Championship: Luton boost survival hopes after late Baptiste winner

Shandon Baptiste’s last-gasp winner saw Luton Town boost their Championship survival hopes with a dramatic 1-0 victory over play-off-chasing Coventry City.

With relegation rivals Hull City and Derby County playing each other later on Saturday, the Hatters took full advantage to climb out of the bottom three after a third straight win.

Coventry, who were looking to consolidate their place in the top six, were reduced to 10 men after just 13 minutes, with last man Jay Dasilva dismissed for bringing down Millenic Alli.

Luton went close to capitalising on their numerical advantage with Liam Walsh hitting the post.

However, the hosts also lost a man midway through the second half; Walsh received a second yellow card after a needless shove in the face of Liam Binks.

Nevertheless, there was to be a twist in the dying moments. Coventry failed to deal with a cross, and Baptiste finished from the edge of the box, with his first Luton goal sparking ecstasy at Kenilworth Road.

Worth the waitpic.twitter.com/Z3ncfK96pR

— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) April 26, 2025

Meanwhile, promoted Burnley boosted their title hopes with a 5-0 rout of QPR.

Scott Parker’s side secured their immediate return to the Premier League last weekend and, with Leeds United not playing until Monday, built on that momentum at Loftus Road.

Josh Brownhill teed up Josh Cullen to break the deadlock from close range after just 10 minutes.

Connor Roberts had a goal disallowed, but Zian Flemming struck twice in the space of eight minutes to put the Clarets 3-0 to the good inside half an hour.

Jeremy Sarmiento added a fourth with a deflected strike in the 62nd minute, while the substitute added a second time in stoppage time to wrap up a dominant victory.

Data Debrief: Three is the magic number for Luton

Burnley extended their club-record unbeaten streak to 32 league matches, while only Reading (33 in 2005-06) have had a longer run in a single second-tier campaign.

As for QPR, they are now without a win in their last six games on home soil.

Meanwhile, Luton have won three successive league games for the first time since March 2023 to boost their survival hopes.

Coventry, who failed to attempt a single shot on target in a Championship match for the first time since May 2023, saw their play-off hopes dented after a fourth defeat in five away league games.