Town’s Cauley Woodrow, who doubled his Premier League goal total against the Eagles on Saturday with a pivotal last-gasp goal for the Hatters, quipped that he wished he could face Crystal Palace every week.
Following his teenage success at Kenilworth Road, Woodrow was then sold to Fulham in March 2011 at the age of just 16. He went on to make his top flight debut for the Cottagers in the 2013–14 campaign, opening his account on May 11, 2014, when he scored in a 2-2 draw against—you guessed it—Crystal Palace. After Fulham’s relegation, he stayed at Craven Cottage until July 2019, when he signed a permanent contract to move to Barnsley. In the summer of 2022, he returned to Kenilworth Road.
Despite suffering from injuries at times this season, Woodrow scored three goals the previous season. He was also on target twice, including in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, where he also scored in stoppage time to help the team defeat Everton 2-1. But this one was the best of them all when, with only a few seconds left, he flicked a fantastic cross from Andros Townsend past goalkeeper Sam Johnstone to give the Hatters a potentially huge point as they attempt to stay up. The now 29-year-old said of the occasion, “It’s massive.” I might as well play them every week because I scored against Palace at Craven Cottage ten years ago. It’s a big week for us, so I’m just happy for everyone.
Once scoring, Woodrow was over to the Luton fans who were going simply bonkers at this point, as he got a spare ball and stuffed it up his top, admitting it was a celebration that had slipped his mind at Goodison Park back in January. He continued: “My wife’s pregnant and the baby’s due seventh of May. She said next time you score, stick the ball up your top. I scored against Everton and I forgot, so I was getting it in the earhole and wasn’t sure if I would score before the baby came. Thankfully it came today and she’s text already saying she’s over the moon so it’s good.”
The supporters in the away end chanted “he’s one of our own” at Woodrow as the Town players celebrated being one point closer to the teams that lost over the weekend—Nottingham Forest, Everton, and Brentford. He remarked, “It’s amazing, I love this club, I obviously have history here from when I was young,” after hearing the song. Since returning to the club last summer, I haven’t played as much as I would have liked to, but I’ve always had a positive outlook, kept my head down, and tried my hardest to help the squad out. It was such a wonderful moment, and I’m very appreciative that they did that in the end. I’m also thrilled that I was able to send them home in a cheerful mood.
The former England youth international’s goal and the way he scored it impressed the manager Rob Edwards, who said, “It’s typical of us, there’s probably a lot of stories like that at Luton Town.” Cauley is a bright young man. He struggled with injury throughout the season’s early going, but he’s been healthy for some time now and is seeing a lot more playing time, so I’m quite happy for him. It’s a lovely occasion for him, and he’s a great boy with good attributes. I’m glad for him.
