Luton Town FC vs Huddersfield Town (25th Nov 2025)

25/11/2025 LUTON TOWN 2-1 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN

Yates fires Town back to winning ways

Hatters earn Jack Wilshere his first home league win charge with victory over Huddersfield

Jerry Yates’ second-half winner helped the Town banish the disappointment of Saturday’s defeat at Barnsley with victory over Huddersfield at Kenilworth Road.

Jack Wilshere’s five changes from Saturday’s heavy defeat to Barnsley included a first league start for Hakeem Odoffin since his return from injury in late October.

The Town were well on top in the opening minutes. George Saville’s corner towards the back post was hit goalwards on the volley by Yates, who forced a strong save from Owen Goodman at his near post.

Kal Naismith played a sumptuous over the top of Huddersfield’s defence for Cohen Bramall to run onto. The full-back collected the ball and played it off a Terriers defender for a Town corner. The following corner saw Naismith’s effort closed down instantly, resulting in a fourth corner for Luton just five minutes into the match.

After 15 minutes played,the Town came agonisingly close to the opener when Bramall’s deep delivery was knocked narrowly wide of the post by the shoulder of Ruben Roosken.

It was Bramall again causing all sorts of problems to the Terriers defence, yet another great delivery, this time into the centre of the area, was hooked clear by Marcus Harness.

However, just after the half-hour mark, Jake Richards fired the Hatters into the lead. Ben Wiles’ headed clearance was a tame one, and on the volley, Richards launched the ball goalwards and via a deflection, put the Town in front.

Wiles was then close to bringing Huddersfield level just shy of half-time, his effort was expertly blocked by Nigel Lonwijk who cleverly positioned himself behind Josh Keeley.

After the break Richards set off down the left and played the ball into Lamine Fanne, who steadied himself and let go from distance, but his effort was kit high into the Kenilworth Road end as the Town looked for a second goal.

But the Terriers started the second-half the brighter side and on 64 minutes the visitors were level. Leo Casledine’s produced an unstoppable effort from a free-kick from 20 yards, high into the top left corner and out of Keeley’s reach.

However, the Town showed great character to compose themselves and were back in front seven minutes later. Fanne’ attempt from just inside the area was parried back to the midfielder by Goodman and he played the ball across the face of the goal for Yates to tap into an empty net for his second league goal of the season.

Back in front the Hatters went in search of a killer third. Substitute Jacob Brown led the Town on a late charge down the right but his ball into the area was smothered by Goodman with while the visiting keeper almost prevented Fanne with a smart stop.

There were a few nervous moments when eight additional minutes were shown but the Town dug in and kept out the Terriers to give Wilshere his first home league win in charge – a result that lifts the Town up to seventh in the League One table.

Town: Keeley, Odoffin, Lonwijk (Andersen 74), Mengi, Naismith, Bramall, Walsh, Saville, Fanne, Richards (Brown 57), Yates (Morris 83).

Subs not used: Shea, Makosso, Kodua, Nelson.

Attendance: 9,971, including 589 shouting for Huddersfield.

Report by Owen Williams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68spGhD1dcg – Jack Wilshere post match interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K21yAklzsj8 – match highlights

League One: Luton Town 2 Huddersfield Town 1

Yates bags the winner as Luton hit back from Barnsley disaster with Terriers win

Luton Town bounced back from their 5-0 humbling at Barnsley on Saturday by earning the first home league victory of manager Jack Wilshere’s tenure as they demonstrated some real grit and determination to see off Huddersfield Town 2-1 this evening.

The hosts had looked in control during a first half in which Jake Richards hammered them in front, but then saw that lead extinguished through Leo Castledine’s terrific free kick just after the hour mark. However, rather than buckle, the hosts found a second wind as Jerry Yates turned home Lamine Fanne’s effort from a yardout to restore the Hatters’ advantage as they were able to hold off any comeback from the visitors and move to within a point of the play-offs.

Town chief Jack Wilshere swung the axe following his side’s debacle at Oakwell, with five changes in total as Hakeem Odoffin, Nigel Lonwijk, Lamine Fanne, Jake Richards and Jerry Yates came in for Mads Andersen, Gideon Kodua, Zack Nelson, Izzy Jones, and Nahki Wells, the final two missing out on the squad completely.

