Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Luton Town: Luke Berry scores 98th-minute equaliser for Hatters
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Luke Berry equalled his tally of goals last season against Blackburn
Luke Berry scored a 98th-minute equaliser as Luton Town came from two goals down to draw at Blackburn Rovers in the Championship.
Berry tapped home Cameron Jerome's headed pass to complete a remarkable comeback.
The midfielder had pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute, converting Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu's cross.
Blackburn had taken a 2-0 lead with goals in four first-half minutes from teenager Tyrhys Dolan and defender Harry Pickering.
Luton were missing several players through injury, with Elijah Adebayo, Fred Onyedinma and Amari'i Bell all absent and Admiral Muskwe named in the starting line-up, only to pull out just before kick-off.
The Hatters were blown away in the first half, a period which also saw their midfielder Allan Campbell limp off after a heavy challenge with Darragh Lenihan.
The visitors' comeback nearly began in the 54th minute when Jerome had the ball in the back of the net, only for his effort to be chalked off by referee Oliver Langford for a foul in the build-up.
Blackburn had chances to kill off the game, with Ben Brereton striking the inside of the post just before the hour mark.
And after Berry's first goal, Blackburn again had opportunities to net a third, with Sam Gallagher seeing his shot cleared off the line by defender Gabriel Osho.
Referee Langford went off in the 90th minute with what appeared to be cramp, with fourth official Andy Haines taking over for the final stages.
And Blackburn were made to pay for their wastefulness, as Berry's late goal deflated a boisterous home crowd in additional time at the end of stoppage time.
Five minutes of stoppage time were initially added but referee Langford's injury led to three extra minutes being played
Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"It is what it is, it's a point. It's frustrating because we had the game won really and should have finished it off. At 2-0 we hit the inside of the post to make it 3-0, and I told the team in the last few days that I've watched all five games that Luton have played this season and they never give in.
"I saw them at West Brom, 3-0 down, get back to 3-2 and have two kicked off the line in the last few minutes, so they never give in and that's great credit to Nathan and his team, that's what they are really good at, they graft, they work, they fight for everything.
"I was pretty proud of the team, the way we dug in and competed with that attitude today, so rightly we're disappointed to be 2-0 up and to draw, but I thought there was a lot of positives in the mentality of the team."
Luton Town manager Nathan Jones told BBC Three Counties Radio:
"We're delighted that in the end, after everything we've gone through today and last night, we're delighted with the point.
"We didn't play well in the first half. I had to change the team yesterday then again this morning, then again at one minute to three, then again at quarter past three, so look, we've had to go through so much adversity for this.
"I'm proud of him (Berry) because again he's been through a lot with injury and with certain things, came back super fit and ironically he had a calf injury that just curtailed him and kept him out and so on.
"It was the right decision to bring him on. We felt he could nick a goal, he always does. Training-wise he's been outstanding and to do what he did, and in the last gasp, is fantastic.
"It sometimes feels like a win but I think it would have been really harsh if we'd have gone away with a defeat. They had a few chances on the counter-attack when we were pushing and just going a little bit open but we showed masses of character and endeavour and that's the group we have."