Sunderland moved three points clear at the top of the Championship with a 2-1 over Luton at Kenilworth Road.
Romaine Mundle netted his fourth goal of the season to settle the game after Luton’s Elijah Adebayo’s strike cancelled out 17-year-old Chris Rigg’s opener for the visitors.
The victory moved Sunderland further clear of title rivals Burnley, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Hull.
But the evening was not without its controversy after Luton thought Carlton Morris was onside when he slotted home with the game goalless, only for the flag to go up.
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Carlton Morris was incensed after his opener for Luton Town was controversially ruled offside in their Championship clash with Sunderland.
Luton came out of the blocks fast and Tahith Chong produced quality footwork on the edge of the area to draw a foul, but Alfie Doughty’s whipped cross was dealt with by the Sunderland defence.
The Hatters continued to push and Victor Moses skipped down the right before fizzing a cross to Morris inside the area but the striker’s attempt narrowly missed the right post and went out for a goal kick.
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Chris Rigg gives Sunderland the lead with an incredibly worked solo goal keeping close control with the ball and finishing calmly into the Luton net.
The league leaders were far from their best as Luton’s aggressive approach often stopped them finding any rhythm.
And Luton almost took the lead before the break when Morris’ looping header off another Moses cross had to be tipped over by Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson to keep it level.
Moments later, Morris tapped home a flick-on from a corner but it was ruled out for offside with Jordan Clark seemingly having been deemed to have been interfering with play before the ball reached the Luton captain.
Rob Edwards’ men continued to pepper the goal after the interval. Elijah Adebayo jumped highest to meet a cross but was denied by Patterson, who tipped the ball over the crossbar.
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Romaine Mundle struck a powerful effort past Luton ‘keeper Thomas Kaminski from the edge of the box to put Sunderland 2-1 up in the Sky Bet Championship.
But Luton paid the price for their missed chances as Sunderland converted their first opportunity of note in the 55th minute.
A ball into the space between the two centre-backs found Rigg, and the teenager showed great composure to control the ball and drill it into the bottom right corner to give the title hopefuls the lead.
Morris and Adebayo combined to level the game eight minutes later. A corner was sent back into the danger zone on the volley by Morris and Adebayo was well-positioned to nod in the equaliser for his first goal of the campaign.
But Luton’s leveller was short lived as Sunderland edged ahead again three minutes later.
Jobe Bellingham hustled to turn the ball over and after Mundle drove down the left, the winger cut inside with ease past Luton’s defence before he produced a rifled shot into the top right corner.
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Following their 2-1 win at Luton, Sunderland captain Luke O’Nien jumped in to a brawl between the two sides at full-time at Kenilworth Road.
The managers
Luton’s Rob Edwards:
“I feel disappointed at the moment.
“Credit to Sunderland, they’ve come away from home and won the game, they’re top of the league for a reason.
“We’re bitterly disappointed. We dominated the game from start to finish.”
Sunderland’s Regis Le Bris:
“They have a strong style of play which is difficult with the second balls.
“They played very well and it’s hard to escape this pressure. We did well in the first five or six minutes and didn’t take the opportunity to score.
“We struggled to apply pressure to their back three and conceded many corner kicks, they are strong.
“I’m very proud of the team’s spirit and behaviour in the game. Again it’s a good win.”
