News / National
Nakamba stars as Luton beats Sunderland to reach Championship play-off final
17 May 2023 at 16:38hrs | Views
WARRIORS star Marvelous Nakamba's resurgence after a forgettable start to the season continued on Tuesday evening after the midfielder reached the Championship play-off final with Luton Town.
The 29-year-old is on loan at Luton from Premier League side Aston Villa, having moved to the second tier side at the end of the January transfer window.
After making 58 Premier League appearances for Villa over three seasons, he has excelled in the Championship with Luton, who finished third in the league.
His team beat Sunderland over two legs to reach the final at Wembley, where he could help the club secure their first ever promotion to the Premier League.
After losing 2-1 away in the first leg, Nakamba's Luton Town secured their win at Kenilworth Road, courtesy of first half goals by defenders Gabriel Osho and Tom Lockyer's strike in the 43rd minute to win 3-2 on aggregate.
The Rob Edwards's coached side are now one win away from securing English Premier League promotion.
They await to play the winner between Middlesbrough or Coventry City in the final at Wembley on May 29.
Nakamba, who has been an ever present feature in the Luton Town starting line-up since his move, made an impressive eight tackles and two interceptions in the play-off semi-final against Sunderland.
His return was more than any other player on the field as he continues to receive rave reviews at Luton.
Reacting to Tuesday's win, Luton Town gaffer, Rob Edwards, who recently described the Zimbabwe international as his favourite player in the world said: "It was everything we want to be, we've got to try to stick to our plan, stick to what we're good at.
"We did that tonight, I'm really proud of the players and so pleased for the supporters and everyone connected to the club.
"It's the first time ever that we've won an EFL play-off game and to come from behind and win it here in front of our supporters was really special.
"We started fast, we knew where our strengths lay and where they might be lacking and took advantage.
"We scored a couple of good goals but we could have had more. It was really obvious, a few cleared off the line and an open goal missed towards the end, it was a really strong performance."
The 29-year-old is on loan at Luton from Premier League side Aston Villa, having moved to the second tier side at the end of the January transfer window.
After making 58 Premier League appearances for Villa over three seasons, he has excelled in the Championship with Luton, who finished third in the league.
His team beat Sunderland over two legs to reach the final at Wembley, where he could help the club secure their first ever promotion to the Premier League.
After losing 2-1 away in the first leg, Nakamba's Luton Town secured their win at Kenilworth Road, courtesy of first half goals by defenders Gabriel Osho and Tom Lockyer's strike in the 43rd minute to win 3-2 on aggregate.
The Rob Edwards's coached side are now one win away from securing English Premier League promotion.
They await to play the winner between Middlesbrough or Coventry City in the final at Wembley on May 29.
His return was more than any other player on the field as he continues to receive rave reviews at Luton.
Reacting to Tuesday's win, Luton Town gaffer, Rob Edwards, who recently described the Zimbabwe international as his favourite player in the world said: "It was everything we want to be, we've got to try to stick to our plan, stick to what we're good at.
"We did that tonight, I'm really proud of the players and so pleased for the supporters and everyone connected to the club.
"It's the first time ever that we've won an EFL play-off game and to come from behind and win it here in front of our supporters was really special.
"We started fast, we knew where our strengths lay and where they might be lacking and took advantage.
"We scored a couple of good goals but we could have had more. It was really obvious, a few cleared off the line and an open goal missed towards the end, it was a really strong performance."
Source - NewZimbabwe
