Luton succumbed to a controversial 84th Aapo Halme equaliser and then saw Harry Cornick squander a golden late chance for glory in a must-win Championship relegation showdown against Barnsley.
The Tykes’ strike was bad enough, but it was the hope-breaking deja vu scene to follow that has played out over and over again this season, which rubbed salt into a fresh wound that now looks unlikely to heal.
Substitute Cornick raced on to a Luke Berry through-ball and with only the Tykes keeper to beat, fired straight at him. It paved the way for the logical conclusion to a desperately poor quality basement battle and provided the deflating sense that it’s curtains for both of these teams after just one season in the second tier.
Town had it all in their hands after a 13th minute Berry blockbuster – his first of the season, fired in after Elliot Lee had hit the post – had given the host the upper hand, despite being outplayed in the first half.
To say the hosts coped better in the second half, is to downplay how bereft of quality these two teams were as the ball spent large spells in the sky, getting hoofed from one end of the pitch to the other.
But that suited Luton as Barnsley barely threatened. Then, six minutes from time, came the hammer blow. An Elliot Simoes shot appeared to flash wide but referee Dean Whitestone awarded a corner, incensing Town boss Nathan Jones.
And when the visitors piled bodies into the box for the set-piece, Luton failed to clear their lines and Halme poked in from close range.
But if that was bad worse was still to come when Cornick wasted the best chance of the game.
His profligacy in front of goal this season – a desperate problem for a player that has improved so much – won’t be a major reason Town look destined to go down, but it’s a frustrating contributory factor.
Jones vociferously voiced his frustration with Mr Whitestone after the final whistle as players pushed and jostled, but the bedraggled body language from both teams, suggested they both know that a draw now puts them perilously close to the trap door.
