MOTD pundit Ian Wright praises Hatters duo Townsend and Woodrow for saving Luton a point at Selhurst Park

Ex-Arsenal and Crystal Palace forward Ian Wright hailed the impact of substitutes Cauley Woodrow and Andros Townsend, plus the fighting spirit shown by Luton, as the Hatters scored in stoppage time to earn a potentially massive point in their bid to remain a Premier League side this season at his former club on Saturday.

With the game entering six minutes of stoppage and talented midfielder Eberechie Eze beginning to go through his party tricks with some showboating for the hosts, Oliver Glasner’s side looked to be on their way to securing a big three points of their own, stopping a Hatters attack and then breaking forward with young midfielder Naouirou Ahamada. However, rather than look to get rid of the ball and keep it in Town territory, he was dispossessed by Luke Berry at first, with debutant Zack Nelson completing the job, as the ball made its way to Woodrow inside his own half.

He turned and found fellow substitute Andros Townsend, a player Eagles fans knew well having spent five years in South London, who cleverly used the overlapping run of Issa Kabore to cut back in on his favoured left foot and send over a terrific cross that Woodrow, who had carried on his own foray, was able to nod past keeper Sam Johnstone via the inside of the post to salvage a terrific 1-1 draw. Speaking on Match of the Day, Wright, who also won 33 caps for England, said: “They didn’t give up and we all know that one-nil is a dangerous scoreline, especially when you’ve got someone who they know, Andros Townsend coming on, the unbelievable left foot he’s got once he gets going.

"You can see the (Eagles) players are trying to get forward, where I think this is the stage where Palace should be trying to keep hold of the ball. They didn’t and once this gets to Woodrow and he plays it, he just seems to go in without any real challenge. You see him go past Will Hughes there, (Chris) Richards there, they’re just hoping that this ball doesn’t get to him, but that is a brilliant header, a fantastic header, it’s literally the only place it could go.

"They know Andros Townsend, they’ve got to keep him down on his right foot. Luton want to get the cross in, Eze for me, come across, stop him from coming in so he can put that ball in because he can do that Andros Townsend and Luton do like getting a cross in. The cross in is pinpoint and he finishes it very, very well. It was a fantastic goal, I’m really pleased for him.”