Everton happy to deny Luton a win

Luton Town 1 - 1 Everton

Everton pay a visit to the smallest ground in the Premier League as their roller-coaster campaign winds down after a fantastic week that ensured another season in the top flight.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin leads the attack with Beto, Dobbin and Seamus Coleman rejoining the squad on the bench.  

Calvert-Lewin picked up a knock to his knee in the same game and then came down with a stomach illness but played through the Merseyside derby victory over Liverpool before being rested against Brentford at the weekend.

Coleman has recovered from the groin strain he sustained in the defeat at Chelsea in the middle of last month. 

Both Nathan Patterson and Vitalii Mykolenko are out after suffering season-ending hamstring and ankle injuries respectively.

Luton, featuring Ross Barkley, got the ball rolling, and kept them pressing forward despite an Everton goal kick. But Tarkowski was fouled on the half-way line setting up a deep Pickford crossball with nothing developing. Chong tried to get between Tarkowski and Pickford, giving away a goalkick. 

Luton were very keen and it needed a great tackle on Chong to slow him down.  Garner was shown a very early and rather harsh yellow card for just running into Chong.

Ashley Young was annoyed with Morri's challenge to get himself behind the Everton line. Garner then caught another Luton player. It was very scrappy and Calvert-Lewin was then fouled in midfield. McNeil was upended in the area after a Menghi clearly trod on his foot. Apparently not a foul!

Another Everton free-kick closer to the Luton area but no real contact in there before it was cleared. Garner put it back in and won Everton a corner that Morris headed clear. 

A great Everton ball in from McNeil had Luton panicking but no Everton player in the mixer; however, it came back for Garner to shoot, deflected wide. More Everton corners followed, with Mengi bear-hugging Branthwaite! VAR had a look at this one and Tim Robinson went to the monitor – even though it was a long way away from the ball… but he still gave Everton the penalty.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin smashed it low straight down the middle, beyond Kaminski. Blues ahead! 

Luton were not subdued and regrouped well enough for   Doughty to beat Godfrey and swing in a decent cross that almost caused a problem before it was cleared. But a good deep cross saw Adebayo brushed Young out of his way before he stroked a low shot past Pickford before Branthwaite could close him down. 

Adebayo wanted to get in again but Harrison did well to stop him at the expense of a Luton corner that Everton defended well enough but Calvert-Lewin was not getting to Pickford's hoofballs.

Onyedinma got forward and put in a low cross that Tarkowski had to clear, and Everton needed to clear the second phase.  Everton tried the passing game but Harrison's ball in did not find Calvert-Lewin. They tried again, and that ended with what might have been a shot from Harrison that whistled past the far angle. 

Encouraged, Everton tried more of this passing stuff to keep possession, peaking at 80% (!!) in a spell before the break. Chong caught Godfrey for a yellow card. Harrison's free-kick from the half-way line saw Branthwaite come around the back but his header was not strong enough to create any trouble. 

Luton got forward and Doughty had a shot that Pickford collected. Everton mounted a decent attack, Harrison's ball resulting in an Everton corner although it was very close to being an own goal, but Everton were pushed back into midfield.

At the other end, Morris lashed a shot wide across Pickford's goal.  Calvert-Lewin finally got to a Pickford clearance but only helped Luton set up a dangerous attack with Godfrey having to clear off the line, to end a fairly even half. 

Everton resumed and this time Calvert-Lewin did head on a Pickford hoofball but nothing came of it. Ashley Young got a bash on the head from Lokonga but recovered well enough after treatment. Osho tried to curl one in but drove it wide. 

Gueye mistimed his leg sweep on Chong, seeing yellow. Doughty's free-kick was headed over, as Branthwaite was clearly pushed over.  Sean Dyche then made two early (for him!) subs before an Everton corner came to nothing. 

Everton wasted a free-kick as Luton forced them back, but they worked their way out until Calvert-Lewin drew a foul. An Everton attack was repelled for Luton to win a corner, Gomes then giving them a free-kick. Doughty's cross was cleared but Everton had no-one to take any advantage. 

Chong won another corner for Luton, Barkley powering the second-phase header well off target. Doughty almost got around Harrison but he hooked the ball away for a corner as Coleman replaced Young and it was eventually defended away. 

Everton had done very little in Luton's area but a snapshot by Harrison was deflected, looping toward the top corner, pushed behind by Kaminski but Luton defended the corner.  

Luton were still probing and Chong almost played in Woodrow. Everton were conceding far too much of the ball to Luton, who won another corner that almost fell nicely for them before Everton cleared somewhat unconvincingly. 

Finally Everton got forward and Harrison headed a ball to the far oust back for Calvert-Lewin to leap high but he could only head it straight at Kaminski, really should have scored. Everton applied more pressure but it was cleared.  

Dyche made subs that switched the formation to 4-4-2, with Beto and Chermiti given 10 minutes to win the game for Everton, who had been poor in the second half. Barkley had a decent strike at Pickford from a distance. Beto then threw himself down after tussling with Osho. 

Everton only briefly threatened with the new strikeforce before the previous pattern of play resumed with Luton pressing as time ticked away… and 6 minutes added. Woodrow's shot was blocked by Tarkowski, and Chermiti was fouled in midfield, McNeil launching it to win Everton a late corner, Gomes booked for arguing with the ref. 

At the other end, Mengi shot weakly at Pickford. Gomes tried to build a break but messed up his pass and Luton had one last chance Pickford bating away a header by Berry for a late late corner.

Berry tried a clever backward kick. Another Luton corner, cleared by Branthwaite but Chermiti commits a needless foul. In the second phase, a tremendous drive by Townsend that was going in was cleverly deflected behind by Branthwaite, the last and vital kick of a poor game. 

Luton Town: Kaminski, Osho, Barkley, Morris, Adebayo (80' Townsend), Chong [Y:43'] (87' Berry), Mengi, Burke, Lokonga, Onyedinma (70' Woodrow), Doughty.

Subs not Used: Shea, Krul, Mpanzu, Clark, Hashioka, Johnson.

Everton: Pickford, Young (67' Coleman), Branthwaite, Tarkowski, Godfrey, Gana [Y:52'] (79' Chermiti), Garner [Y:9'] (55' Onana), Doucoure (55' Gomes [Y:90+3']), McNeil, Harrison, Calvert-Lewin (79' Beto).

Subs not Used: Virginia, Keane Danjuma, Dobbin.

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