Teden Mengi slammed for ‘ridiculous’ moment in Luton Town draw v Everton
Tony Cascarino slammed Luton Town defender Teden Mengi as “ridiculous” for giving away a penalty in the draw with Everton.
Mengi had his arms all around Jarrad Branthwaite when defending a corner and conceded a spot-kick, which Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted.
Luton hit back through Elijah Adebayo, but former Chelsea striker Cascarino felt the three points were there for the taking if not for Mengi.
“I don’t want to use the word ‘coward’ because that’s unfair on him,” he said on talkSPORT [4 May, 06:18am].
“But you have to be brave in these decisions. It’s not about manhandling people, but being confident and making it as hard as possible.
“What he did was just ridiculous. He ends up grappling a player to the ground. It’s ended up costing his side a penalty and a goal.
“This is a game Luton could have won 1-0. That Mejbri decision has cost them dearly.”
Everton extend unbeaten run
Sean Dyche would have liked maximum points at Kenilworth Road, but the draw does at least keep the Toffees’ unbeaten run going.
It is now three wins and a draw for the Toffees in their past four outings, keeping a clean sheet in three of those.
That is quite the turnaround when you consider it was preceded by a 6-0 loss away at Chelsea on 15 April.
At that point, this trip to Luton was looking like a potential relegation decider, though as it is there was little riding on the game for Everton.
The players deserve credit for picking up another point, however, thanks in no small part to Mejbri’s quite atrocious defending.
The defender could have no complaints after VAR intervened as he basically wrestled Branthwaite to the ground.
It is a shame Dyche’s side could not hold on to their lead, but a point away from home is never a bad thing in this division.
In other Everton news, the chances of the club entering insolvency has been shared by The Telegraph.
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