West Ham United have spoiled Luton Town’s delayed homecoming party with a 2-1 victory in the first Premier League match to be held at Kenilworth Road.
The Hatters welcomed opponents to their newly-refurbished stadium for the first time since earning promotion back to the top flight, but goals from Jarrod Bowen and Kurt Zouma saw the visitors take up the role of Kenilworth Road killjoys.
Luton did score their first Premier League goal at home in the dying stages of the match courtesy of Mads Andersen’s header, but that was their first and only shot on target of the contest.
However, they will feel aggrieved at being denied a late chance to equalise from the penalty spot after VAR ruled that James Ward-Prowse had not handled the ball, despite it clearly striking his arm from a corner.
The victory takes David Moyes’s side top of the early table until Saturday at least, having now won three and drawn one of their opening four games of the season – their joint-best ever start to a Premier League season.
Luton, meanwhile, slump to the bottom of the standings on goal difference having failed to pick up a point from their first three Premier League games.
West Ham coped well with the constrained dimensions of the Kenilworth Road pitch in the first half, controlling possession and building pressure before making the breakthrough eight minutes before half time.
The standout Lucas Paqueta was the creator, clipping a peach of a delivery to the back post where Bowen was waiting to convert, although Luton keeper Thomas Kaminski will feel that he should have done better.
In scoring the goal, Bowen became the first West Ham player to net in each of their opening three top-flight away games of a season since Vic Watson in 1930-31.
Rob Edwards’s side did respond well to going behind, but a lack of quality cost them in the final third as Elijah Adebayo snatched at an effort, Carlton Morris sent a looping header onto the roof of the net and Tahith Chong failed to bundle the ball over the line from close range.
The Hammers thought they had doubled their lead six minutes after the restart when Emerson Palmieri fired home, only for their celebrations to be cut short courtesy of an offside against Michail Antonio in the buildup.
Morris then had the chance to level things up late on when the ball fell to him inside the box, but he was thwarted by a last-gasp block over the bar, and moments later West Ham added what proved to be the winning goal.
Ward-Prowse delivered a trademark corner onto the head of Zouma, who rose above the rest to plant his header past Kaminski.
That appeared to put the game to bed, but Luton offered signs of life when they pulled one back two minutes into second-half stoppage time, Mads Andersen claiming the honour of scoring their first-ever Premier League goal at Kenilworth Road when he flicked Morris’s header into the far corner with Luton’s first shot on target of the night.
The clock was still against them, but a late corner provided hope and they will question why they were not awarded a penalty after the ball struck Ward-Prowse’s arm from the subsequent delivery.
That proved to be the final major incident of the match as West Ham saw out the win to move back to the top of the table, one point above champions Manchester City having played a game more.
