Luton held on to draw 1-1 with Queens Park Rangers, but they’ll be kicking themselves as it really is squeaky bum time at the bottom of the Championship.
They’re now one point from safety – for 24 hours at least – but dust off your abacuses because survival is now not in Town’s hands.
James Collins early penalty had given them hope but they were second best for much of the contest and, now, realistically, Town need to win their final two matches against Hull and Blackburn, for any hope of staying in the Championship.
That was always likely to be the case but, for 65 minutes, the Hatters were 1-0 up and out of the bottom three. They just couldn’t stay there.
The chief reason for that is they could not deal with the pace and power of Bright Osayi-Samuels.
The Rangers ace tormented Town down the left flank, and it was he who cut a swathe through their defence on the counter, leaving Cameron Carter-Vickers for dead and cutting back from the byline for Dominic Ball to fire past four bodies on the goal-line. It had been coming.
That no more damage was done is probably cause for optimism because QPR hogged the football and looked dangerous – but the hosts’ rearguard wasn’t half anxiety inducing.
Not least when Simon Sluga – who’d pulled off wonderful saves to deny Eberechi Eze, Barbet Yoann and, late on, Ilias Chair – dropped a routine ball when Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu got in his way, poked goalwards and it nearly resulted in calamity.
Somehow though, the Croatian palmed it around the post, his net bulged no more and he had to watch as his opposite number Joe Lumley denied Dan Potts with a stunning save in the final knockings.
The visiting keeper had previously breathed a sigh of relief after the left back had headed in a corner, only to see referee Stephen Martin had blown up for Elliot Lee blocking the stopper in the softest way possible.
Though Potts’ shot in added time was the last chance for Luton, it wasn’t their only one as Lee stabbed wide in the first half Harry Cornick again raced through on goal and, though more difficult than his last-gasp miss last week against Barnsley, he could not convert.
It was a case of so close and yet so far, and now Town must go to fellow strugglers Hull City – who got gubbed 8-0 by Wigan, with seven goals scored in the first half – and win to take the great escape to the last day. Fail to beat the Tigers and they could be relegated.
