Luton Town FC vs Watford (19th Oct 2024)

19/10/2024 LUTON TOWN 3 – 0 WATFORD

Hatters humble the Hornets

Goals from Clark, Morris and Brown seal a beautiful victory at the Old Girl

Come the end of this one-sided derby, the Town players and staff took in the deserved acclaim of their 10,000 supporters as Kenilworth Road bounced to a fine tune of three points and three goals against their old enemies.

It showed unity and togetherness after a 90 minutes in which the Hatters thoroughly earned to make it three home wins in a row in this fixture and seal their biggest win in this derby since two goals apiece from Brian Stein and David Moss secured a 4-1 victory here back in 1981.

Pre-match was all about whether the teams ‘knew’ what it meant. From the get go, both Town players and fans played their part in what would turn out to be an unforgettable afternoon.

Derbies hinge on small moments. Small, early moments in the match, especially. And 150 seconds into this, once the players had emerged to a cacophony of noise that gave you goosebumps, hearts were in mouths. The ball bounced off debutant Tom Holmes’ boot 50 yards from his own goal. Looping over the head of Thomas Kaminski, the spin, thankfully, favoured the Town and the ball bounced wide.

Any jitters on or off the pitch would be soon cast aside, however, as the Hatters began to drive forward with intent and hustle and harry the lives out of the Hornets.

No sooner had Reece Burke raised the decibel level after testing Daniel Bachmann with a rasping low drive on seven minutes, the Town were in front. Alfie Doughty’s left-wing corner was half-cleared by the visitors and Holmes hammered the ball back goalwards. As well as those small moments in derbies, you also need a bit of luck. Jordan Clark stuck out a leg inside the six-yard box to divert the ball beyond Bachmann and Kenilworth Road erupted.

It was blood and thunder stuff on a slick playing surface which benefited from a pre-match deluge with Clark soon in the book for a late sliding tackle on Edo Kayembe. A chance then came Tahith Chong’s way on the 20-minute mark, only for his drive to fly over the bar.

Moments later a hectic passage of play had ‘derby’ written all over it when Bachmann gifted the Hatters the ball only for Elijah Adebayo, Clark and Chong to all pass up a shooting chance. Watford sprung immediately on the counter and only a fantastic last-ditch tackle from Mark McGuinness denied the Hornets from levelling.

But going forward it was like the Town of old, with Carlton Morris and Adebayo tormenting the Watford defence at almost every opportunity. The pair combined seven minutes before the break with Ryan Porteous on hand to clear the danger with Adebayo lurking, inches away from making it 2-0.

Leading by one at the break, the start of the second half saw the Hatters forced into what would be a string of substitutions in a spell that saw four Town men needed to be withdrawn. Holmes was the first, making way for Daiki Hashioka – the Japan international making his first appearance of the season.

But the Hatters needn’t have worried. Less than two minutes into the second period it was two. Doughty’s corner did the damage, curling invitingly from the right to the back post where captain Morris was free to power a downward header past an exposed Bachmann. The skipper’s performance benefitted a game of such magnitude and he would later be showered with man-of-the-match plaudits come the end.

The Old Girl was now in fine voice but on 53 minutes Rob Edwards needed to shuffle his pack once more when Burke needed to be replaced by Joe Johnson.

Up until this point in the contest, Kaminski had largely been a spectator but the Belgian was needed on 55 minutes to deny the visitors, flying to his left to keep out Tom Dele-Bashiru’s low goal-bound effort from the edge of the penalty area. It was a crucial save at a vital time with the Town rearranging things at the back.

The Hatters had Chong and then Tom Krauß taken off with knocks but to their credit Edwards’ side battled with their makeshift defence continuing to frustrate the Hornets.

With the Hatters in control it was almost 3-0 with 21 minutes left when Doughty – now operating in central defence – drove forward and fed Adebayo and his lay off for Brown saw Bachmann save.

And with six minutes left it was almost curtains for the visitors when Adebayo, who had been a menace all afternoon, was thwarted by the legs of Bachmann.

But there was no reprieve for the Hornets two minutes into stoppage time when the Hatters did make it three. Substitute Jacob Brown raced onto Kaminski’s long ball that the Watford defence misjudged and composed himself to slot a calm low finish beyond Bachmann to bring the house down. It was a poignant moment for the forward – his first goal since December last year and his recovery from a serious knee injury.

