Last gasp Luton takes victory from jaws of defeat
Luton Town scored twice in the dying minutes of its EFL Championship clash with Derby County to tak all three points with a 2-1 win having trailed by a goal up to the 89th minute.
Kayden Jackson had put the visitors in front just before the hour mark to set the Rams on course for what would have been only its second away win of the season.
His headed goal was his first since August, and looked like being a winner until a free-kick was award to the Hatters 11 minutes from time just inside Derby's final third.
Cauley Woodrow floated the ball into the box where it was initially headed away, but Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu fired it back towards goal on the volley and a deflection took it past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom in the Derby goal to level the scores.
With six minutes of added time granted by the officials, Luton sniffed a chance and continued to push for a winner for those fans that hadn't already left the stadium, and in the 92nd minute after another Woodrow set-piece caused chaos in the box.
Unable to clear the ball, Luton took a couple of pot shots before the ball eventually came to the feet of Hatters captain Carlton Morris, and he fired another deflected shot into the back of the net to send Kenilworth Road into pandemonium.
Victory lifted Luton one place above Derby on the table by one point, and after a difficult start to the season for coach Rob Edwards, this was the perfect tonic to take his side into the busy Christmas period on a high.
"I'm very relieved rather than happy I think," Edwards said.
"It's credit to the lads; we're fighting, and it's not looking like how we'd like it to look, we had to make changes and a lot of subs which I thought were quite brave ones and had to go for it, and they found a way.
"It's a nice way to win it for us. It will send everyone home happy for Christmas. I need to smile a bit, it's turning me grey, this is what this does to you.
"It wasn't pretty, and we knew it wouldn't be looking at the form of the two sides, but it was determination and grit. We took a gamble and fortunately, it paid off.
"No doubt we need to improve, our next two games are away from home, but the lads now need to harness this energy."
Luton was the dominant side, having 18 shots to Derby's 10, but four of its five shots on target did not come until the second half.
Morris was responsible for five of those efforts, while he also had the most touches in the box of any player on the pitch (11).
"That's why we love the Championship," Morris said. "There's so much character in this group.
"Credit to the boys for digging in and getting there in the end. Credit to Derby too. They came here and made it very difficult for us.
"It's not an excuse, but we've had a lot of injuries, the group we have is tight-knit, and it shows, in sticking in games and never giving up - we showed that last season too.
"We are not hiding away from the fact we have not been nearly good enough away from home, but that is going to change."
