Luton Town and Everton left with a point apiece after playing out a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road.
Elijah Adebayo cancelled out Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty in an even contest that saw both sides have plenty of chances.
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The Hatters needed a win to lift them out of the relegation zone due to their inferior goal difference compared to Nottingham Forest, but they struggled to break down an Everton defence that has been solid under Sean Dyche.
Friday night’s contest saw the visitors with the better chances in front of goal and they had the chance to open the scoring from the spot after Teden Mengi was seen grappling with Jarrad Branthwaite.
Referee Tim Robinson went to the screen and overturned his call not to give a penalty, to the fury of the home fans.
Calvert-Lewin stepped up and fired past Thomas Kaminski, who got a boot on the strike but could not prevent the goal.
Luton move onto 26 points but remain in the bottom three after a draw at home with Everton 😬#LUTEVE pic.twitter.com/OXNZo4CyPd
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 3, 2024
Luton responded well to going behind and they equalised seven minutes later.
Adebayo latched on to a long ball from Sambi Lokonga and chested it down leaving Ashley Young on the floor and smashing home.
Everton regained control in the second half and Jordan Pickford was surprisingly one of the Toffees’ chief creators and was constantly trying to send balls from his own box into the England international.
Kaminski pulled out a couple of incredible saves to keep the scores level and his heroics could prove to be an incredible achievement if Luton stay up.
Everton had a second penalty shout when Dwight McNeil went down in the box but VAR deemed there was no foul on the former Burnley man.
Alfie Doughty was a constant threat at the other end and put in more than one dangerous cross but without anyone on the end of it.
Rob Edwards could be seen urging his players on as they continued on their quest to overtake their rivals from the Midlands but were struggling to make the desired impact.
Both managers made changes in the final fifteen minutes, with Everton looking content to settle for a point and Luton wary of being hit on the counter-attack.
But in the end, honours were even under the lights and while the result means little for Everton, who are safe at this point, Luton took a small step towards securing their safety.
Nottingham Forest play Sheffield United away from home this weekend and the Hatters players and fans will have their eyes on that result in what could be a huge moment for Edwards and Co.
