Leeds Utd 1 Luton Town 0: Cresswell keeps Leeds believing in salvation

Leeds have never encountered more desperate times than these, and they will cling to any thread of hope that their soap-opera season will not end in the darkest moment of their history. Thus, Richard Cresswell's 51st-minute match-winner yesterday, combined with a penalty save by the goalkeeper, Casper Ankergren, inside the last five minutes, will be talked up, at least for the next day or so, as the moment, perhaps, that the wheel began to turn. There is a precedent.

Leedsescaped from a similar predicament 45 years ago, when the prospect of slipping into the League's third tier for the first time was avoided on the last day after an unbeaten run that began, as it happens, with a home win on 10 March.

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Dennis Wise, the manager charged with emulating Don Revie's achievement of 1962, will embrace any coincidence going. "This is a massive three points for us," he said. "You hope it will be a turning point, although when you have a high you can soon be brought back down to earth, and we have an important game at Leicester on Tuesday."

Leeds remain bottom of the Championship, although the gap between themselves and safety is reduced from five points to two. Luton, with one win in 13, slip into the bottom three on goal difference.

Leeds hit the woodwork three times in the first half when Luton, resembling security guards in their fluorescent orange strip, rarely ventured from their own half. But their cordon was breached when Cresswell, running on to Jemal Johnson's flick, turned to place a diagonal shot past Marlon Beresford.

Luton were obliged to attack now, and when Leeds' on-loan midfielder Radostin Kishishev spoilt an otherwise exemplary and inspirational performance by bringing down Leon Barnett in the 85th minute, it seemed they were about to seize a lifeline. But the Luton substitute Dean Morgan hit a poor penalty, and Ankergren smothered the kick.

Meanwhile,the feud between chairman Ken Bates and Melvyn Levi, the former director accused by Bates of blocking the takeover of the club by his consortium, developed further. Bates used his programme notes yesterday to continue his attack, although Leeds' lawyers presumably had misgivings, requiring staff with felt-tip pens to black out two particular lines in 8,500 copies.