Luton's 1-1 draw with Everton will bring little relief to their disadvantaged position in the relegation race - they'll have to others cannot capitalise on their failure to win, writes KIERAN GILL

Luton did what they could, manager Rob Edwards even saying he was piloting a new pair of undies he hoped were lucky. But this was a draw which brought little relief to their disadvantaged position in the Premier League's relegation race.

That dreaded dotted line will continue to hang over them after this. It did not help when Teden Mengi confused football for wrestling, gifting Everton a penalty which Dominic Calvert-Lewin dispatched to leave Luton up against it at Kenilworth Road.

Elijah Adebayo equalised, bullying Ashley Young to score on his first start since February. But in the grander scheme of things, a draw was not good enough.

They are level on points with Nottingham Forest, who know a win over Sheffield United today will take them a long way towards safety at the expense of Luton and Burnley. Everton did not need to fret about all that, of course, having arrived here feeling unusually at ease.

While Jurgen Klopp seized the chance to hurl yet another stick of dynamite at TNT Sports, carping about the timing of Liverpool’s fixtures this season, Everton saved their explosiveness for three Premier League games in seven days.

Three wins, five goals scored, zero conceded, safety secured, and with this Friday night trip to Luton arranged by Sky Sports when it was thought it might resemble a relegation six-pointer.

Sean Dyche’s team wrecked that narrative by confirming survival with a 1-0 win over Brentford on Saturday. 

That left the travelling supporters with a strange sensation on this away day – one of relief, rapture and intrigue at how they might perform minus the pressure of potential doom.

While they sang about the Premier Leaving shoving their points deductions where the sun doth not shine, this match was soon eclipsed by penalty shouts, only one of which was given.

First, Tahith Chong dropped down when he burst by Jordan Pickford. Then, Dwight McNeil was tripped in a tangle of legs with Teden Mengi. Referee Tim Robinson was not having either claim.

However, when Everton won a corner in the 20th minute, Luton knew only Arsenal had scored more set-piece goals this season. 

In his desperation to deny Jarrad Branthwaite, Mengi wrestled his man to the ground away from the ball. VAR David Coote sent Robinson to his pitch-side monitor where the spot-kick was awarded, rightfully according to the replays.

Luton fans feared the worst when they saw Young, the former Watford graduate targeted by the boo-boys here, stood over the penalty spot with the ball. That was all for show. Calvert-Lewin took it, scoring straight down the middle for his seventh Premier League strike this season.

Luton took less than 10 minutes to equalise when Sambi Lokonga’s ball into the box found Elijah Adebayo, who out-muscled 38-year-old Young to bring it down before beating Pickford. 

There were fans at Kenilworth Road joking this constituted abuse of the elderly as Adebayo scored on his first start for Luton since February.

In first-half stoppage time, a header from Carlton Morris needed clearing off the line from Ben Godfrey, prompting roars as the players headed in for the half-time break.

It could be argued that Luton are among the Premier League’s most entertaining teams. 

They have now both scored and conceded in 29 of their 36 matches this season, a record equalled only by Swindon in 1994 and Southampton in 1995.

The supporters’ targeting of Young continued in the second half, some even crudely chanting ‘let him die’ when the Everton left back felt the full force of a head clash with Morris. 

A nicer song was reserved for Tom Lockyer, the Luton captain who this week said he would be ‘at peace’ with retiring if he cannot return after the cardiac arrest he suffered on the pitch in December.

Everton came close to taking the lead when Jack Harrison tried his luck from 25 yards. The ball spun towards the top corner after a deflection off Gabriel Osho but Thomas Kaminski made an acrobatic one-handed save to ensure the scoreline remained level. Kaminski then denied Calvert-Lewin from heading home his second goal of the night from six yards, with the visitors looking the likelier to net a late winner.

However, the statistics said Luton had scored 42 per cent of their Premier League goals in the final 15 minutes, the highest share of any side this season. They lived in hope of a chance falling to Adebayo, Morris, Ross Barkley – anybody who could seize the opportunity to take them out of the relegation zone.

Unfortunately for Edwards, it never arrived. Luton will remain in the bottom three, now hopeful that others cannot capitalise on their failure to win here.