Report and free match highlights as Palace are made to pay for wastefulness in front of goal; Jean-Philippe Mateta scored fifth of season but Woodrow's 96th-minute header beat Sam Johnstone to level it up; Sunny Singh Gill made history as first British South Asian ref in Premier League
Saturday 9 March 2024 18:47, UK
Sub Cauley Woodrow scored a 96th-minute header to stun Selhurst Park and earn Luton a potentially vital 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.
The visitors had been completely dominated for the majority of the contest, with Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta passing up three good chances to add to his first-half flick and Eberechi Eze and Odsonne Edouard hitting the bar late on.
But, with the home fans already celebrating what they thought was certain to be a second home win for new boss Oliver Glasner, former Eagle Andros Townsend crossed for Woodrow to glance a header in off the far post.
It came in the final minute of time added on by the officials, led by history-maker Sunny Singh Gill, the first British South Asian to referee a Premier League match, and sparked wild celebrations in the away section and dugout. The rest of Selhurst Park was silenced.
Luton have ended their five-game losing run across all competitions and are now three points behind Nottingham Forest and safety. Palace are eight points above the drop zone and now have a three-week break between games - time to stew on the late leveller they conceded but also important training ground time for Glasner.
Crystal Palace may have lost last weekend at Tottenham but three wins in their previous four at Selhurst Park had given them confidence on their own patch and, building on Glasner's opening-game 3-0 win here over Burnley, they made a fast start against Luton.
It was Alfie Doughty's error which brought the first opening and Daniel Munoz seized it, hitting the turbo boosters to charge onto the loose pass and into the Luton box, where he cut back for Mateta to convert his fifth of the season in style. Selhurst was bouncing.
The big striker headed another good chance over from a corner midway through the half and should have doubled his tally just before the break when a second gift came from Luton from Jordan Clark's poor backpass. Mateta took it beyond Thomas Kaminski but the angle was tight and his finish was the wrong side of the post.
In between Mateta's chances, Jefferson Lerma, Joel Ward and Jordan Ayew all saw opportunities come and go as Palace failed to turn their dominance into a big gap. Gabriel Osho's header onto the roof of the Palace net on the stroke of half-time was a warning that the visitors weren't out of the contest, despite being on the back foot for long periods of that opening 45.
Palace came out for the second half with the same front-foot intensity - and the same wastefulness in front of goal, with Munoz somehow failing to head in Eze's teasing cross before the playmaker shot over from Joachim Andersen's neatly lofted through ball.
Chiedozie Ogbene headed a warning shot wide, Carlton Morris eventually forced Sam Johnstone into his first save of the match on 66 minutes with a volley and sub Daiki Hashioka fired over from a corner as Luton began to find more joy in attack themselves.
But the bigger chances continued to come Palace's way, with Mateta somehow not heading Tyrell Mitchell's cross past Kaminski from close range before Naouirou Ahamada put the rebound wide with one of his first touches after coming on.
There was a sensational effort from Eze from inside the centre circle which clipped the bar with Kaminski stranded and Edouard hammered the ball against the same part of the woodwork from the edge of the box. A mishit cross from Ogbene also landed on the bar at the other end but it was Palace searching for a goal to round off a convincing display.
But only Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal have scored more goals in the final 15 minutes of Premier League games than Luton this season - and Palace have conceded the most. The late twist is a huge lift to Luton's survival hopes.
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner: "The draw hurts because I think we deserved the win. We didn't decide the game where we could decide it, we had lots of opportunities. In this one situation [for the Luton goal] we were too passive, we didn't have pressure on the ball. Sometimes you have to feel the hurt and this is what we will do."
On Palace's habit of conceding late on: "This was the only situation in added time from Luton. Before that we played most of [added time] in their half. You cannot deny we conceded many goals late in the game, maybe this is deep in the mind of the players but we will get it out. This was our third game together. I'm full of hope and belief in this team."
Luton boss Rob Edwards: "I wouldn't say a turning point but hopefully a springboard. We're up against it at the moment. I know there are a number of clubs suffering injuries but to lose two centre-backs in the game, we've got a lot of square pegs in round holds out there by the end. To get a result, it's huge.
"We gifted them a goal early on. That's disappointing but human error, it can happen. We took the handbrake off in the second half. There were some 'if only' moments. Intensity in the second half, that was probably the key to it.
"We came here to try to win the game. I don't think we deserved to. But I don't think we deserved to lose with everything going against us at the moment. I'm just disappointed we didn't create more. But we found a way to score and get something from the game. If you'd offered me a point at the beginning of the game I'd probably have said no but with how it went it's a good feeling."
Sky Sports' Peter Smith:
"Crystal Palace had scored three goals in three of their previous four home games. But none of those performances saw them as dominant as they were in this 1-1 draw with Luton. You have to go back to the opening day of the season win at Sheffield United to find a match where they had more shots. Five big chances created, according to Opta, is a season-high, too.
"Yet some wasteful finishing from first-half goalscorer Jean-Philippe Mateta, and bad fortune for Eberechi Eze and Odsonne Edouard, who rattled the bar, combined to give Luton the opportunity for a last-gasp leveller. Selhurst Park was stunned when Cauley Woodrow's header went in off a post. They had already started celebrating a second home win for new boss Oliver Glasner.
"But it was perhaps a familiar feeling. The 10 Premier League goals Crystal Palace have conceded after the 90th-minute this season is unmatched by any other side. Glasner admitted there may be a mental issue for his players, such is the frequency of the late goals they've let in - but he also pointed out that his side were on the front foot for much of the six added minutes, just as they had been for the majority of the game.
"It's a painful blow to take into a three-week break in matches. But already, with limited training ground time, Glasner has made his mark on Palace's play. Now he has a good coaching window to further instil his methods. The aim will be for Palace to come out fighting after the international break and reclaim some of the points these late goals have cost them…"
Crystal Palace head to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League after the international break on Saturday March 30. Kick-off 3pm.
Luton's next league fixture is at Bournemouth on Wednesday, kick-off 7.30pm. They then host Nottingham Forest on Saturday March 16. Kick-off 3pm.
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