Luton Town can begin to look up the table once more after late heroics saw them win late on against Derby County.
In a very topsy-turvy game, The Hatters salvaged three points after being 1-0 down just a minute before the end of normal time thanks to some fortune in a devastating blow for Paul Warne’s side.
The game really kicked into gear in the second half, with the first 45 minutes being a drab affair and seeing just one attempt at goal from County, whilst Town did have some efforts but were largely blocked by The Rams’ defence and yet again showed their ineffectiveness in the final third this season.
After a bright spell after the restart for the home side at Kenilworth Road, Derby found the opener with a brilliant header from Kayden Jackson that left Thomas Kaminski flat on his feet.
Luton then began to pile forward, with Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo coming narrowly close, with the former’s effort forcing County keeper Jacob Zetterstrom into action. Important changes came for Rob Edwards, bringing on Cauley Woodrow and Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu onto the pitch with 20 minutes to go in search of a leveller.
It would be the Congolese midfielder who played the key part in securing that important goal, hammering an effort from outside the box following a clearance. It ricocheted off of Tom Holmes’ back, leaving Zetterstrom hopeless and sending Kenilworth Road into raptures.
Just minutes later it would be Morris that sealed an unlikely comeback in the dying embers. He swung at the rebound from Adebayo’s shot and with a deflection off the helpless Sonny Bradley, sealed the win and left Derby on their feet.
The result lets Town leapfrog their opponents tonight and opens up an eight-point gap on the bottom three ahead of the rest of the weekend’s Championship action. They face Bristol City on Boxing Day and could enter the top half with a positive result at Ashton Gate.
Writer’s View
In a season where Luton have been very poor, it is a result they badly needed to get back on track. Further dropped points at this stage of the season would have effectively ended any remote hopes they had of a promotion bid so to seal a very late win like that will do them the world of good. The important thing now is to carry that positivity forward and against Bristol City is a good chance to do this, along with a few other fixtures in a short timeframe. Consistency is key and the run of games between now and February do look very manageable for them to find some form.
