Burnley vs Luton Town FC (12th Jan 2024)

Report | Hatters late show earns valuable point at Burnley

Burnley 1 Amdouni 36

Town 1 Morris 90+2

This team genuinely never give up. Even when everything might look lost the Hatters find a way.

Here, at Turf Moor, on a freezing cold Friday night three-and-a-half hours from Kenilworth Road and with three minutes remaining of five added at the end of the 90 remaining, the time came.

Alfie Doughty – so often this season the creator of important Hatters goals this season – hung one final, dangerous ball high into the Burnley penalty area. Then everything went in slow-motion. Elijah Adebayo held off goalkeeper James Trafford and in the panic that ensued, one man kept a cool head. Carlton Morris, the man who scored the Town’s first goal of this maiden Premier League season, kept his eye on the ball and nodded it gloriously into the empty net. A nervous wait followed. A VAR check. Did Ellijah foul Trafford? The men at Stockley Park said no. 1-1. Elation. Relief.

It was a deserved equaliser, and a massive one at the bottom of the Premier League table, at the very end of a game in which the Hatters dominated – 60-40 in possession told its own story – but it needed that one final action to ensure a precious point.

The first half saw the Hatters dictate the play – the only thing missing was the final product, as the Town, utilising both flanks to great effect all evening, played positively on the front foot.

While the Hatters were playing some eye-catching football, the clear-cut chances were few and far between and you felt that the Town would need to find one and convert one should Burnley find some rhythm. Which, eventually, they did.

The Town’s nightmare was realised nine minutes before the break. Wilson Odobert wriggled down the left and squared for Zeki Amdouni to side-foot beyond Thomas Kaminski. The goal came during the hosts’ best spell of the half and it meant that Rob Edwards needed a “stern” half-time team-talk, he would say afterwards.

After the break, Burnley pressed for a second but the Town held firm and slowly worked their way back into it. Again, despite seeing much of the ball, off-your-seat chances remained at premium.

At the other end Kaminski, who was riled all evening by the home faithful for his career at neighbours Blackburn, needed to be alert to keep his side within a goal from parity, especially when keeping out a deflected Odobert effort shortly after the hour.

Time ticked into the final 15 minutes – a notoriously good period for Hatters goals this season. Burnley seemed content with a point and even with five added minutes it looked as if the Town had run their race.

However, the Hatters would have the final say. Doughty’s cross, Morris’ header. 1-1 and relieved scenes on the faces of everyone on the pitch in white and those of a Luton persuasion inside Turf Moor.

A content point a long way from home. We’ll take that.

See you at Bolton.

Up the Town.

Town: Kaminski; Ogbene, Doughty, Osho, Mengi, Bell; Lokonga (sub Berry 86), Clark (sub Morris 74), Barkley, Townsend (sub Chong 64); Adebayo.

Subs not used: Krul, Potts, Woodrow, Burke, Mpanzu, Giles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_RnTFylyrw – Rob Edwards interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETcXNAzXj30 – match highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZPnFNThrGE – extended match highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEah4GaGsU4 – game day un-masked

Morris scores controversial stoppage time equaliser to net Luton a point at Burnley

Premier League: Burnley 1 Luton Town 1

Town striker Carlton Morris came off the bench to rescue a potentially massive point for the Hatters with a hugely controversial injury time equaliser at fellow relegation rivals Burnley this evening.

With time running out, it looked like the Hatters were going to be on the end of a potentially crushing 1-0 loss which would have seen the Clarets, who had won just two matches this term, do the double over Luton. However, a deep cross from Alfie Doughty saw home keeper James Trafford come out to try and claim, only to collide with Elijah Adebayo and fall to the floor, Morris well positioned to cushion a header into the net.

With VAR looking at the incident and clear contact between the England U21 international and Town's leading scorer, it looked like the VAR officials would deem the goal a foul and wipe out Luton's equaliser. However, to the delight of the near 1,500 travelling fans, it went in Town's favour on this occasion, leaving home boss Vincent Kompany furious, as they moved level on points with fourth bottom, but more importantly, kept Burnley four points below them.

With Hatters chief Rob Edwards making two changes from the last league game against Chelsea, Jordan Clark making his full top flight debut, with Chiedozie Ogbene starting at wingback, Issa Kabore away on AFCON duty and Jacob Brown suspended. Town keeper Thomas Kaminski's every touch was met by a chorus of boos from the home crowd who clearly remembered his Blackburn Rovers connections, but he was being cheered by the visiting supporters on eight minutes when Town were sliced open on their left and Johan Gudmunsson was clean through.

His shot was far too close to the Belgian though who parried well, as Luton went close at the other end, a full stretch Adebayo inches away from meeting Doughty's cross. Starting to settle, with Ross Barkley finding his passing range, particularly to the unmarked Ogbene, the wingback teed up his team-mate to have a crack from 22 yards, Trafford spectacularly tipping the ball over, with one eye definitely on the TNT cameras covering the game.

Barkley to Ogbene was the option again, the latter advancing into the box and after some stepovers, fired goalwards, with Trafford parrying behind. Town remained a threat, Sambi Lokonga joining the party with a raking pass to Doughty who found Clark, the midfielder going over in the area, but nothing doing from referee Tony Harrington, little complaints from the midfielder.

