Diallo spot on to snatch point as Hatters let it slip
IF LUTON Town miss out on automatic promotion by a couple of points this season, they might well point to the final five minutes of this game as the moment when things turned against them.
Leading through Alfie Doughty’s long-range strike, the Hatters were on the verge of closing to within four points of secondplaced Sheffield United when Amad Diallo went down under the slightest of contact from Amari’i Bell.
Referee Scott Oldham took an age before pointing to the spot, but after he eventually awarded a penalty, Diallo stepped up to inflict a damaging dent in Luton’s hopes of forcing their way into the top two.
“It’s very frustrating,” said Luton boss Rob Edwards. “Sunderland are a very good team, and I’m not saying they didn’t deserve anything from the game, but we were 1-0 up and the equaliser was from a wrong decision.
“I’ve been in and spoken to the officials and they’ve explained their decisionmaking and the reasons behind it.
“They don’t have the benefit of replays or VAR to get those decisions right, but these are big games and that was a huge moment. It changed the dynamics of the game completely.” Luton’s second-half opener came from a long-range shot from Doughty that whistled through a host of bodies and beat an unsighted Anthony Patterson, who could only help the ball into his own net.
Sunderland struck the post through a curled effort from Dan Neil in the first half and came close when Ethan Horvath saved from Luke O’nien in the second, and while the penalty decision might have been contentious, Tony Mowbray felt his side more than merited a point.
“We got there in the end,” said Mowbray. “Whether it was a penalty or it wasn’t a penalty, I don’t really go in there and watch stuff.
“I don’t think we deserved to lose the game.” SUNDERLAND: Patterson 6; Hume 6 (Pritchard (71) 6), Ballard 6, Batth 7, O’nien 7; Neil 6 (Bennette (71) 6), Michut 6 (Gooch (71) 6); Roberts 6, Ba 5 (Amad (55) 8), Clarke 6; Gelhardt 5 (Ekwah (71) 6) LUTON: Horvath 7; Osho 7, Lockyer 7, Bell 6; Drameh 7, Nakamba 6, Berry 6 (Clark (56) 5), Doughty 8 (Onyedinma (74) 5); Campbell 6; Morris 6, Adebayo 7 (Woodrow (83) 5) STAR MAN: Amad Diallo. Swung the game Sunderland’s way after leaving the bench early in the second half. REF: Scott Oldham 5