Luton ended 22 years without victory against the Potters with a clinical 2-1 win at the Bet365 Stadium, proving that the Town can do it on a wet Wednesday night in Stoke. Here are our five takeaways from the victory.
- Danny dazzles to prove his doubters wrong!
Social media was full of doubt ahead of the game when the name of Danny Hylton appeared on the team sheet from the start. The Town number 9 rammed those words down the throats of those who doubted him with a wonderful performance. Employed primarily in the 10 position with an eye on stunting the impact of Potters’ captain Joe Allen, Hylton played that role to perfection and then capped a fine display with the opening goal rounding off a brilliant move with a crisp, sharp finish for his second goal of the season. If you are one of those who thought Hylton’s days were done or he wasn’t good enough at this level think again. He is still a big part of the squad.
2. Town sizzle under the lights again!
Luton’s record under the Kenilworth Road floodlights is renowned and has become a foundation of their success for a number of years but they are undefeated on their travels in midweek this term too. Tonight was the 11th road game on a Tuesday or Wednesday night and the record now reads eight wins and three draws without a single defeat. With more midweek games still to come – including an FA Cup fifth round clash against World Cup Champions Chelsea – Nathan Jones will hope his charges can continue this fine midweek record for the remainder of the season.
3. Team goals a trademark of this exciting Town side
There are lots of different type of goals in a game of football but the best ones are the team goals and Town opened the scoring at the Bet365 Stadium with a wonderful example. Some lovely passing got the ball out wide to James Bree who beat his man with a lovely flick before sending Harry Cornick down the right wing. His cross was met with a sumptuous first time finish by Hylton as the Hatters gave their hosts a look at just how to play the beautiful game!
4. Awesome Amari’i impresses again
Say it quietly but Amari’i Bell is becoming a real key cog in the Town formation. After what was his best game in a Town shirt against West Brom on Saturday, he doubled down on that effort here and was outstanding in the left wing-back role. Bell kept the threat of Tyrese Campbell at bay and the longer the match went on, as the Town grew as an attacking force, he bombed forward in tricky conditions to be a key contributor to plenty of attacks. On the opening Luton Town Supporters’ Trust podcast of the season Nathan Jones told me he had chased Bell for a while. This week has shown why and boy are we all glad he got his man!
5. Nathan Jones he’s too good for you!
That was the chant that bellowed out from the away end throughout a second period which the Town completely dominated and while much of it was to wind up those in the home end who still have beef with the Town boss, it should be recognised just how much an impact the Hatters gaffer had on the win. His decision to include Hylton in the starting line-up became an inspired one when the striker opened the scoring and it was the boss’ game-changer Cameron Jerome who bagged the winner a few minutes after coming on. Not only is Nathan taking the Town up like he said he would, he is becoming a tactical genius in the process!
