Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer was knocked unconscious but celebrated promotion from afar. And his teammates haven’t forgotten him.
Luton Town have been promoted to the English Premier League (EPL). With the English Football League (EFL) Championship, England’s second tier, all wrapped up, league champions Burnley have already clinched promotion, while second-placed Sheffield United will join the EPL next season. And in the final game of the day, Luton Town beat Coventry City to claim the final ticket to the top flight.
Luton Town battled Coventry to a 1-1 draw in the 2022-23 EFL Championship playoff final at Wembley Stadium in London, England, at 0:45 a.m. ET on Sunday, earning promotion to the EPL for the first time in 24 years on penalties.
Luton Town started the game in a state of flux, losing Tom Lockyer to injury early on. However, the hosts took the lead in the 23rd minute through Jordan Clarke. However, Coventry’s Gustavo Hamer equalized in the 21st minute of the second half to make it 1-1. The game went into extra time with no further goals and the match went to penalty kicks.
It was Luton Town who emerged victorious after the penalty shootout. With five kickers from both teams converting, Luton Town’s sixth kicker, Daniel Potts, converted and Coventry’s sixth kicker, Pankerty Davo, missed, giving Luton Town a 6-5 penalty shootout victory.
Luton Town’s promotion was confirmed and the club celebrated. Luton Town had been in the lower divisions since being relegated to the Second Division in the 1991-92 season, just before the English top flight was reorganized into the EPL. In 2009, they dropped to the fifth tier, but slowly climbed their way back up, eventually earning promotion to the EPL this season, their first promotion in 24 years.
There was another drama in the game. Tom Lockyer, the team’s captain, went down. In the 10th minute of the first half, Lockyer stumbled backwards and fell to the pitch, unconscious. Medics were called in and he was rushed to a nearby hospital.먹튀검증
Luckily, he regained consciousness and watched the rest of the game from his hospital bed. After the promotion was finalized, he celebrated. His father posted on social media, “I’m Tom Lockyer’s father. I’m very happy. But I’m sad that Tom can’t be here with his teammates in this moment. I’m capturing this moment,” signaling his recovery.
Meanwhile, while Lockyer wasn’t there, his teammates haven’t forgotten him. During the post-promotion ceremony, the Luton Town players held up the jersey of their captain, who was unable to be on the pitch.