Adebayo shows just how much Luton have missed with him clinical Everton strike

Luton boss Rob Edwards felt striker Elijah Adebayo showcased just what the Hatters had been missing when he marked his first start for over two months with his 10th goal of the season on Friday night.

The 26-year-old had been absolutely flying after being restored to the starting line-up for the 4-3 defeat against Arsenal back in December, going on to score seven times in nine outings, including a hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. With the forward and Town in their best run of form of the season, winning three from six top flight clashes and looking like they now had a realistic chance of avoiding the drop, he became one of a number of Luton players to be struck down with injury, leaving the field in the warm-up ahead of the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on February 18.

With Town then having over 10 members of their squad out at one point, having to name four teenagers and two goalkeepers on their bench, they went on a run of one win 13 league matches, which looks to have put paid to their chances of staying in the Premier League this term, now three points adrift with two games remaining. Although it appears too late, they are finally starting to get players back, Adebayo fit enough to return to the squad for last weeks 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers, getting 15 minutes in the second half, as he then started the must-win game against Everton ahead of the weekend.

With Luton trailing midway through the first half, Adebayo drew the hosts level on 31 minutes, using his height to beat Ashley Young to Sambi Lokonga’s lofted pass, another one whose absence has been a huge blow, outmuscle his opponent and drill a crisp effort beyond England number one Jordan Pickford.

Although Town couldn’t go on and claim the victory they needed, with Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 success at Sheffield United almost certainly enough for the Reds now, speaking afterwards, Edwards knew how hard it has been missing a player of Adebayo’s undoubted quality as he said: “He has been huge for us as he started off the season, came out of it for a little bit and then we found our way in our rhythm and what suited us in the league and its caused a lot of teams a lot of problems.

"He's not fully fit at the moment, but you can see what he can do. We lost a lot of key players at the wrong time and I liked the way we were looking a few months ago, but the squad just got very, very thin. They’ve given us everything the lads, I love them, they’ve given us absolutely everything, but you’re asking a lot of a really, really thin squad to get the points required. We got him back, Sambi’s back and a few others as well which is great for us, but you can see what he can do.

“He had a good performance considering he’s been out so long and it was a fantastic goal. It’s hard for any team in this league when you’re missing key players and we’ve missed quite a few. He showed there what we have missed, but again I don’t want to be disrespectful to anyone else. The lads have given us their all, all season long, but, yes, he’s a big miss for us. It’s good to have him back."

Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville also felt the forward’s absence has been a huge blow to Luton’s chances of staying in the highest tier of English football, as he said: “Luton just can’t afford to miss players like that. Every club talks about injuries but some clubs suffer a lot more and they’ve suffered badly him not being there. It’s a massive, massive thing for them to have him back.”

Team-mate Tahith Chong, who produced a starring role in the 1-1 draw with Everton, was another extremely happy to see the striker back for Town again, as he continued: “Of course, we’ve missed him throughout but he’s been brilliant. He’s tried to get back on the pitch, he’s done just that and today he was very important for us. We missed him massively, just his presence, working so hard off the ball, pressing, giving us that outlet really.”

With Adebayo back, defender Tom Lockyer felt it can also take the pressure off fellow forward Carlton Morris, who has done superbly to score 10 goals in his maiden campaign at this level, also playing a part in every single top flight match this season. The club captain, who was on Sky Sports duties once more as he continues to recover from his cardiac arrest, added: “The jump up in quality we found really tough and it was always going to be a difficult season for us.

"Put in 13 injuries and I’d say eight or nine of them are probable starters, so you’re running the tight squad that Luton are with the budget we’ve got, losing any sort of players is going to be tough. It’s great we’ve got Eli back now, Carlton has to carry a lot of the load upfront on his own which has been tough for him, going game after game after game which is the case for a lot of these boys now.”