Hatters boss Rob Edwards felt a “wrong decision” denied his side all three points from their trip to Sunderland this afternoon, with the hosts’ controversial late penalty earning a share of the spoils.
Alfie Doughty had fired Town in front early in the second half, but referee Scott Oldham awarded the Black Cats a penalty for what he perceived to be a tug on Amad Diallo by the magnificent Amari’i Bell, which the Sunderland substitute converted with four minutes to go.
“Not to be today, but I feel like the players certainly deserved it,” said Edwards. “I thought the performance overall was very, very good. It’s a very difficult place to come, and we were in great shape, but ultimately a wrong decision has cost us.”
Oldham made the spot-kick award on the call of his assistant, after a delay of several seconds.
“Between them they came to the decision, I know it happens quickly, and they’ve had a discussion and felt that was what the right decision was.
“We have the benefit of looking back at it, had a really strong feeling at the time, but it’s not a penalty, I feel like the boy has bought it and dived the opposite way really.”
“Then what that did was it changed the momentum and the whole dynamics of the game because it lifted them completely, 30-odd thousand people backing them and getting right behind them, and we could have gone from three points to nothing quite quickly.
“So I’m extremely proud of the lads, and I know the supporters here will be proud of the players, and the people listening back home will be proud of the lads, as it was some shift.”
The point extended the Hatters’ unbeaten run to six league matches, and eight on the road, and the manager added: “We had to dig in and they had the ascendancy, no doubt about it and then it was a case of hanging on to what we had, but that wouldn't have happened without that wrong decision and all we ask is we get the right ones at crucial times in big, big games as every game is now.
“So we’re bitterly disappointed, but proud of the players. They gave everything, as they always do and it’s a difficult place to come.
“Tony’s got them playing a good brand of football, they've got very good individual players and are very difficult to play against, so I don't want to take anything away from them, and I'm not saying that they wouldn’t have scored anyway after. But that moment was a killer for us."