging down Ronald, suffered the same fate for stopping Eom’s burst.

Cullen drove wide before Grimes swung over a cross that Darling headed across goal for Peart-Harris to deliver a timely second Swansea goal since joining on loan from Brentford – and leave Luton only four points above the relegation places.

Tags

ChampionshipLuton TownSwansea