15 March MW 28
COMEBACK KINGS
Wednesday night’s match at the Vitality Stadium was a highly emotional affair as Luton’s captain Tom Lockyer returned to the ground where he suffered a cardiac arrest a few months before. When all is said and done, Lockyer’s recovery from that terrifying episode is the story of the season and that was rightly the focus of all those who attended the match before, during and after.
The match itself was a humdinger as Luton defied all expectations to race into a 3-0 goal lead at half-time, something they had only experienced once before in their 4-0 thrashing of Brighton in January at Kenilworth Road. If they anticipated to have a comfortable ride to victory over another South Coast club beginning with B, Bournemouth had other ideas.
Within the first twenty minutes of the second half the Cherries had replied with three goals of their own and the match was level. Antoine Semenyo then added his second in the 84th minute that sealed the home side’s remarkable turnaround. Not many sides recover from being three goals down and indeed Bournemouth are only the fifth team to do so in the Premier League.
Leeds were the first team to do so in November 1997 at Elland Road against Derby, although they had clawed back two goals before half-time, but had to wait until the last ten minutes before scoring their third and fourth goals. The following year, Wimbledon won 4-3 at Upton Park having been 3-0 down inside the first half hour.
Arguably, the most memorable recovery came in September 2001 when Manchester United overturned a 3-0 deficit at half-time away at Tottenham before running out 5-3 winners. The last time a side overcame being 3-0 down at half-time was over twenty years ago at Molineux when Wolves stormed back against Leicester City.
IT STARTED WITH A KICK
Advance warning that I’m about to enter the ever-crowded world of podcasts. Early next month “It Started With a Kick” will be its debut. The podcast will be available on all the usual platforms.
The premise is simple as an array of guests, a mixture of well-known fans and leading figures from the world of football share their experience of attending their first-ever match. Having already recorded a handful of episodes with the likes of Darren Fletcher, Seb Hutchinson and Guy Mowbray, it is proving to be hugely enjoyable and illuminating, so watch this space.
The Football Mine 