Amad marked his return to action with a late equaliser from the penalty spot as Sunderland held high-flying Luton Town at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats hit the woodwork through Dan Neil in the first half, but fell behind early in the second period when a set-piece routine ended with Alfie Doughty firing the visitors in front with a shot that found its way past the unsighted Anthony Patterson.
But Amad, who had missed the previous two games with a hamstring issue, came off the bench and he earned the penalty four minutes from time. The on-loan Manchester United man took it himself and made no mistake from the spot.
The draw meant Sunderland moved up one place to 11th in the table, and go into the international break having taken four points from three tough fixtures over the last week after their win at Norwich City last weekend and the midweek defeat against Sheffield United. Luton's three-game winning streak is at an end but the Hatters did extend their unbeaten run to six matches, and they stay fourth in the table and on course for a play-off spot.
READ MORE: Sunderland 1-1 Luton Town: Highlights and reaction as Amad's late penalty earns Black Cats a point
Luke O'Nien was passed fit to start despite limping off near the end of the midweek defeat against the Blades, allowing Tony Mowbray to name the same starting XI for a third game in a row. Luton boss Rob Edwards also named an unchanged side, in his case sticking with the same starting XI that beat Bristol City 1-0 at Kenilworth Road in midweek.
There were half-chances for both sides early on, with Elijah Adebayo seeing a low shot from 25 yards saved by Patterson, while Jack Clarke brought a similar stop out of Ethan Horvath at the other end. Just after the quarter-hour, O'Nien did brilliantly to put Amari Bell under pressure as he glided into the Sunderland penalty area, forcing him to shoot while off-balance and his effort went high over the bar.
But it was Sunderland who came closest to opening the scoring in the first period when Jack Clarke surged forward down the left, turned his man inside and out, then played the ball back to the edge of the box for Neil and his shot left Horvath rooted to the spot and he could only breathe a sigh of relief when it clipped the right-hand post and went wide. Sunderland had a penalty appeal turned down when Clarke tried to chip the ball into the box and it hit Cody Drameh on the arm, but the defender's arm was by his side and referee Scott Oldham was unmoved.
The game became scrappy after that, and Luton penned Sunderland back for long spells with the Black Cats' back four standing firm and having to make a series of blocks to prevent Patterson being tested. Five minutes into the second half, Luton did make Patterson work when Sunderland gave the ball away in midfield and it was played forward to Carlton Morris and he fed it to Doughty inside the area on the left, but the keeper got a hand to his low shot which took the pace off it and allowed O'Nien to clear just in front of the line.
But Luton took the lead on 51 minutes when they punished Sunderland from a set-piece. They won a free-kick just outside the right-hand corner of the box and it was taken short by Drameh to Doughty, who hit a powerful strike which came through a crowded penalty area and, with Patterson unsighted, he could not react in time even though it almost went through him.
O'Nien saw a shot pushed away by Horvath, and Joe Gelhardt fired wide when he should have done better after being set up by Clarke. Mowbray made a quadruple substitution as Sunderland went in search of an equaliser, with Amad, Alex Pritchard, Jewison Bennette, and Pierre Ekwah all coming on.
And they got their reward in the 86th minute when Pritchard tried to thread a pass into the area for Amad, and he was held back by Bell. The referee took an eternity to make a decision, but eventually he pointed to the spot and Amad stepped up to convert, dispatching his penalty straight down the middle as Horvath dived to his left to earn Sunderland a point.
How they lined up
Sunderland: Patterson, Hume (Pritchard 72), Ballard, Batth, O'Nien, Michut (Gooch 72), Neil (Bennette 72), Roberts, Ba (Amad 55), Clarke, Gelhardt (Ekwah 72). Subs not used: Bass, Lihadji
Luton Town: Horvath, Osho, Lockyer, Bell, Drameh, Nakamba, Berry- (Clark 57), Doughty (Onyedinma 75), Campbell, Adebayo (Woodrow 83), Morris. Subs not used: Shea, Lansbury, Burke, Taylor
Booked: Lockyer, Woodrow, Adebayo, Morris
Referee: Scott Oldham (Lancashire)
Attendance: 37, 579
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