A key clash at the bottom of the EFL Championship table saw the points shared as Luton Town and Barnsley played out a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road.
Luke Berry gave the Hatters a 13th-minute lead, poking home a rebound and the goal looked to be sending the hosts to a vital three points until Aapo Halme equalized six minutes from time.
The result sees Barnsley remain second bottom, three points from safety while Luton are bottom, four points adrift.
Story of the match
Barnsley made a quickfire start to the match as Conor Chaplin's shot was tipped over the bar by Luton goalkeeper Simon Sluga and Cauley Woodrow hitting the side netting from Marcel Ritzmaier's cross in the opening minute.
The visitors continued to press and Ritzmaier played a perfect ball to Jacob Brown, who saw his effort parried away by Sluga. Putin's first chance came when Pelly Ruddock-Mpanzu's cross found Danny Hylton's head, but his shot was gathered in by Tykes goalkeeper Jack Walton. The Hatters would open the scoring when James Bree found Hylton. He played a fine ball into Elliott Lee, whose shot crashed off the post. Berry smashed home the rebound into the top corner against his former club.
Sluga was lucky to have only picked up a yellow card after tripping Alex Mowatt while further chances came for the visitors, Chaplin's volley sliced over the bar and Sluga doing well to keep out Woodrow's fierce low drive. The half ended with Barnsley dominating in every way except on the scoreboard.
With their attack considerably blunted in the second half, the Tykes saw Ritzmaier miss from close range and substitute Patrick Schmidt off-target with a header. Barnsley did manage to level six minutes from time when another substitute Elliot Simoes had his shot saved by Sluga, but the subsequent corner was headed home by Halme.
Both sides had golden opportunities to grab all three points in stoppage time, Brown's shot deflected wide for the visitors while the hosts saw Berry play Robert Cornick in, who saw his golden opportunity saved by Barnsley goalkeeper Jack Walton, a fitting result for two teams that look headed for the drop.
Man of the Match: Aapo Halme
Barnsley carried the play for most of the game, but had nothing to show for it thanks to Sluga's brilliant goalkeeping, but the one chance Halme had, he converted when there was a battle in the Luton penalty area. If the Tykes escape the drop, this result, and his goal, will be a huge reason why.
Takeaways
The result doesn't benefit either team
With Wigan Athletic appealing their 12-point deduction for entering administration, it's uncertain who the bottom three are. As it currently stands, Middlesbrough are on 44 points, Barnsley have 42 and Luton 41. Should the Latics receive the deduction, they would prop up the table with 38, meaning Boro's total is the number to catch to stay up.
Had the Hatters held on to their one-goal lead, they'd have 43 points and he a point or two from safety (Hull City currently occupy 21st with 45 points). Conversely, victory for the Tykes would have seen them level with Middlesbrough and one point from safety. These reasons are why a draw doesn't really help either side.
Sluga was the difference in the match despite Barnsley's late equalizer
The Tykes had 62% of the possession, seven shots on target (21 overall) and 13 corner kicks. While the Luton defense held up well for the majority of the game, it would have all been for naught had the Hatters' shot-stopper not pulled off some key saves, especially in the first half.
While it's completely understandable that the result will feel like a loss for the hosts, they must also realize it could have been worse had it not been for the heroics of their Croatian net-minder.