At that point it was done – with no way back for the Hornets and the Town could toast a famous victory in front of their supporters as the old ground shook in celebration of a 58th win in the history of this derby.

That’s more like it.

See you on Wednesday against Sunderland.

UTFT!

Town: Kaminski, Doughty, Moses, Burke (sub Johnson 53), McGuinness, Holmes (sub Hashioka 46), Krauß (sub Mpanzu 65) Clark, Chong (sub Nakamba 58), Morris (sub Brown 65), Adebayo.

Subs not used: Krul, Woodrow, Taylor, Nelson, Johnson.

Attendance: 11,758, including 1,281 in the away end.

Rob's Watford verdict

The boss reflects on a glorious afternoon at Kenilworth Road

An exhausted Rob Edwards was a happy and relieved man after the Town ended a run of three games without a win in emphatic style with a memorable derby day win over Watford.

Goals from Jordan Clark, Carlton Morris and Jacob Brown sealed victory inside a raucous Kenilworth Road.

And after enduring a disappointing spell that had seen the Hatters drop to 21st place in the Championship, the manager was pleased his side rose to the occasion against the Hornets.

“I’m really pleased because I know how much it means,” the boss said in his post-match press conference.

“It’s been a big two weeks because we knew we had to respond to the disappointment after the last game.

“The lads have done that every day and got the job done, because that is when it matters.

“It looked like it mattered to them, that they cared and understood the magnitude of game and I’m really proud of them.

“I thought everyone was a 7 or 8 of 10 and the intensity was amazing. We had 23 high regains – a record for us. We had purpose with and without the ball and there was a fire about us.

“Overall the club was united today and the spirit of the fans was amazing. It’s been difficult for everyone, including the players, and we knew we had to give them something to shout about and the players responded.

“We needed to be united. But just because we won, and had a good performance, it’s a long season and we need to stick together.”

The only negative on an otherwise glorious afternoon were the injuries to four players in a 20-minute spell after half-time that saw Tom Holmes, Tom Krauß, Tahith Chong and Reece Burke.

The quartet are now doubts for Sunderland next week.

“I’m pretty drained now,” added Edwards. “I need to try and pick a team for Wednesday.

“I enjoyed it for about five minutes on the couch as attention turns to Sunderland.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDcKEoxS6wk – Rob Edwards post match interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN5n23s8v7M – Match highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCJa5UDVkXA – Extended highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3L3bqMm6Es – game day unmasked

Pumped up Hatters dish out a derby day battering to Watford

Championship: Luton Town 3 Watford 0

It’s true, Watford do get battered everywhere they go at the moment, as Luton’s dominance over their sworn enemies on home soil continued when securing their biggest derby day victory at Kenilworth Road since 1981, dishing out a humbling 3-0 defeat to the Hornets this afternoon.

Any worries that the Hatters form going into the contest was going to be an issue, Town without a success in their last three matches, were not just thrown out of the window early on, but firmly launched by Rob Edwards’ side. Instantly getting stuck into their opponents, who wisely didn’t arrive in Harry Potter buses on this occasion, Tom Cleverley’s team never came anywhere close to inflicting the kind of pain he had spoken about in the build-up, producing the meekest of displays to make it a fifth successive defeat on the road.

That was done with three changes from the insipid 2-0 loss at Sheffield United before the international break as well, Tom Holmes making his full debut in place of the injured Teden Mengi, with skipper Carlton Morris and Tahith Chong both back as well. The build-up had seen Town boss Rob Edwards call for his players to win their duels and their battles, and he most certainly got that, which in turn saw their home supporters, starved of success this calendar year, respond accordingly.

It almost didn’t start that way though, Luton almost gifting Watford the lead in the most bizarre fashion, Holmes almost marking his first start for all the wrong reasons, attempting a 50-yard backpass that was way over the head of keeper Thomas Kaminski, fortunately bouncing just inches past the post. From the corner Giorgi Chakvetadze had a crack from outside the box which took a deflection on its way behind, Town soon able to clear their lines.

