Rea on target at both ends as Luton are held by 10-man Forest

Luton saw two points slip from their grasp this evening as they were held to a 1-1 draw by a Nottingham Forest side who had to play the entire second half with 10 men.

After Town midfielder Glen Rea scored his first goal in over two years to put the hosts in front, Reds defender Nicolas Ioannou was then shown a straight red just before the interval for a lunging challenge on Martin Cranie.

With Hatters in the box seats to go on and seal a second successive victory, they appeared unsure as to whether to really stick or twist after the interval, eventually doing neither and coming unstuck when Rea headed into his own net under pressure from Ryan Yates midway through to earn the visitors a point.

Home boss Nathan Jones made two changes to the team who won 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, leading scorer James Collins straight back in after completing his self isolation period after testing positive for coronavirus, with Rea included too following his broken nose.

They took the places of Danny Hylton and Joe Morrell who dropped to the bench, with Luke Berry missing out, Harry Cornick still not fit enough to be included.

Town had early shouts for a penalty on six minutes when Collins connected with Rhys Norrington-Davies' low cross, the striker appealing vociferously for a penalty, but referee Tim Robinson gave nothing.

In an opening stanza that saw neither side given an inch, Town were content to move the ball from left to right, unable to break through a visiting side who shuffled across time and time again, meaning Hatters had to often retreat and keep hold of possession, which they were content to do.

A burst of action then saw keeper Simon Sluga called upon, as Anthony Knockaert threaded a ball through to Lyle Taylor, only for the Croatian to come out and save bravely at his feet.

Town then went up the other end and rather surprisingly took the lead with their first real attack on 22 minutes.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's corner was headed back into the danger area by Sonny Bradley where Cranie looked like had been fouled, but as the Town bench screamed for a spot-kick, Rea was there to slot into the bottom corner for a first goal in over two years, his last one coming in a League One fixture against Walsall on October 20, 2018.

For the second game running, Luton were to be faced with 10 men, as just before half time, Ioannou was shown red for what the official deemed a dangerous challenge on Cranie, dismissing the Cypriot defender after a period of treatment.

After the break, both sides had lengthy spells of possession without ever really threatening, although both Tom Lockyer and Matty Pearson had to be alert to block a low cross that Taylor was extremely interested in.

Almost fed up with the situation, Joe Lolley tried for the most ambitious of 35-yard drives that was never testing Sluga.

Sensing their moment though, Forest had the leveller they would have been desperate for, as Cyrus Christie was allowed too much time to size up a cross which saw Rea beat the hovering Ryan Yates to the ball, only to then unfortunately divert it into his own net.

If anything, despite having the man disadvantage, it was Forest who looked stronger at times in the second period, any apparent gaps for Luton to squeeze though often quickly filled by their hard-working defence.

Knockaert's drive required a last-ditch block from Lockyer as with 14 minutes to go, Jones brought on Kazenga LuaLua and Jordan Clark to try and pep up their attacking momentum in the final stages.

A corner from the left almost paid off, Rea with a chance of a brace, but he got his finish all wrong, spooning the volley over the bar.

Yates then had a pop from 25 yards, Sluga getting down well to gather, before Luton created the best opportunity, Bradley's long ball forward seeing Clark beat the offside trap to scamper away.

With Collins in the middle, Clark went for goal though, trying to beat Samba at his near post, the keeper parrying away to prevent Town's summer signing from bagging another late winner.

Knockaert was high and wide with an even later effort, as Luton were held to a first draw of the season, ahead of Saturday's home clash with Brentford.

Hatters: Simon Sluga, Matty Pearson, Sonny Bradley ©, Tom Lockyer (Kazenga LuaLua 77), Rhys Norrington-Davies, Martin Cranie, Glen Rea, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (George Moncur 84), Elliot Lee (Jordan Clark 77), James Collins.

Subs not used: James Shea, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Joe Morrell, Danny Hylton.

Forest: Brice Samba, Cyrus Christie, Tobias Figueiredo, Jack Colback (C), Sammy Ameobi (Carl Jenkinson 46), Ryan Yates, Joe Lolley, Scott McKenna, Anthony Knockaert, Lyle Taylor, Nicholas Ioannou.

Subs not used: Loic Mbe Soh, Jordan Smith, Luke Freeman, Alex Mighten, Miguel Angel Guerrero, Samba Sow.

Booked: Mpanzu 55, Cranie 70, Rea 73

Sent off: Ioannou 43.

Referee: Tim Robinson.