Morris at the double as Luton hit back late on to stun Sheffield Wednesday

Luton skipper Carlton Morris came off the bench to score twice in the final 15 minutes and inspire a much-needed first home win of the season for the Hatters, as they defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

Not a lot had gone right for the hosts, who it must be said were pretty terrible up until the hour mark, falling behind to Barry Bannan's excellent volley, until boss Rob Edwards brought on Morris, the excellent Tom Krauß for his Luton debut, and youngster Zack Nelson. With Victor Moses and Joe Taylor soon following, Town finally got the upper hand, with Morris stroking home from the penalty spot on 77 minutes and then winning it from close range in the 88th as Luton celebrated back-to-back wins for the first time since December.

The Hatters made one change for the contest, Reuell Walters replacing the injured Amari'i Bell, with Jordan Clark taking the captain's armband, while Krauß was named on the bench, Mads Andersen missing out. Town could just not get going in the opening 15 minutes, not helped by an iffy call from a quite disgraceful refereeing display from Gavin Ward when Elijah Adebayo appeared to be away, Bannan and Josh Windass both sending hopeful shots over, while Michael Smith forced Thomas Kaminski into a low stop.

The Belgian then made a crucial stop with 20 minutes on the clock, as the Owls opened Town all too easily once more, Bannan's cross met by Windass, Kaminski's outstretched leg ensuring the scores remained goalless. The game then turned into something of a farce by Ward, who gave a number of absolutely baffling decisions against the Hatters, including one when Tahith Chong clearly got the ball ahead of his Wednesday opponent.

It means when Town did eventually get a decision in their favour, the enraged home supporters greeted the call with a 30-second standing ovation. With the officials doing their best to get a response from the Luton fans, on the pitch, the Hatters couldn't create anything, keeper James Beadle, who had been on England U21 duty at the stadium earlier this month, fumbled Mark McGuinness's header over.

Liam Walsh sent an ambitious snapshot tamely wide of the target, as Town almost paid the price for some slack defending, Teden Mengi trying to let the ball run out, Smith nipping in, with Windass's cross sent wide by Kobacki. Even after the interval, the hosts couldn't get going at all, some brilliant defending from Mengi preventing the Owls from opening the scoring, as sub Djeidi Gassama broke away on the left from McGuinness’s poor header, his cross destined to be tapped in by Windass, the centre half sliding in to cleverly turn it behind.

Town weren't able to prevent the opener on 52 minutes though as they gave the ball away on the left hand side this time and Valery was allowed to motor away before sending over a deep cross that saw not one Luton player bother to mark Bannan who was allowed to enter the box completely unmarked and batter his volley beyond Kaminski.

A second almost followed as Town's supporters were starting to get restless, before Edwards responded by ringing the changes with an hour gone, Morris, Nelson and Krauß on for Walsh, Marvelous Nakamba and Walters, but still they hosts couldn't do anything, McGuinness heading Doughty's free kick wide.

Another set-piece from Doughty did lead to Luton’s leveller on 77 minutes as his ball in was cleared to Mengi, whose snapshot was repelled by the midriff of Bernard, the Owls defender then using his arm to deflect McGuinness' point blank header away. Ward finally did something in Luton’s favour, pointing to the spot, and also dishing out a red card to Bernard, who took an absolute age to drag himself off the Kenilworth Road pitch.

That upped the pressure on Morris, but he showed no signs of nerves, stuttering his run up to send Beadle the wrong way and open his account for the season. Buoyed by the leveller, Luton went for broke, Victor Moses and Joe Taylor, as the crowd were now finally up for it, Town winning a number of corners with Moses causing havoc on the right flank, Doughty curling one attempt miles over.

Another foray on the right saw Town grab the winner though, Doughty’s ball in flapped at by Beadle and when Clark’s half volley hit the horizontal McGuinness, Morris was on hand to tap into the net and send Kenilworth Road into bedlam. With 10 minutes of stoppage time, the Owls almost levelled, Windass shooting straight at Kaminski, who then parried Svante Ingelsson’s fierce drive, before Luton were able to wind the clock down in the corner to seal a welcome three points. Hatters: Thomas Kaminski, Reuell Walters (Carlton Morris 60), Reece Burke, Mark McGuinness, Teden Mengi, Alfie Doughty, Marvelous Nakamba (Tom Krauß 60), Liam Walsh (Zack Nelson 60), Jordan Clark (C), Tahith Chong (Victor Moses 83), Elijah Adebayo (Joe Taylor 83). Subs not used: James Shea, Cauley Woodrow, Tom Holmes, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu.

Owls: James Beadle, Liam Palmer (Anthony Musaba 90), Di'Shon Bernard, Barry Bannan (C Ike Ugbo 63), Josh Windass, Marvin Johnson, Olaf Kobacki (Djeidi Gassam 46, Michael Ihiekwe 78), Akin Famewo, Michael Smith (Svante Inglesson 63), Yan Valery, Shea Charles. Subs not used: Pierce Charles, Max Lowe, Jamal Lowe, Pol Valentin. Referee: Gavin Ward. Booked: Bernard 67, Burke 80, Bannan 90. Sent off: Bernard 74. Attendance: 11,805 (1,326 Owls).