The Town Ladies returned to FA Northern Premier League action having previously been given special dispensation by the Football Association to postpone their last fixture due to a horrendous injury list.
The lack of a loan system in ladies' football meant that we were without a recognised goalkeeper but the extra week gave 17-year-old Sian Hall sufficient opportunity to recover from a long term ankle injury to make her first team debut.
The injury jinx struck again before the game though when striker Candice Davies was ruled out with a back problem as Luton travelled to Derby County for what was a real six pointer.
The game was just 16 minutes old when a superb passing move ended with Amy Summerfield finding Micky Taylor on the edge of the box.
Her first touch took her away from the Derby defender and she fired the ball past the advancing goalkeeper to give Town a 1-0 lead.
However, whilst Taylor was scoring her first goal of the season, she pulled her hamstring and had to be replaced.
Hall then made an outstanding double save pushing a shot one handed onto the post and saving with the follow up shot with her feet to maintain the lead.
After half-an-hour the almost unthinkable happened as a Derby defender deflected a misdirected Rebecca Kane pass into the path of Laveena Betts and she coolly finished to give Luton a 2-0 lead.
County were unable to respond and never really got a foothold until the last two minutes of the game when the Hatters were effectively reduced to 10 players having used all their substitutes after Nicola Henman got a knock on the ankle and then became a virtual passenger.
In the 88th minute a cross shot was deflected in at the far post by an alert Rams' striker and it almost seemed inevitable as the game moved into injury time that all was not yet over.
An unmarked Derby player then converted at the far post to equalise and it could have got worse for Town as, during six minutes of injury time, another County effort flew back off the post to safety.
A disappointed Dave Baker said: "Although we gained an away point it feels like we lost as we were again so close to taking all three points.
"Our overall fitness together with players not quite 100% fit is taking its toll.
"At Premier League level there is no hiding place and any weakness is quickly seized upon and punished.
"A win here would have brought us to within four points of Derby but now we have to do it all again and must get something from our next two matches at home to Curzon Ashton and Newcastle United."
