‘I’ve got to bounce back and not let it affect me,’ says Adebayo after Spurs miss

Elijah Adebayo misses a huge chance to take the lead against ten-man Tottenham who went on to win the game
Elijah Adebayo misses a huge chance to take the lead against ten-man Tottenham who went on to win the game. Photo by Liam Smith

Elijah Adebayo says he let his team-mates down in the 1-0 Premier League defeat to ten-man Tottenham, but insists he must now ensure his horrible miss does not affect him. 

The striker passed up a golden opportunity to put Luton in the lead against Spurs but his technique let him down with the goal gaping after Chiedozie Ogbene’s assist provided him with what should have been a simple tap-in. He didn’t take it. 

Adebayo said: “I think if I go (with my) left foot I score. I’ve just gone with the wrong foot and it’s just gone underneath me, but strikers miss and they have to try bounce back. 

“That’s what I’ve got to do, I’ve got to bounce back and not let it affect me too much. Obviously, I let the boys down, but I’ll be working hard in the week to try to rectify that.”

Adebayo’s miss seemed infectious as Alfie Doughty, Jacob Brown, Ogbene and Cauley Woodrow all squandered big chances to take something from the game that had seen Yves Bissouma sent off in first-half stoppage time for diving and getting booked for a second time. 

Adebayo said: “Tottenham are a Champions League team. To be creating the changes that we have against Tottenham is always a plus but I think, when you are taking those chances, you need to take one of them because this league’s ruthless.”

That point was proved by Spurs went down the other end after Adebayo’s miss and scored through Micky van de Ven, after skillful work from James Maddison. 

The former Walsall man admitted: “If I score, I think it’s a completely different game. They’re obviously down to ten men but they take their chance and it makes the game a little bit easier for them because they can sit in their shape. 

“We’re learning every week. We know where we’ve got to improve, that deadly instinct in the opposition’s box. 

“I’m sure it will come over the next few weeks. Now we’ve got some time to reflect and get ourselves together for Nottingham Forest.”