Shayden Morris and Christ Makosso were back on the bench for the hosts, who with Lonwijk moving to the centre of Luton’s back three, Odoffin as right wingback and Fanne moved further forward, made a bright start to the contest, winning a number of early corners, one deep delivery by George Saville volleyed goalwards by the unmarked Yates, keeper Owen Goodman palming behind.

The next one also found the striker at the back post but this time he could only connect with fresh air, as Goodman was required to punch another decent cross out as Luton made a far brighter start than any of their other two home games under Wilshere. With 15 gone, Town, who were playing some refreshing attacking football, and none of the pedestrian build-up that saw then struggle to break down Rotherham in their last outing here, almost took the lead when Cohen Bramall got at his man and sent over a tantalising cross that Ruben Roosken nodded narrowly wide of his own goal.

Lonwijk got back well to make an important intervention once Teden Mengi missed his kick, before Bramall's crosses again caused danger, sending one over Goodman where Yates was looking to score, only for Marcus Harness to get back in the nick of time and clear the danger. Town did have the lead that they fully deserved though on 34 minutes when they won yet another corner and kept the ball alive, as a cross was headed out to Richards some 22 yards from goal, the teenager showing superb technique to let fly as his shot took a nick off skipper Ryan Ledson to wrongfoot Goodman and arrow its way into the roof of the net.

He almost had a second moments later too as Bramall threaded him in, but this time a Terriers defender was present to make an important block. The goal led to Huddersfield having their best spell though, Castledine sprinting away on the left and delivering a fine cross that was only just beyond the stretching Ben Wiles. Wiles then went alone himself as he got the better of Naismith and although Bramall applied the pressure, was still able to pull the trigger, as it appeared to hit Lonwijk’s arm, although referee Andrew Humphries waved away the appeals which infuriated the Terriers bench.

With almost all Luton’s attacks coming on their left, another fine ball in by Bramall saw Odoffin’s attempt easily gathered by Goodman as if the hosts can ever find an imposing striker, he would simply love the kind of service provided from the ex-Arsenal youngster. Town almost gifted their opponents a way back into the game just 10 seconds after the interval though, Mengi leaving the ball in the box when he had put his foot through so many others, as two Huddersfield attackers then bizarrely tackled each other, as Lonwijk was able to blast away.

Fanne tried to double Town’s lead, shooting waywardly from 20 yards, but worryingly Luton had lost some of the control they had in the first half, the Terriers looking far more of an attacking threat than at any stage in the opening 45 minutes. Goalscorer Richards had to make way for Jacob Brown after picking up a knock, which saw Jacob Brown on for his second outing of the season, as Naismith made an important intervention to prevent an increasingly dominant visitors from restoring parity on the hour mark.

Huddersfield did get the goal they had been threatening on 64 minutes, in superb style too, Castledine bending a quite brilliant free kick beyond Keeley, who having been beaten from a set-piece at the weekend, tried to second guess the attacker, taking a few steps to his left, and unable to recover in time as it flew into the side he had been protecting. Rather than let the goal affect them, Luton were back on the front foot and didn’t have to wait long before they were back in front as with 71 minutes gone, Huddersfield played themselves into trouble at the back, Town getting their press spot on, Walsh doing well to win the ball back.

It eventually dropped to Fanne whose shot was parried by Goodman, the rebound falling to the midfielder who had another go which beat the keeper this time, as Yates slid in at the far post to make sure, notching his fifth of the season. Fanne tried to add a third, only to see Goodman do his job correctly this time, as Shayden Morris came on for his first outing under Wilshere.

Fanne, who had been a real threat saw calls for a penalty turned down after he was wrestled to the ground in the area, but with eight minutes of injury time signalled, Town still had plenty of work to do. They almost had a pressure-relieving third in the first of them, Odoffin nodding wide from a corner at the back post before they should have wrapped the victory up when Saville did excellently to nip in and send Brown away on the right, his cross having too much on it for Morris. It mattered not though, Town expertly working the ball up for the final 60 seconds, to seal Wilshere’s opening triumph in Bedfordshire.

Hatters: Josh Keeley, Hakeem Odoffin, Nigel Lonwijk (Mads Andersen 75), Teden Mengi, Kal Naismith (C), George Saville, Liam Walsh, Lamine Fanne, Jake Richards (Jacob Brown 57), Cohen Bramall, Jerry Yates (Shayden Morris 84).

