Luton Town vs Hull City. Sky Bet Championship.
Kenilworth RoadAttendance10,061.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Luton Town and Hull City at Kenilworth Road as the Hatters played out a goalless draw ahead of their play-off semi-final against Sunderland.
Monday 8 May 2023 18:35, UK
Luton and Hull played out a goalless draw in their final game of the Sky Bet Championship season at Kenilworth Road.
With the Hatters having already qualified for the play-offs in third place, and the Tigers safe in mid-table, Luton boss Rob Edwards made eight changes.
It was the visitors who had the first openings, as after completely dominating possession in the early stages, Adama Traore's two efforts were deflected behind for corners.
Hull then had a glorious opportunity when Sonny Bradley's weak back header was picked up by Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, whose effort was deflected onto the post by the recovering Luton captain after he got back in the nick of time.
Town had their first opportunity of note on 20 minutes, Luke Freeman's attempt taking a deflection off a defender and bouncing up for ex-Hatters loanee Matt Ingram to gather comfortably.
With half-time looming, Luton had their best chance of the half when Jordan Clark and Alfie Doughty combined for the latter to send in a terrific cross that was met by Joe Taylor, his header repelled by a terrific save from Ingram.
Play quickly transferred up the other end, as Traore had a crack from a 25-yard free-kick which was excellently palmed away by the recalled James Shea.
After the break, Tigers captain Lewis Coyle tried his luck for City, his ambitious half-volley flying well wide from the edge of the box.
Luton substitute Henri Lansbury fired over the top from range, before City had a chance to break the deadlock, Sayyadmanesh slicing off target after the ball dropped to him invitingly in the box.
With Town changing five of their players during the second period, one of the substitutes, Luke Berry, then almost scored the goal of the season.
The midfielder burst away to latch on to a clearance, trying to beat Ingram from just inside the City half, his effort only narrowly failing to come down in time.
Freeman tried to earn his side a winner with five minutes to go, shanking over the top from 25 yards.
Most of the excitement came from elsewhere though, with Millwall throwing away a 3-1 lead to lose 4-3 to Blackburn and Sunderland triumphing 3-0 at Preston to ensure it was the Black Cats who Luton will take on in the play-offs starting at the weekend.
Luton's Rob Edwards:
"Today was about resting key players, let's be honest. It was about making sure we didn't risk anyone unnecessarily and it was about giving some players some game time as over the next couple of games, if they're needed, we want people up to speed, so I think it was twofold and overall it was a successful day. I want to say well done to (Hull manager) Liam Rosenior and what they've done this season as well because he's building a good style there and they're difficult to go and press at times.
"For some of the lads who haven't played that much, to do a lot of double runs and a lot of pressing was good and also when we had the ball, especially in the first half, we showed some good control, and were brave with it. We did create one or two decent chances and moments but the game fizzled out a little bit towards the end."
Hull's Liam Rosenior:
"The final game sums up where we are. We played some breathtaking football at times, I was pleased with the first two-thirds of our game in terms of our build-up, we caused problems, they had to change everything, which is what teams are having to do against us. But when we got into the final third into some unbelievable positions, it just fizzled out, and that's no disrespect to our players, I've got no strikers.
"In those critical moments against very good teams you need that cutting edge and that's something I'm going to work really, really hard in the summer to address. They had one chance where Matty's made a really good save from the header from a cross, I can't remember another real threatening moment in the game for us. There's a lot of positives to build on, anyone who understands the game can see I've got a group of players who completely understand the way we want to play. We're building, so there's a lot to be excited about."
You can follow all of the Sky Bet Championship play-off matches live across Sky Sports.
Semi-final first legs
Saturday May 13, 5.30pm - Sunderland vs Luton
Sunday May 14, 12pm - Coventry vs Middlesbrough
Semi-final second legs
Tuesday May 16, 8pm - Luton vs Sunderland
Wednesday May 17, 8pm - Middlesbrough vs Coventry
Final
Saturday May 27, 4.45pm - Luton or Sunderland vs Middlesbrough or Coventry
Each match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Football, while there will be full digital coverage and free in-game clips on skysports.com.
