“Never too high, never too low” former boss John Still famously imparted on Luton Town and the Premier League class of 2024 are still fighting for their lives, even if a 1-1 draw against Everton has made the great escape feel closer to mission impossible.
Manager Rob Edwards was rightfully proud of his team’s performance, even though, with two games remaining, Luton are realistically looking at snookers as to pull of that miracle.
And yet it was a night that was full of so many positives, bar the crucial result, particularly as back from injury came Elijah Adebayo to score his tenth goal of the season and first in three long, frustrating months.
His expertly taken leveller on 31 minutes helped to spare the blushes of Teden Mengi who conceded a daft penalty. Having beaten a VAR check for one foul minutes earlier, there was no arguing when the video replays showed he’d wrestled Jarrad Branthwaite to the ground, for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to just beat Thomas Kaminski from the penalty spot.
Though the big Belgian was called upon to make a handful of big saves, Luton threw the kitchen sink at the Toffees in the second half, often more in hope than precision, though Tahith Chong was an outstanding menace throughout.
Town ramped up the pressure as the match ticked towards a nerve-shredding finale, with Luke Berry and Andros Townsend both seeing efforts cleared off the line, but it wasn’t to be.
And frustration rang around Kenilworth Road when Town looked to have earned one final corner, but referee Tim Robinson ended the game in inaudible fashion before it could be taken. For a stunned minute the crowd could barely believe what had happened, before they turned their ire on Everton, with a profanity laden chant about their inability to live within the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules.
Edwards said: “We wanted a win, we threw everything at it, we tried, I always say it, you can’t guarantee the wins or the draws, can’t guarantee the result, but you can guarantee how hard you work.
“The performance, trying to do the right things, we did all of that, we stood up to Everton’s physicality really well, their running power. I thought we did really well and then we were the team pushing right towards the end.
“We could be having a different conversation now if the ball had gone a couple of inches we’re talking about, they made a couple of big blocks, but in the end, a draw wasn’t what wanted.
“I was right behind Andros’s one, Bezza’s one happened in a flash, just seeing that one back, I don’t know who made the block for them, they didn’t look like they knew much about it, but it was a great block, very important and (Jarrad) Branthwaite got a bit of a shin or something on Andros’s strike which I thought that might be our moment, but it wasn’t to be.
“That’s why I’m proud of the players, the club, the supporters, who were with us to the very end as well, we went 1-0 down in difficult circumstances on a huge occasion, but we came back, we showed real quality, tried to do all the right things and we don’t know, as we stand, as I’m talking to you right now.
“We’re still in the mix aren’t we, other things are out of our control now and that’s obvious, but we’ll keep going.”
And so Town drew level on points with Nottingham Forest, but still in the drop zone thanks to some considerable goal difference.
It will be all eyes on the Reds’ trip to already relegated Sheffield United on Saturday but, for now, Luton live to fight another day. Just.
Never too high, never too low? We’ll see.
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