Subs not used: James Shea, Zack Nelson, Gideon Kodua, Christ Makosso.

Terriers: Owen Goodman, Lasse Sorensen (Lynden Gooch 78), Ryan Ledson ©, Joe Low, Ben Wiles (Antony Evans 78, Joe Taylor 81), Marcus Harness, Ruben Roosken, Dion Charles (Alfie May 78), Josh Feeney, Leo Castledine, Bojan Radulovic (Cameron Ashia 82).

Subs not used: Lee Nicholls, Murray Wallace.

Booked: Harness 54.

Referee: Andrew Humphries.

Attendance: 9,971 (589 Terriers).

Wilshere praises Luton's winning response to being 'punched in the face' by Barnsley

Hatters hit back from 5-0 drubbing to beat Huddersfield

Luton boss Jack Wilshere praised his side for recovering from being ‘punched in the face’ by Barnsley on Saturday to beat Huddersfield Town 2-1 just three days later at Kenilworth Road this evening.

After the weekend’s 5-0 humiliation at Oakwell in what was an absolute horror show for the visitors, Town ensured they put that behind them at the very first attempt, as they began brightly, Jerry Yates going close from a corner, before the hosts did take the lead through Jake Richards’ excellent 22-yard drive that took a nick off Ryan Ledson to wrongfoot keeper Owen Goodman and fly into the roof of the net on 34 minutes.

Having produced their best 45 minutes on home soil since the ex-Arsenal and England star was appointed, the Hatters were then slightly off the boil in the early moments of the second period, Leo Castledine firing in a magnificent 25-yard free kick to level the scores just after the hour mark. Rather than go under though, Town took the game to their opponents, particularly through Lamine Fanne, as it was his shot that saw Jerry Yates slide in to turn over the line from a yard out on 71 minutes to secure all three points.

Asked how pleased he was with the reaction from the weekend’s debacle, Wilshere said: “It was very important. We got punched in the face on Saturday, punched, and it was tough. Sunday the boys were in, we sat down, we looked at the game, we gave them our opinions, they gave us their opinions and the most important thing tonight was that we got up, we showed character, we showed passion.

"It wasn’t a tactical thing, it was about desire, it was about winning duels, to play forward, to attack with a purpose. I thought we did that and I’m really proud of them for that. Second half they score, we get punched in the face again and we have to show even more character and they did that and I was really proud of them.”

Wilshere had made five changes to his side from that loss in South Yorkshire, with Nigel Lonwijk, Hakeem Odoffin, Fanne, Yates and Richards coming in for injured duo Nahki Wells and Izzy Jones, as Mads Andersen, Gideon Kodua and Zack Nelson dropped to the bench. On his selection, the boss added: “Nahki’s injured, Izzy wasn’t fit, but we spoke about that before. I made that clear to the players before the game at the weekend that someone might not be in the squad for this game, but they’re probably going to play Tuesday and it was the same tonight.

"It wasn’t a tactical thing, it was about desire, it was about winning duels, to play forward, to attack with a purpose. I thought we did that and I’m really proud of them for that. Second half they score, we get punched in the face again and we have to show even more character and they did that and I was really proud of them.”

Wilshere had made five changes to his side from that loss in South Yorkshire, with Nigel Lonwijk, Hakeem Odoffin, Fanne, Yates and Richards coming in for injured duo Nahki Wells and Izzy Jones, as Mads Andersen, Gideon Kodua and Zack Nelson dropped to the bench. On his selection, the boss added: “Nahki’s injured, Izzy wasn’t fit, but we spoke about that before. I made that clear to the players before the game at the weekend that someone might not be in the squad for this game, but they’re probably going to play Tuesday and it was the same tonight.

Luton boss impressed by Town's greater 'purpose' during Huddersfield triumph

Town move away from possession-based approach against Terriers

Luton boss Jack Wilshere was impressed by the ‘purpose’ his side played with against Huddersfield Town during their 2-1 victory at Kenilworth Road last night.

The Hatters had gone into the contest on the back of an embarrassing 5-0 battering at Barnsley on Saturday, as while despite doing well on the road prior to that awful showing, at home, in the league anyway, it had been a tough watch, beaten 2-0 by Mansfield during Wilshere’s first game in charge and then held to a goalless draw by Rotherham United in their last outing in front of their own fans.

