Newcastle 4-4 Luton
by Roger Domeneghetti
at St James’ Park

A GAME for the ages. One for the neutrals. Compelling. Chaotic.

That this pulsating, end-to-end thriller ended honours even was fitting; neither team deserved to lose.

“I think a point was a fair result,” said Luton boss Rob Edwards. “If you look at the game overall, chances, shots, it was pretty even.”

When Sean Longstaff opened the scoring after just six minutes, it seemed like Luton were in for a long, arduous afternoon.

Yet Edwards’s side, marshalled by Ross Barkley in the middle, never looked like a team that was about to crumble. And so it proved when Gabriel Osho’s 23rd-minute header eluded Martin Dubravka and bounced in off the crossbar.

Two minutes later, Longstaff grabbed his second, slotting home after Thomas Kaminski parried Anthony Gordon’s shot into his path. But again, Luton came back, Barkley grabbing the second equaliser just before the break.

“We showed loads of character, resilience and quality to come back into the game after going behind twice,” said Edwards.

Within 17 minutes of the restart, that quality saw Luton steamroller their way to a 4-2 lead, thanks to goals from Carlton Morris, from the penalty spot and Elijah Adebayo.

It left Newcastle facing the prospect of three consecutive League defeats for the first time in three years — like the grim old days of Steve Bruce and Mike Ashley. Yet they clawed their way back thanks to first Kieran Trippier and Harvey Barnes, back from a four-month injury lay off.

4-4. There were still 17 minutes on the clock. That turned into 27 with added time. Few would have bet against either side grabbing a winner. After they regained their composure, Luton came the closest through Chiedozie Ogbene deep in stoppage time, but it wasn’t to be.

“There was lots of good, lots of bad,” said Eddie Howe. “There was a huge determination to win today, and we’re disappointed we didn’t.”

“The way we started; I thought it was going to be a really memorable game for us, but the way Luton responded made it very difficult for us. I thought it was a very memorable game with two teams going right at each other.”

Newcastle, despite the comeback, have just one point from their last three home games. In the process, they have conceded 10 goals. The Champions League feels like a distant land.