With Luton by far the better side in the opening to the contest, the home supporters were clearly getting frustrated, particularly with the way they continually delayed their throw-ins. Another terrific move with Ogbene galloping away once more on the left ended with Barkley's shot blocked away as Town outplayed their hosts in every department for the opening 25 minutes.

It was almost a case of role reversal, Burnley looking a danger from set-pieces, Zeki Amdouni thankfully scuffing a loose ball wide from an inviting position, as the Clarets started to have a spell of their own, Wilson Odobert curling over and Vitinho's long throw causing real problems as they began to suffocate the space that Town's midfielders were previously enjoying.

They then made Luton pay for not making the most of their period of dominance as they took the lead in incredibly soft fashion on 36 minutes. Odobert got away from Teden Mengi far too easily and his cross deflected to the feet of Amdouni who this time made a far better connection, able to beat Kaminski to put the hosts into an undeserved lead.

Town looked to hit back, but after an excellent break by Ogbene saw Clark picked out once again, Luton unable to get their shot through to test Trafford, something that was a frustrating theme. After the break, Vitinho tried to add a second from range, this one easy for Kaminski, as he then had another crack after beating Doughty which flew into the empty seats.

Town tried to engineer an equaliser, Andros Townsend, who might have been lining up for the hosts had things been different, overlapping Clark and his header was looped up by Adebayo, Trafford taking no chances and palming over. Kaminski then did excellently to change direction midway through the half as Odobert's shot cannoned off Mengi and was dropping in, the keeper able to palm it aside, then sorting his feet out once more when the corner was met by a Clarets attacker and taking another nick on its way through.

Luton threw on Tahith Chong for Townsend with 66 gone, as Luton just couldn't replicate their first half efforts, too many passes going astray, as home keeper Trafford, whose timewasting was starting to really test the patience, wasn't overly worked.

Kaminski gathered Ameen Al Dakhil's hopeful shot, as the Town keeper, whose kicking was below par at best all evening, remained the busier, collecting Lyle Foster's snapshot. Morris was introduced with 15 minutes to go, as he had a sighter when combining well with Adebayo, swinging a left foot at an effort from just outside the box after combining well with Adebayo.

Odobert ran the length of the pitch only to see Kaminski get enough behind his attempt, as just when it looked like time had run out for Luton, Morris struck with his first goal since early the 2-1 win at Everton to steal a brilliant point.

Clarets: James Trafford, Dara O'Shea, Johann Gudmundsson (Connor Roberts 74), Josh Brownhill (C) Lyle Foster, Hjalmar Ekdal (Jack Cork 90), Vitinho, Josh Cullen, Zeki Amdouni (Mike Tresor 83) Ameen Al Dakhil, Wilson Odobert (Jacob Bruun Larsen 84).

Subs not used: Arijanet Muric, CJ Egan-Riley, Jay Rodriguez, Benson Manuel, Anass Zaroury.

Hatters: Thomas Kaminski, Chiedozie Ogbene, Teden Mengi, Gabe Osho, Amari'i Bell (C), Alfie Doughty, Sambi Lokonga (Luke Berry 88), Ross Barkley, Jordan Clark (Carlton Morris 74), Andros Towsend (Tahith Chong 66), Elijah Adebayo.

Subs not used: Tim Krul, Dan Potts, Reece Burke, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, Ryan Giles, Cauley Woodrow.

Referee: Tony Harrington.

Booked: Trafford.

Attendance: 20,155 (Hatters 1,432).

Relieved Edwards thought Luton's injury time leveller was going to be disallowed by VAR

Town claim a point at Clarets

A hugely relieved Luton boss Rob Edwards admitted he thought Town’s stoppage time equaliser against Burnley this evening was going to be ruled out by VAR.

In the final stages of stoppage time and the Hatters trailing 1-0, Clarets keeper James Trafford came out to try and claim Alfie Doughty’s cross, only to go down after colliding with Elijah Adebayo, referee Tony Harrington letting the goal stand. Substitute Carlton Morris directed the delivery into the net, and after Stockley Park ruled in the Hatters’ favour, it meant the visitors claimed a precious point leaving Clarets boss Vincent Kompany fuming afterwards

Asked for his thoughts, Edwards conceded he was anticipating being left disappointed, saying: “Yes, I like to think I’m quite a positive person, but in those situations you just think it’s going to go against us, so I’m really, really pleased now. I appreciate that it’s difficult, it will be tough for them but for us it’s really important and thankfully it went for us.

"It’s difficult isn’t it, VAR’s there to show if there’s decisions that are blatantly wrong. I don’t think it is blatantly wrong, but I can understand Vinny’s frustration. There is contact there with James Trafford, but it’s gone for us. I’d probably be frustrated if I was him, but at the same time if it hadn’t been given I would have been really frustrated as well, because it’s pretty minimal. It’s horrible (waiting for the VAR check), as you just know how much this means to everyone as it’s so important. It’s not a nice way when you’re waiting for that decision.”