During the confest with the Millers, Luton persisted with a possession based approach, trying to draw their opponents out, a tactic that never worked as Town’s visitors had no trouble at all in leaving Bedfordshire with their point intact. In that game, goalkeeper Josh Keeley and the back three of Teden Mengi, Mads Andersen and Kal Naismith had a massive 382 touches of the ball between them, with the back three finishing with 277 passes as well, usually just transferring it between each other or back to Keeley in what was an increasingly laboured build-up.

However, against the Terriers, Luton adopted a far more direct approach throughout the 90 minutes, as with Nigel Lonwijk replacing Andersen, the quartet had just 189 touches, less than half on this occasion, as they only completed 99 passes as well. Although they had a mere 47.8 percent possession, down from their 69.1 percent against Rotherham, the Hatters possessed far more of a goal threat, with 13 shots, five on target and 24 touches inside the Terriers area, whereas in their last match they managed just 12 shots, three on target and 20 touches inside the box.

On the change in approach, Wilshere said: “That’s the key word, purpose. We spoke yesterday and we trained it, we trained playing forward and I said before, there’s so many amazing things that happen in football, they try to build in the right way and I loved how brave the players have been with trying to do that, but also let’s not forget that the purpose is to score goals, is to attack is to put the opposition under pressure. I think the more pressure you can put them under, the more opportunities you're going to have and we did that really well tonight.

“I think the energy and the purpose we played with was good. We spoke before the game about attacking the box, keeping the pressure on them, keeping the attacks in their half, playing a little bit more direct at times, as we can do it and we’re good at it. We’re also good at making passes and playing through teams at times, but I think when you play against especially the better teams in the league, you have to be able to mix it up. You have to have variation in how you play and I was happy with that.”

With Town now having broken their duck under Wilshere on home soil, and also gained their first league win of his reign in Bedfordshire, it was something he was pleased to tick off, especially following on from such a result at the weekend, continuing: “It was nice and the most important thing was that we responded. Of course it’s nice for me that we get a home win, get a couple of goals, play well I think and we can build on that, but tonight was about the response.

"I know that they have it in them as I said to them before the game, over the last few days I was really happy as everyone I spoke to, whether it be a staff member or a player, whether it be someone in the training ground, not one person questioned the character of the players and that for me is important as those are the people that know them the most. I know externally people will question it when we lose 5-0, but we’ve got a belief and a unity in the group that is impressive and we’re going to need that. This league, you need all of that and we’ll need it again this season.”

The fact that Town were also able to win having been breached, the first time they have done that this term too was another thing that pleased Wilshere, who was happy to see the spirit come through having been pegged back by Leo Castledine’s superb free kick after such a dominant opening 45 minutes in which Jake Richards put them ahead. He said: “The players, they have to find it in them. I always say to them, they’re on the pitch, we try to give them solutions and ideas to try and win the game, but they’re the ones who have to execute it, they’re the ones who feel it.

“They feel the momentum in the game and at that point the momentum had swung the other way. They scored a great goal, a top free kick, they were building a little bit of pressure and we had to find something else, find some character. I think Lamine (Fanne) was a big part of that, he drove the team forward with that but it was down to the players’ character. I’ve said it so many times that we’re going to have to suffer and we obviously didn’t suffer very well at the weekend, but we definitely suffered well today.

"I think back to the Stockport game, think back to the Northampton game, similar to that where it’s not always straightforward and in this league you’re going to get that. Huddersfield are a top team in this league and they’re going to have moments, they’re going to have players who are going to hurt you. We’re going to have to defend, defend our box, head it and kick and we did that well enough tonight.”

With Jerry Yates sliding into to put the hosts back in front, the final thing that pleased Wilshere was the way Town navigated the eight minutes of extra time the officials managed to find, especially the closing 60 seconds when they worked the ball up their right, winning three successive throw-ins to ensure Huddersfield couldn’t get any possession to try and mount a comeback.

He added: “I thought that was outstanding. We spoke about that a little bit, managing games when we’re winning, after the Stockport game actually and what it looks like. But again the players are the ones on the pitch and they have to feel it. I can tell them, take the ball to the corner, but it might not feel like the right moment, or delay some moments and they worked the line with the throw-in really well. Sometimes you have to do that. We go again in three, four days, so sometimes killing the game, wasting moments is important and I think we can get better at that as well.”