Don’t let the scoreline fool you – the better team lost.
Luton somehow came away with nothing after dominating Sunderland, seeing Elijah Adebayo break his 11-game duck, raging at a last-gasp penalty shout turned down and having a Carlton Morris goal disallowed, with boss Rob Edwards claiming VAR would’ve overturned the decision rule Jordan Clark offside.
For their part, the Black Cats defended extremely well, but did very little else except time-waste, yet still bagged twice with clinical finishes.
It wasn’t the same story for Town had 19 shots, but only four on target. Yet, in the fullness of time, Edwards and co will know that they did everything else right.
When Adebayo headed in to level after Chris Rigg’s opener, it not only ended a lengthy barren streak, but from the noise around Kenilworth Road, felt like the jump-off point for a famous Town turnaround.
Instead, the striker had little under three minutes to savour his equaliser before visiting winger Romaine Mundle – a peripheral figure for most of the game – slammed into the bottom corner.
Heads did not drop, but both Sunderland goals were preventable from a defensive standpoint and Edwards said: “I feel really, really disappointed at the moment. Credit to Sunderland, they have come away from home and won the game. They’re top of the league for a reason at the moment and they found a way. But, for me and us, yeah, bitterly disappointed.
“I just thought we dominated the game almost from start to finish. I thought the first half was almost entirely in their half, their territory.
“And the way we pressed, they couldn’t really find a way out. That’s where now, though, we’ve got to be more ruthless and try and find a way and be more clinical.
“Whether it’s a cross, whether it’s a decision, a pass, we’ve got to find that extra bit. I thought we had with Carlton’s finish. If we had VAR, then maybe it would have been ruled back in our favour.
“I don’t think Clicker’s (Clark) doing too much wrong at all, but anyway, we didn’t get it. First goals are obviously really important at any level.
“I just think he starts in an offside position on the goalkeeper, but then he’s coming away from it and I don’t think he gets in the way of anybody, or affects anything.
“That’s my opinion, obviously, like always. They’ll (Sunderland) think differently and that’s fine, I suppose that’s football, but I don’t think he affects the play, the direction of the ball, any individual Sunderland player at all.”
Edwards added: “We didn’t do too much wrong tonight. We did a lot right. And after a really big day for us on the weekend, it was probably a little bit of concern from me about how are we going to react now? Is the intensity going to be there again? And the players gave us everything.
“Big thank you to the supporters because they saw that. They were they were brilliant all night.”
They urged Town on to push for late leveller, and Clark swiped an air shot, which was their biggest chance before Kenilworth Road was united in a penalty fury for an Aaron Connolly handball.
Referee Tom Nield was unmoved and Edwards said: “I don’t think it was a penalty. I think it’s just hit his hand but he’s in a natural position, so no complaints there.
“I think Clicker had half a big opportunity right at the end and he’s slashed it, heat of the battle, didn’t realise he had a bit more time. He could even had have a touch, but overall he was very good tonight, so other than Carlton’s offside one, I’ve got no real complaints on anything else.”
But when Nield’s next whistle his final one, chaos ensued.
For his protest, Joe Taylor got booked, as did O’Nien, but for running half the pitch to jump on top of a scuffling brawl of players that saw Morris wrestling to release stopper Thomas Kaminski from the grip of a baying Sunderland mob, which Jobe Bellingham copped a card for.
Morris was also cautioned but Edwards said: “I didn’t see it, do my best Arsene Wenger impression there,” said Edwards, adding: “Look, the lads will want to win. Both sides, both sets of players. But, I don’t think there was anything malicious or anything happened.”
The manager expects both clubs to be punished, but said: “Hopefully, It’s just a letter reminding everyone of their responsibilities, and that’s it, hopefully.”
Beleaguered though Luton’s lap of appreciation was, it was greeted by full-bodied applause and roars from a Kenilworth Road crowd that got the same kind of aggressive, front-footed, all-action performance that saw their Hatters thump arch-rivals Watford at the weekend.
After a difficult start to the season, and this being a setback in the scoreline alone, the positive change in this Town team in the last five days was for all to see, and if they continue in this vein, they will rarely, if ever, suffer the same fate again this term.
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