Vinícius winner extends Luton’s pursuit of first Premier League point
They came more in hope than expectation. But while the wait for a first-ever Premier League point goes on after substitute Carlos Vinícius secured Fulham’s first home win of the season, Luton’s supporters still have plenty of reason to feel optimistic despite now occupying bottom spot.
Having conceded nine goals in their first three matches at football’s top table, this was a markedly improved performance from Rob Edwards’ side as it took until midway through the second half for Fulham to find the breakthrough within minutes of Vinícius’s introduction off the bench. Up to that point, it had been the visitors who had created the better chances after weathering an early storm, with Jacob Brown and Amari’i Bell both spurning excellent chances that could have made this a very different scoreline.
Only Bell will know how he failed to provide the breakthrough within seconds of the restart after Brown picked out the left wing-back unmarked on the back post, with Bernd Leno well positioned to make the save from point blank range. Fulham responded by picking up where they had left off in the first half in terms of dominating the ball and saw Palhinha’s header drift just over the crossbar as they mounted the pressure. Luton stuck to their gameplan as they camped out midway in their own half and dared their opponents to try and break them down on a sweltering afternoon by the Thames.
Silva opted to play his hand early by introducing debutant Alex Iwobi and Vinícius off the bench in the 62nd minute and it paid off almost immediately. Willian found some space down the left flank and his teasing ball caught Kaminski in two minds as he could only palm the ball straight into the path of Vinícius, who made no mistake with an instinctive finish. Willian went close to extending their lead as Fulham smelled blood but Luton refused to give up without a fight and saw captain Tom Lockyer head wide in the dying minutes as they ended the day with nothing to show for their concerted effort.
