It was an afternoon of bittersweet farewells at the London Stadium. This was an emotional occasion for David Moyes, whose final home game in charge of West Ham ended in victory thanks to a stirring comeback, and a deflating one for Luton Town as their relegation was all but confirmed by their failure to build on Albert Sambi Lokonga’s early goal.

There will surely be no catching Nottingham Forest now. Once again, Luton gave their all. Rob Edwards’s side led early and dreamed of a great escape, only for their lack of quality to catch up with them. It spoke volumes that West Ham won despite being well below their best. They had toiled before James Ward-Prowse’s equaliser.

Yet Luton, who are three points below Forest after one win in their past 16 games, were unable to react after being pegged back. Tomas Soucek, a Moyes stalwart and one of the Scot’s best signings, made it 2-1 with a fine strike and George Earthy, one of the academy’s rising stars, added cheer by scoring his first senior goal.

It should be noted that West Ham’s performance during the first half was enough to explain why now is the time to part company with Moyes and bring in Julen Lopetegui. The attack was laboured, the midfield a cavernous hole and an immobile defence an accident waiting to happen, so much so that it did not come as a surprise when Luton went ahead after six minutes of dominance.

The visitors took charge from the start. They played through West Ham, whose only change from their 5-0 defeat to Chelsea saw Ward-Prowse replace Edson Álvarez in midfield, and the danger rose when Ross Barkley was given time to find Elijah Adebayo. West Ham were too open and although Adebayo’s shot was blocked, Alfie Doughty was able to retrieve possession on the left, lift his head and deliver a cross that Sambi Lokonga headed past Alphonse Areola from close range.

Where was the marking? Or the pressure on the crosser? The attempt to close down Barkley? Anyone? Best not to ask. West Ham were flat beyond belief and were slow to respond to conceding their 71st goal of the campaign. The best they mustered before the interval were wayward shots from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen. Moyes, marching straight down the tunnel, will have expected the boos that greeted the half-time whistle.

Luton had to brace themselves for an improvement from West Ham in the start of the second half. Their flow was disrupted when Barkley picked up a knock that forced him to make way for Jordan Clark. A lot was riding on Tahith Chong’s ability to relieve pressure with his driving runs from midfield.

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It was not enough. Poor though they were, it always seemed that West Ham would not have to raise their level too much to break Luton’s resistance.

So it proved when Bowen led a counterattack down the right and flashed a cross into the six-yard box in the 54th minute. Thomas Kaminski saved with his feet but the ball hit Reece Burke and ran to Ward-Prowse, who drew West Ham level with a venomous low shot.

Luton’s body language was telling. The shoulders were slumped and it was not long before West Ham were in front. Michail Antonio, Bowen and Emerson Palmieri had all missed inviting chances before a clearance fell to Soucek, who whacked an emphatic volley past Kaminski from 20 yards.

The game was only heading in one direction. West Ham continued to pour forward and should have wrapped up the points when Bowen found Kudus at the end of a winding dribble, only for the Ghanaian to steer his shot wide.

Luton’s race was run. West Ham attacked again through Kudus. He beat Doughty, wriggled to the byline and produced a cutback. Earthy, who had just replaced Antonio, was waiting to apply the finish. The 19-year-old had not played since suffering a horrible head injury on his debut against Fulham last month. He will have fonder memories of this cameo.

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