Carlton Morris scored from the penalty spot as Luton Town claimed their first ever Premier League point in a 1-1 home draw with 10-man Wolves.
The Hatters were awarded a controversial penalty midway through the second half when Issa Kabore’s low shot ricocheted up onto the hand of Joao Gomes. And Morris made no mistake from 12 yards by netting his second Premier League goal - both of which have been penalties.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men before half time when Jean-Ricner Bellegarde kicked out at Luton captain Tom Lockyer, but took a surprise lead five minutes into the second half thanks to Pedro Neto’s excellent solo goal.
In front of a highly charged Kenilworth Road crowd, Morris was unfortunate not to score from open play in the early stages. The forward shifted the ball onto his right foot and fired a curling shot towards the top right corner, only to see his effort cannon off the post with Jose Sa beaten.
In an adaptable 5-2-3 formation, Town dominated the first 25 minutes with Alfie Doughty and Chiedozie Ogbene causing Wolves problems with their direct running down the left flank. The former crossed to Jacob Brown on two occasions. The former Stoke man saw his first shot blocked by the imposing Max Kilman, and headed into the arms of Sa moments later.
Ogbene and Doughty combined again on 35 minutes, but the wing-back’s shot - which looked destined to hit the target - hit Morris and bounced clear.
Wolves had finally begun to settle into the game when Bellegarde took exception to Lockyer’s robust but fair tackle from behind. With the two players in a heap on the floor, the Frenchman - who joined Wolves from Strasbourg this summer in a £12.8m deal - lost his temper and stamped on Lockyer as he tried to wriggle free.
The midfielder refused to walk down the tunnel until VAR approved referee Josh Smith’s decision to show a red card, allowing the home fans to taunt him for a second time as he trudged off down the tunnel.
Wolves were grateful to go into the break level after Craig Dawson’s stray pass left Sa stranded and Ogbene racing to tap into an empty net, only for Kilman to rush back and scramble behind.
The Town fans roared their players off at half time, sensing this was the prime opportunity to claim a first Premier League victory, and Morris came close again when he picked up Nelson Semedo’s loose pass and fed Ogbene. The Irishman chipped back into Morris whose diving header was held by Sa at the second attempt.
Town’s players and fans - who had been growing in confidence - were silenced by Neto’s strike. Wolves pounced when Marvelous Nakamba was unable to evade the referee to retrieve Doughty’s loose pass. Gomes clipped behind the Luton defence with the outside of his right foot and Neto turned on the pace to beat Lockyer to the ball, cut inside, dance past the retreating Reece Burke and fire high above the helpless Thomas Kaminski.
Town have fallen behind in each of their five Premier League fixtures and Wolves almost doubled their lead when Neto’s deep free-kick was headed towards goal by Mario Lemina and pawed off the line by Kaminski. Kilman was there to convert the rebound but Kaminski saved again, this time with his legs.
But the hosts were quickly level when Kabore’s left-footed shot was blocked by Gomes’ left foot, only for the ball to divert onto his raised right hand. Taking no mercy, Smith pointed to the spot and VAR surprisingly ruled that the decision should stand.
At the end of a stuttering run up, Morris struck into the bottom left corner, sending Sa the wrong way and levelling the score.
Town were to miss a glaring opportunity when Doughty’s low corner arrived at the feet of Nakamba, but the Zimbabwean could only volley harmlessly wide with his weaker left foot.
However, Luton thought they’d scored a late winning goal when substitute Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu’s deflected shot landed at the feet of Ogbene who gratefully struck under Sa and into the net, only to see the linesman’s flag raised for offside.
Gary O’Neil’s men were fortunate to come away from Kenilworth Road with a point, and they survived one final scare when Sa dropped Burke’s cross at the feet of Cauley Woodrow, but the Town academy graduate could only lob onto the roof of the net.
At full time Luton manager Rob Edwards, who represented Wanderers as a player, coach and caretaker manager, was left to reflect on an opportunity missed against another club expected to struggle in this season. With upcoming fixtures against Everton and Burnley, the Hatters are under mounting pressure to record their first win.
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