Adebayo rescues struggling Luton in draw against Everton
Elijah Adebayo kept Luton in the hunt to avoid relegation from the Premier League as his equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw against Everton on Friday.
Rob Edwards' side trailed to Dominic Calvert-Lewin's penalty but Adebayo scored the crucial leveller before half-time at Kenilworth Road. Despite earning just one win in their past 15 league games, third-bottom Luton are still in contention to beat the drop. They are behind fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest on goal difference, with Nuno Espirito Santo's team facing already-relegated Sheffield United on Saturday.
A Forest win at Bramall Lane would move them three points ahead of Luton, who have two games left against West Ham and Fulham to avoid an immediate return to the Championship after last season's fairytale promotion. "We are still in this fight as we speak. I'm proud of the performance but it would have been huge to win tonight. Almost but we've had a lot of them this year," Edwards said.
Luton's survival bid is further complicated by the wait for a verdict on Forest's appeal against their four-point deduction for financial breaches, with a Premier League announcement expected before the end of the season. "There's a long way to go and it's over to them (Forest) tomorrow. There's a situation that's going on that's out of our control that isn't ideal," Edwards said in reference to Forest's appeal.
"I don't really understand it. Everyone would just like to know where they stand. I think we'd all like that." Despite losing eight points as punishment for financial breaches of their own, Everton had already secured their Premier League status with three games to spare.
Winners of their previous three matches, Sean Dyche's side had nothing to play for on their first visit to Kenilworth Road for 17 years but they did enough to frustrate the superstitious Edwards. Edwards revealed this week that he drives the same route to the stadium, uses the same toothpaste and walks his dog at a certain time of day if Luton are on a winning streak. Beaten in their last three matches, Edwards needed a change of fortune so he said he would switch his underwear for the Everton clash.