We delve into the archives once again to look at some of Wanderers’ past trips to Luton Town.
This week we have a cruel injury time twist, Ian Greaves’s side upsetting the odds and Nat Lofthouse putting Bolton one step closer to Wembley!
January 1997, Luton Town 1-1 Wanderers – Denied at the death!
Fresh from the infamous Battle of Burnden, Wanderers found themselves sucker-punched in the FA Cup third round at Luton.
Just as Jamie Pollock looked to have booked safe passage for Colin Todd’s men and a fourth round tie at home to Chesterfield, Hatters defender Marvin Johnson plundered a late leveller to force a replay.
It was a tough one to take for a side that had cruised past Wolves a few days earlier – mascot troubles and all. Luton left it late to keep themselves in the competition and had left it late the previous week when calling the original game off for a frozen pitch.
Faced with crowbarring another fixture into his schedule, Todd admitted his players only had themselves to blame for not seeing the game out.
“The disappointment in the dressing room is there for all to see,” he said. “The players know how close we came to winning the game but we’ll take it in our stride.
“We’ll be up for it when we take them back to our place. There’s no point bleating on about it.”
Wanderers looked to be on course when Pollock scored in the first half, laid on unselfishly by Nathan Blake. It was the midfielder’s first goal after signing from Spanish club Osasuna and came hot on the heels of another fine display against Wolves.
Though they were without Gerry Taggart, who was on international duty with Northern Ireland, Bolton coped with everything Luton threw at them in the second half until the third minute of stoppage time.
American keeper Ian Feuer – all 6ft 7ins of him – came up to cause havoc at a corner, and though he initially looked to have blocked Des Linton’s shot, it bounced fortuitously for Johnson to scramble home from close range.
Wanderers more than made up for the disappointment in the replay, however, winning the game 6-2.
September 1975, Luton Town 0-2 Wanderers – Beating the odds.
Bookies favourites for promotion after dropping out of the First Division, Luton were brought down to earth with a bump by a Wanderers side who were finding their stride early in the season.
After a pair of defeats on the opening two weekends, Ian Greaves was settling into his first full season in charge at Burnden Park and saw his side chalk up a third win in a row at the Hatters’ notoriously tight Kenilworth Road.
“I’m not making excuses,” agreed winger Peter Thompson. “But on a pitch likes this there always seems to be someone breathing down your neck!”
Though they had lost against Coventry City in the League Cup in midweek, Bolton got straight down to business at Luton with John Byrom forcing Keith Barber into a fine save early on.
Barry Siddall kept things tight at the other end, denying Andy King with one athletic save after he had wriggled free of Peter Nicholson on the right side of the penalty box.
Bolton moved ahead on 38 minutes when John Ritson got space on the right and his cross was headed back across goal by Hugh Curran, the ball then bouncing off the unfortunate Paul Futcher and into his own net.
The home side responded and Roy Greaves had to clear off the line from John Faulkner before Sam Allardyce had to put in a goal-saving block on Futcher when Sidall and Nicholson had collided going for Steve Buckley’s cross.
Some decisive football in the 72nd minute earned Wanderers the points, however, with Peter Reid intercepting a free-kick and Bryom switching play quickly to get Chris Thompson in on the left. His ball to Curran was inch-perfect, and the Scot barely broke stride as he passed a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
Siddall made another fine save at the end from Jim Ryan to preserve his clean sheet and Bolton put on what our writer Frank Booth described as an “exhibition of possession soccer” to frustrate the home fans in the closing stages.
February 1953, Luton 0-1 Bolton Wanderers – On the way to Wembley
A quarter-final at giant-killing Gateshead awaited Wanderers in the FA Cup after they negotiated a tough game in the snow at Luton Town en route to Wembley in 1953.
Some of the Bolton fans who arrived early to the game at Kenilworth Road helped to clear the surface before kick-off and ensure nobody wasted their trip.
Nat Lofthouse’s goal was fit to win any game, the England centre-forward showing remarkable touch to cushion a header into the net after a lobbed pass over the top from Wilie Moir.
“It was odd to watch that lob,” Moir later remarked. “After lifting into the air the ball appeared to flatten out in its flight, and carry or drift, exactly the distance Nat needed to time his header for when the goalkeeper would be advancing.”
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