At the break, I doubted whether there would be any goals to write about at full-time. It had been a scrappy encounter summed up by blocked shots misplaced passes and wayward crosses. Luton had enjoyed the better of it, but neither side really looked like scoring.
If you are of a Derby County persuasion, you may wish it had stayed that way.
Come the final whistle, there was a raucous party atmosphere among the home fans, intensified by the tightly packed stands at Kenilworth Road. Once the ball deflected past Jacob Widell Zetterström in both the 89th, and the 92nd minute, Luton fans were presented with the most desirable gift.
To the travelling fans, who would now have to walk back over some local gardens as Hatters fans and neutrals alike revelled over a dramatic comeback, this was the equivalent of a lump of coal.
Rob Edwards’ side had the second most set-piece goals of any Championship club this season (10), behind only Derby (12), and could have added another to their tally in the sixth minute. Jordan Clark’s free kick found skipper Carlton Morris at the front post, who steered his header narrowly wide.
In the 18th minute, Morris’ shot was blocked by Curtis Nelson and landed at the feet of Tahith Chong, who opened up his body to force a strong save Zetterström at full stretch.
Playing as an inverted right wing back, Chong continued to be the biggest thorn in Derby’ side. A left-footed attacking midfielder or winger by trade, the former Manchester United man effectively played as an inside forward in possession, spending much of his time cutting inside in the final third.
On the other side, Morris and Elijah Adebayo were drifting wide, and in the 34th minute, they combined to tee up Jacob Brown. But Callum Elder made a vital block to stop the Scotland International from getting his shot off.
Derby, meanwhile, didn’t get a shot off until first half stoppage time, when Ben Osborn clipped a ball to the back post. Ebou Adams arrived and met the cross with a diving header, which was narrowly wide.
By contrast, it only took the Rams six minutes to register their first shot of the second half. Jerry Yates flicked the ball back to Kayden Jackson, whose low drive from 20 yards deflected off Tom Holmes and was parried by Thomas Kaminski.
A left-sided counter attack nearly saw Derby in front five minutes later, Callum Elder’s square ball finding the run of Kane Wilson at the back post. But the wing back was denied a remarkably similar goal to the one he scored against Portsmouth due to a great block from Victor Moses.
The Rams took the lead in the 59th minute through Kayden Jackson. Kenzo Goudmijn found Wilson, who had burst into space down the right. The former Bristol City man’s cross to Jackson at the back post was inch-perfect, and the header back across goal similarly good, neatly placed into the bottom-right corner.
Luton promptly threatened an equaliser as Morris rose highest from a corner only to be denied by another spectacular save from Zetterström which triggered a succession of set pieces.
Afterwards, Derby went back on the attack, with Jackson played in behind down the left. He pulled the ball back for Goudmijn, who shot first time looking for the bottom left corner but was denied by a good save from Kaminski.
The Rams looked set to see out a fairly comfortable second half, but Luton began to apply pressure in the final five minutes.
After Curtis Nelson fouled Joe Taylor, Cauley Woodrow’s free kick was cleared as far as Pelly Rudock Mpanzu. The substitute’s first-time strike deflected off teammate Holmes and into the back of the net, to set up six nail-biting added minutes.
The winner came after another Woodrow free kick from which Derby failed to clear their lines. Adebayo’s effort was brilliantly parried by Zetterström, only to land at the feet of Morris, whose shot too deflected in.
Analysis: A sickening defeat
Just as happened ahead of kick off against Portsmouth, some questioned Paul Warne for changing both formation and a number of his starting XI following a positive result. But the head coach stuck to his guns, playing 4-3-3 at home, and 3-5-2 on the road, while bringing in Kayden Jackson, Nat Phillips, Callum Elder and Sonny Bradley. It so nearly paid off again.
After a scrappy first 45 in the pressure cooker that is Kenilworth Road, Derby looked good value for all three points in the second period. The midfield, with Ben Osborn sitting, looked balanced again, while Kane Wilson put in another dynamic display on the right, and Jackson and Jerry Yates combined well having been on the fringes of the game for much of the first half.
Defensively too, Derby worked hard, after blocking five shots in the first half. Phillips, Bradley and Curtis Nelson stepped up their game in the absence of Eiran Cashin, while Jacob Widell Zetterström made a number of fine saves.
If football matches were 88 minutes long, the talk would be of a professional performance in which Derby rode a storm before settling into the game and going onto control it. A good win for a side that have struggled on the road, against a tea who have made their home a fortress.
Whether the cause was poor game management or just bad luck will be debated, but the reality is that it there were elements of both. While giving away late free kicks to a side who are particularly dangerous from set pieces is ill-advised, and the Rams did sit off in the final minutes, you simply cannot legislate for two freak deflections.
That’s why this defeat feels remarkably cruel.
Luton (3-4-3): Kaminski (GK); Holmes, McGuinness, Andersen (Johnson 86’); Chong, Krauß (Mpanzu 69’), Clark (Taylor 86’), Moses (Nelson 69’); Brown (Woodrow 69’), Morris (C), Adebayo.
Substitutes: Krul (GK), Woodrow, Nakamba, Mpanzu, Pieters, Taylor, Nelson, Johnson, Chigozie.
Derby (3-5-2): Zetterström (GK); Phillips, Nelson, Bradley (C) (Forsyth 62’); Wilson, Goudmijn (Harness 84’), Osborn, Adams; Jackson (Collins 78’), Yates (Mendez-Laing 78’).
Substitutes not used: Vickers (GK), Barkhuizen, Ward, Blackett-Taylor, Brown.
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