Town striker on twice-taken penalty at Newcastle that had left Luton boss 'really concerned'

Town striker Carlton Morris knew full well he had to keep his composure amid the ‘confusion’ that was going on during his twice-taken penalty in Saturday’s drama-filled 4-4 draw at Newcastle United.

With the scores level at 2-2 early in the second period, Luton wingback Chiedozie Ogbene got the better of Magpies defender Dan Burn for the umpteenth time in the game, speeding past his man with ease on the right hand side. He was able to shrug off the United full back’s first attempts to put a hand on his shoulder, before the 6ft 6 former Brighton player unwisely continued to grab at his shirt, sending Ogbene tumbling to the floor. At first, referee Thomas Bramall gave nothing, although did then whistle for a free kick outside the area after his assistant had flagged.

A VAR check however informed the official that the incident had in fact carried on into the box, with Bramall soon pointing to the spot for Town’s third penalty of the season. Morris, with a perfect record so far, stepped up once more, faced with a deafening noise from the near 53,000 inside the ground, as thinking the referee had blown, stepped up to send Martin Dubravka the wrong way and, in his mind, put the Hatters 3-2 ahead. However, Bramall hadn’t in fact whistled for Morris to have a crack, as he was instead sorting out some jostling on the edge of the area.

Quickly alerting the Luton forward to that fact, it meant Morris had to go again, with the pressure on his shoulders now ramped up even more than before. He stuck to his guns though, placing his effort in exactly the same spot, while Dubrakva, expecting the change of mind that never came, dived in the opposite direction again as Town did lead 3-2 this time. Discussing what he was going through, the Hatters’ striker, now with five goals to his name this term, said: “Do you know what it was, it was the whistling behind the goal, I couldn’t hear a thing.

"I didn’t know if the whistle had gone or not, I was waiting there for ages, I thought it must have gone, I must have missed it, so I took the first one and then turned around. A bit of confusion at that point, it's just about regaining your composure and going through your routine again.”

Although Morris was able to keep his calm from 12 yards, it wasn’t quite the same for Luton boss Rob Edwards, who continued: “I was really concerned once he went early on that pen, as he had the psychological battle then between him and the goalkeeper. I couldn’t watch, I just watched our fans in the end and went off their reaction. I was really pleased he showed the quality and the calmness and presence of mind to tuck the second one away.”

Meanwhile, on Ogbene, who won the penalty and was a threat for the Hatters from the very first minute to the 100th, almost scoring a winner from Ross Barkley’s cross deep into stoppage time, Edwards added: “Chieo was great. We’re asking a lot of him at the moment, defending on the last line against top players, one v one, but then go and get up the other end and score and assist as well. He’s done that again today, I was really pleased with his performance.”