Luton Town 1-1 Queens Park Rangers: Hatters remain in relegation zone
- Published
QPR are set for a mid-table finish in the Championship
Relegation-threatened Luton Town missed the chance to escape the Championship's bottom three as they were held at home for the second game running by Queens Park Rangers.
The Hatters took the lead when top scorer James Collins tucked away a disputed 20th-minute penalty.
But Dominic Ball's beautifully constructed second-half equaliser was deserved - after which both sides had chances to win it.
While the draw leaves Luton still a point adrift of Charlton in 21st, and with a much worse goal difference than all the teams above them, the Hatters have still only lost once in seven games since Nathan Jones returned as boss in May.
For QPR, by contrast, it was a point that finally officially secured Championship status for another season.
Too many draws for Luton?
It gets overlooked that, having spent most of the season looking like relegation certainties, previous Hatters boss Graeme Jones had already begun to turn things around before he departed in late April.
Luton had lost just once in their last six games, winning three of them and picking up 11 points, prior to the coronavirus pandemic forcing the Championship's suspension in mid-March.
Jones' exit was still largely well received by the home fans, who warmly welcomed back his Kenilworth Road predecessor Nathan Jones.
Since the restart, the Hatters have continued on that upward curve, but a fourth draw since the restart was their sixth in 13 matches. And, although they have only lost twice in that time, picking up 10 points in seven games, they now need more than draws to survive.
It looked good for them when they won a penalty set up by a neat chip over the top of the Rangers backline by Luke Berry. Full-back James Bree went full length under the challenge from Ryan Manning - and Collins sent keeper Joe Lumley the wrong away as he slid home his right-foot penalty into the right corner for his 13th goal of the season.
They might have got another when, from Collins' low cross, Elliot Lee fired just wide from close range. And Dan Potts had a header ruled out for pushing just before the Hoops levelled.
It was a stunning move as Bright Osayi-Samuel galloped down the left, pulled back, Chair dummied and Ball arrived on cue to drill home a low right-foot shot.
QPR came close to a second when home keeper Simon Sluga spilled under pressure and had to recover his own error by bundling the ball round the post and, although the visitors began to dominate, Luton rallied late on. But a draw was the fairest result.
Although QPR bounced back well from Saturday's 3-0 home hammering by Sheffield Wednesday, their point came at the cost of losing defender Angel Rangel, who was stretchered off after only 11 minutes.
What's next?
Luton have two games left, starting with Saturday's trip to fellow bottom three occupants Hull City, fresh from their club record 8-0 walloping at Wigan Athletic - in a likely losers-go-down scenario.
The Hatters then host Blackburn Rovers, who, following defeat at Millwall, have nothing to play for when the season concludes next Wednesday.
On a night when they finally made themselves safe, QPR now have a role to play at the other end of the table in their final two games.
They host Gary Rowett's play-off hopefuls Millwall on Saturday before finishing next Wednesday at The Hawthorns against automatic promotion contenders West Bromwich Albion.
Luton boss Nathan Jones told BBC Three Counties Radio: "We'd like to have controlled the game a bit more but they have some wonderful players. They played without an orthodox centre-forward, were able to rotate and get on the ball.
"Maybe I made changes a bit late to go and win the game. It's another point and it may turn into a more positive point but there are still some big battles ahead."
"We seem to be getting teams on the wrong end of results. Reading were when they came here, QPR were well beaten at the weekend before they came here and we've now got to be wary of that with Hull on Saturday.
"It's now a massive game, but it's a game we have to relish. We just need to have a little bit more about us in terms of going after the win."
QPR boss Mark Warburton said: "On Saturday, that was the first time in my career that I'd been so disheartened by a performance. We had clear words.
"We knew what we had to do. It's about personal pride and professionalism. Hard work underpins everything that you do. There is too much quality in the dressing room for that to happen. The boys responded really well.
"I'm delighted for them. And I'm delighted for Dom. He got into good areas. He timed his run well and it was a good, technical finish."