Luton chief impressed as 'confident' Hatters striker Adebayo scores a first ever senior penalty

Luton boss Nathan Jones was impressed with the manner that Luton striker Elijah Adebayo kept his cool to score a first senior penalty during last night’s 2-0 win over Coventry City.

The 23-year-old had missed both of his two previous efforts when at Walsall, hitting the bar late on during a 1-0 defeat against Southend in November 2020.

His other miss, coincidentally came against the Sky Blues in a Checkatrade Trophy match back in September 2019, as with the game going to spot-kicks, when faced with the same keeper in Ben Wilson, he slipped at the point of striking his effort, firing way, way over the bar.

Adebayo had scored twice for Fulham U23s in the Premier League Two season back in the 2017-18 campaign, but he was quick to grab the ball once Kyle McFadzean had been dismissed for handling Harry Cornick's close range attempt on the line.

There were no such problems this time, as a stuttering run-up was completed with a confident side-footed finish into the bottom corner to make it three goals for the Hatters since arriving from the Saddlers in January.

Jones said: “He practices them, him and James Collins, so we’ve got good penalty takers.

"They both practice, Elijah was taking them yesterday and was very confident in what he did.”

Adebayo became the first player other than Collins to net from the spot for Town in a league game since Danny Hylton managed to score from 12 yards during a 2-0 win over Southend on August 21, 2018.

With keeper Wilson clearly anticipating an effort straight down the middle, he was left motionless, as fellow goalscorer James Bree said: "The keeper didn’t even more, it was a strange one, he just slotted it straight in the bottom corner, real calm.

"The thing with Elijah he’s a goalscoring threat all the time, he wants to score goals, he wants to improve, so he’s a big part of this team now.”

Sky Blues boss Mark Robins didn't feel that Adebayo should have had his chance though, adding: "Kyle was adamant that it wasn’t handball and having seen it, it looks like his shoulder.

"From the referee’s perspective in real time body movement might have made it look like he’s handballed it, it’s disappointing because that’s cost us really.

“It’s worth an appeal, everybody here is saying it’s hit his shoulder, clearly on the video it looks like it’s hit his shoulder."