This time Rob Edwards really could celebrate. The Luton manager had hared off down the touchline with four minutes of extra time remaining to celebrate what he thought was the winning goal in front of his side’s supporters, eating up 45 yards of Wembley turf, only to retreat to his technical area ashen-faced after glancing up at the big screen confirming Joe Taylor’s extra-time goal, which would have been his first for the club, had been disallowed for handball. Jonathan Panzo, on cold as a substitute, dawdled on the ball and Taylor, a 20-year-old making his sixth appearance, nicked it from the Coventry defender, but surged through on goal with the help of his right hand.
Edwards covered his face in disbelief but after 140 minutes of gripping action an agonising penalty shootout followed. Eventually, Fankaty Dabo missed the crucial spot-kick as Luton clinched promotion to the Premier League at Coventry’s expense, capping an incredible rise from non-league to the top flight in nine years. It meant Edwards was able to laugh about the disallowed goal afterwards. “What an idiot,” he said. “I thought that was going to come back to haunt me.”
