“We are us,” said Rob Edwards after Luton drew a helter-skelter match of pure mayhem which saw them twice peg Newcastle back in a four-goal first half, take a two-goal lead and then get reeled in to take a memorable point.
It perhaps should have been three, but both teams will have felt deserving. From the Hatters’ perspective, Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo scored within three minutes of each other to make it 4-2 and momentarily stun Newcastle.
Hopes of a first league win at St James’ Park since 1937 were quickly extinguished by Kieran Trippier and Harvey Barnes, with defensive errors for both.
But this was not a game to lament laboured defending. It was a goal-fest of epicly pulsating proportions by two teams showing no quarter. And for Luton, that in itself is remarkable.
Edwards’ side are positively unrecognisable from the team that started their first-ever Premier League campaign in September with five defeats and a draw.
The fact they they’ve now taken four points this term from a team that played Champions League football this season – and can feel somewhat disappointed not to complete a double – shows the staggering improvements that have been taken place.
“I’m pleased because we gave it absolutely everything. We were us and that’s all I can ask the players to do,” said Edwards.
“I asked them at the beginning of the game to be brave, be us, be committed to what we do and believe. Those are the four things I wrote up today when I was speaking to the lads before we left the hotel, and I thought we showed all four of those things.”
When Luton go behind, as they did here to the first of a Sean Longstaff double, they do not shrink. Gabriel Osho levelled things up and though that only lasted two minutes before the Magpies man restored the lead, the impressive Ross Barkley started and ended the move that evened things up again by the break.
And in showing no fear in attack, Town are now turning themselves into killers. Having thumped Brighton for four in midweek, they repeated the trick. It is the first time they’ve scored four or more in two consecutive matches since September 1982 – three months before Edwards was even born.
Chiedozie Ogbene skinned Dan Burns for pace who, and after a lengthy VAR check, was adjudged to have fouled the Republic of Ireland winger just inside the penalty area.
Carlton Morris was forced to twice take the penalty, after he took the first before the whistle had been blown, but he showed ice in his veins to wrong-foot Martin Dúbravka in carbon-copy fashion for his first Premier League goal since September.
That was a winner at Everton, and another away day upset looked on the cards three minutes later when Barkley put it on a plate for Adebayo and the in-form hitman could not miss after bagging a hat-trick against Brighton.
But in-form striker was denied hero status for a second time in a week by two quick-fire United goals. And when Barnes brought parity to a breathtaking and relentless contest, St James’ Park felt like Luton were there for the taking – but this Town team never give up.
Edwards said: “We’re just doing what we do, we try to do it well and keep improving. We get some things wrong, like we did today, but we’re getting a lot right as well. At the moment, as we stand, it’s the right way to go about things, because we can disrupt the rhythm of the opposition. We can take the ball more and we can be a real threat.
“I want us to get to the point where can actually control a game more with the ball. We can talk more about control and then regains to win the ball back quickly. But we’ll still be able to talk about a high press. We’re going to give some spaces away, but that’s fine, and then we’re going to talk about control when we do get it, because we’re showing that now.
“Still, the regains, as soon as we lose it, go and get it back. We could’ve done that a little bit better in the first half to stop some of their counter attacks, but they’re really good. We’ve got to remember who we’re coming up against today.
“To come here and compete like that, we’ve come a hell of a long way.”
Indeed, while they’ve bagged 15 goals this season after the 75th minute, it was their maturity in defence that took the sting out of a complete Toon comeback when they could have capitulated under the weight of the Geordie roar.
“We stood up to it. Of course, we can be better in the moments where we conceded, but we’re human beings, we make mistakes and we got a lot more right today than we got wrong,” Edwards told the BBC.
“What I was pleased with was that once they got it back to 4-all, a lot of teams would’ve gone under, caved in and maybe lost 5-4, or 6-4. I thought we regained some composure then and some control and then we had Chieo’s big chance at the end.
“We were the ones that had the big chance. I think you look at the stats and they’re pretty even so I think a draw in the end is a fair result.”
And what a big chance it was, but the Luton flyer couldn’t cap off a 10-minute period of added time where the only nails being bitten in nervousness where those of a Newcastle persuasion.
But Ogbene’s volley lacked the power and Dúbravka greedily gathered the ball for a remarkable share of the spoils in what should go down as a modern Premier League classic.
Whatever happens this season, this will be one of the games that proved decisively that Luton, contrary to their early season detractors, did not return to the top-flight after 31 years to make up the numbers.
“That makes me proud,” said Edwards, adding: “It gives me a lot of belief in what we’re doing. We’re working really hard to keep improving and to progress this football club. The lads are the ones that deserve all of the credit because they’re the ones that go over the white line and do it. They’re showing how good they are.”
The point moved them up to 16th in the division, above Everton and Nottingham Forest, and the sense of optimism keeps on growing.
