Luton star sent off 36 seconds after coming on in hall of shame cameo

Liam Walsh had a night to forget after coming off the bench for Luton Town in the closing stages of their draw with Oxford United. The Hatters have struggled at times following their relegation back to the Championship and were held to a point at Kenilworth Road on Tuesday.

Luton raced into a two-goal lead with Jordan Clark breaking the deadlock after just 10 minutes and Tom Krauss adding another from close range. Oxford hit back on the stroke of half-time through Tyler Goodrham before Ruben Rodriguez levelled up in the second half.

Walsh was introduced in the 77th minute with Luton chasing a winner but found himself trudging off the pitch just 36 seconds later. His first contribution was to fly into a two-footed lunge on Siriki Dembele, leaving referee James Bell no choice but to brandish his red card.

Buoyed by the frustration of their supporters, Luton pushed for a winner but never found the elusive breakthrough and were forced to settle for a point. Oxford saw a late penalty appeal turned down when Kyle Edwards was upended in the area, with the referee waving play on.

Reflecting on Walsh's red card after the final whistle, Luton boss Rob Edwards said: "It's probably some frustration at not starting or whatever it is. The rush of blood can happen. No complaints. We probably looked better when we had 10 men, which is credit to the players."

Luton have failed to win six of their opening eight games, leaving them just three points above the Championship drop zone. Edwards admitted that his players were lacking confidence and credited Oxford for coming from behind to salvage a draw.

"We put ourselves in such a good position," he said. "The goal that we conceded and the timing of it, before half-time, was really disappointing. We probably got the press wrong and at that stage of the game didn't need to press, but then opened up too many gaps.

"They got the goals back, probably deservedly so. Clearly we are not at our best at the moment, there is probably a bit of a lack of confidence."

Oxford boss Des Buckingham was proud of his side's display after they recovered from two early setbacks to take a hard-earned point away from home.

"That was a wonderful advert for our football team," he said. "I'm delighted with what I've just watched there. To come back into the game after two setbacks, we created several chances.

"Second half, I thought we played some wonderful football and should have arguably gone on to win the game."