Crystal Palace were denied a second consecutive home win under Oliver Glasner as they again showed their vulnerability late in matches, conceding a stoppage-time equaliser to share the points in a 1-1 draw against Luton Town at Selhurst Park. 

The Eagles took an early lead through Jean-Philippe Mateta’s special finish and looked set to go 11 points clear of the relegation zone, but substitute Cauley Woodrow’s first Premier League goal in 10 years from former Palace winger Andros Townsend’s cross earned Luton a vital point in their battle against relegation. 

How the match unfolded

Palace were unchanged from the side who lost to Tottenham Hotspur, while Luton made two changes to their starting XI, Gabriel Osho and Chiedozie Ogbene replacing Amari’i Bell and Andros Townsend.

The match was also historic in that Sunny Singh Gill became the first British South Asian to referee a Premier League fixture.

In the 10th minute Palace took the lead through Mateta in fine style. 

Alfie Doughty played a poor backpass that Daniel Munoz latched on to, darting past Thomas Kaminski before cutting the ball back for Mateta to finish with a stunning flick, for his fifth goal of the season.

Palace were in control and their dominance nearly paid off when after a third successive corner, Mateta’s close-range header went just wide. 

The Hatters nearly conceded a second goal because of another misplaced backpass. This time Jordan Clark played in Mateta, who couldn’t direct his dinked shot on target.

In the second half, Eberechi Eze whipped in a pinpoint cross that found the unmarked Munoz but he headed wide. 

Eze then had another chance to double the lead, bringing Joachim Andersen’s long ball down with the outside of his boot before firing over.

In the 66th minute, the Hatters started to show more threat, recording their first shot on target as Doughty’s cross found Carlton Morris, whose volley was saved comfortably by Sam Johnstone. 

The match became end-to-end and Tyrick Mitchell floated in a cross that was headed down by Mateta, forcing Kaminski to make a brilliant reaction save.  

Minutes later, Eze tried an audacious shot from just inside the Luton half that was inches away from being a goal, the ball brushing the top of the bar. 

They had a chance to seal the points in the first minute of stoppage time, when Mitchell’s close-range shot was saved by Kaminski, while substitute Odsonne Edouard also saw his long-range effort crash off the bar.

And they were made to pay as in the sixth and final minute of stoppage time Townsend’s cross towards the back post was headed in by Woodrow, whose previous goal was also against Palace, for Fulham in May 2014.

Rob Edwards’ side are still winless in six Premier League matches in 18th, but closed the gap to Nottingham Forest to eight points.  

Palace, who have now dropped 18 points from winning positions, are 14th, with 29 points.

Club reports

Crystal Palace report | Luton report

Match Officials

Referee: Sunny Singh Gill (pictured). Assistants: Eddie Smart, Nick Greenhalgh. Fourth official: Tim Robinson. VAR: Peter Bankes. Assistant VAR: Mat Wilkes.