Two late, late deflected goals from Tom Holmes and Carlton Morris saw Luton snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and turn boos into cheers.
And, just like that, courtesy of a Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu banger and the hand of Derby’s Curtis Nelson, a nightmare before Christmas transformed into a festive miracle.
The moment Tahith Chong lost sight of Rams scorer Kayden Jackson in the 58th minute, the bullets of dissatisfaction had been loaded into the gun preserved for the Hatters shooting themselves in the foot this term.
County hadn’t registered a shot on target in a drab and scrappy first half and, all of a sudden, they were in front. Cue the jeers from a Kenilworth Road crowd that has been turned into a pressure cooker simply because of Town’s travel sickness this season.
Performances are a secondary priority behind results at present, but it wasn’t pretty viewing as two teams showcased to the Sky cameras a lack of quality.
For now, though, because of a grandstand finish, two goals in three last-gasp minutes, sent Hatters home happy.
Luton boss Rob Edwards said: “(I’m) full of relief, proud of the lads to find a way to win, really difficult, I feel for Paul Warne as well, I know what he’s feeling and going through, a lot of emotions, but relief and I’m just proud of the lads for keeping going and finding a way somehow.
“The pitch is difficult at the moment. We’re up against a team that is organised and physical and lots of free kicks, it’s in the air, hard to get the ball down, no real rhythm, horrible to watch, it was horrible to watch. I felt it as well, so I can understand why there would be a difficult atmosphere, but a good spirit, subs made an impact.
“At that stage I didn’t know what to think, I just thought wed played all our cards and hoped, we know especially here, we can always get a chance, whether it’s a set-piece or whether we can get it out to one of the wide players and get a decent cross in, but you hope.”
The hero, judging by the reemergence of his long-lost song and the grateful hugs from his team-mates, was Mpanzu.
His last outing, a five minute cameo, came a few days shy of a month ago, while prior to this clash, Edwards had admitted how hard it has been to leave the midfielder sat on the bench where he’d languished for all but 95 collective minutes across six appearances.
The clamour for the 11-year Hatters veteran will be deafening now. Not least because Luton rarely exuded control in the midfield, though there were some nice touches for a resurgent Jordan Clark.
In a team that is struggling to find their groove, Mpanzu represents, for the fanbase, a decade-long period of history-making success, that can only be a benefit. This finish will only strengthen that feeling.
And, considering Town’s struggles this calendar year, the goal what swung it in this game will forever be a trademark ‘Pelly Banger’, even though it careered into Derby’s net off the backside of Holmes. Talk about the proverbial goal off someone’s arse!
But then came the hand of Nelson. First, Adebayo saw a shot superbly saved by Jacob Widell Zetterström – who had previously pulled out an unreal save to stop Morris – but the ball fell to Morris who’s shot took a wild deflection off the lunging Ram’s hand. Kenilworth Road erupted in a mirror image of perhaps what was waiting had the Hatters not found two goals, seemingly out of nowhere.
Even so, Luton had the chances to win it in the first half, but Adebayo and Morris both headed wide when well-placed.
When they didn’t take them, Jackson’s opener came served with an almost inevitable sense of told-you-so.
Two saves from Thomas Kaminski either side of County’s goal kept Town in it until the first wave of the cavalry – Mpanzu, Zack Nelson and Cauley Woodrow – was deployed on 69 minutes.
Still, Warne claimed that Town looked like they had “run out of ideas” – but that the last six minutes was like watching a “schoolboy” match.
Well, the ending certainly had Hatters giddy as kids on Christmas morning.
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