Although playing in a more conventional role this time, Reece Burke was still able to provide a threat upfront, staying onside when a free kick rebounded back to him, forcing Daniel Bachmann into a low save at his near post. The action didn’t let up either, Tom Dele-Bashiru curving way over the top at the other end, before Luton got the goal their support craved on just 11 minutes.

How much the scorer knew about it was anyone’s guess though, as Alfie Doughty’s corner saw Morris slip and take out a covering defending allowing Holmes to fire in a volley that rebounded off the knee of Clark, who appeared to be trying to take evasive action and get out of the way, the ball hitting him and creeping into the corner of the net.

It led to a period of real dominance for Town, who were constantly pressing their opponents and winning the ball back in good positions, although they ought to have doubled their lead on 20 minutes, another corner causing huge problems, Chong unable to keep his effort down from the edge of the box. With Elijah Adebayo leading the charge, Town almost took advantage of a poor kick from Bachmann, but hesitated at the wrong moment, allowing Watford to counter.

The Hornets looked to spring Vakoun Bayo on the left, who was warded off by a wonderful sliding challenge from Mark McGuinness which drew roars of approval from the red-hot Bedfordshire crowd. With the Hatters moving back to the style that had got them so much success in the past, looking to find both Adebayo and Morris in the channels, the latter was freed on 38 minutes by Chong, tricked his way into the area as only a full length sliding intervention from Ryan Porteous kept Adebayo from opening his account for the season.

A lovely dinked cross by Chong saw no team-mate gamble, with Doughty then giving the ball away, Chakvetadze showing the Hornets were not out of it, arrowing narrowly over just before the break. The impressive Holmes had to unfortunately make way at the break, Japanese international Daiki Hashioka on for his first action of the season, but despite that setback, Luton got off to the perfect start just two minutes, Doughty’s hanging corner met by Morris at the far post, his header having way too much power for Bachmann.

It was no more than the skipper deserved too, with a wonderful performance when leading the line, his third goal of the campaign easing the nerves of any supporter who thought Town had been in danger of letting their opponents off the hook. Unfortunately Luton’s defensive issues, which decimated their chances of Premier League survival last term, came back to bite, Burke tweaking his groin after over-extending which saw teenager Joe Johnson on, Doughty and Hashioka now either side of McGuiness as emergency centre halves.

With Chong soon trudging off too, Marvelous Nakamba on, it looked like the remaining half an hour would be all about Town trying to cling on to their advantage, Kaminski flying to his left to parry Dele-Bashiru’s curler away, although that was to be his only real serious action of the entire fixture. Yes, the game did start to get that bit more stretched, but you could sense it meant more to the Hatters, Doughty with a terrific sliding block, Nakamba with a couple to halt counter attacks, and McGuinness, who gave his best showing so far, with a brilliant 50/50 challenge as well.

Settling down once more, with club legend Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu joining Jacob Brown on, Tom Krauß the latest to be forced off, Town, thanks to the unbelievable work-rate of Adebayo, stayed a threat in the final third themselves. As Doughty adapted to life as a centre half, nipping in to win the ball back and find Adebayo who in turn picked out Brown to shoot wide via a deflection, the Hornets players’ inability to pick out a pass meant the final 15 minutes weren’t as nervy as they could have been.

In fact, Luton should have had a third, Mpanzu sending Adebayo away but he couldn’t quite open his account for the campaign due to the body of Bachmann. Town fans were able to celebrate once more though before the final whistle, Kaminski’s long ball seeing Brown spin Porteous, set off, cut inside Angelo Ogbonna and locate the bottom corner to seal a victory the jubilant home crowd will remember for a long time to come.

Hatters: Thomas Kaminski, Victor Moses, Reece Burke (Joe Johnson 53), Mark McGuinness, Tom Holmes (Daiki Hashioka 46), Alfie Doughty, Tom Krauß (Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu 66), Jordan Clark, Tahith Chong (Marvelous Nakamba 58), Carlton Morris (C, Jacob Brown 66), Elijah Adebayo. Subs not used: Tim Krul, Cauley Woodrow, Joe Taylor, Zack Nelson.

Hornets: Daniel Bachmann, Ryan Porteous, Mattie Pollock, Giorgi Chakvetadze, Ken Sema (Festy Ebosele 65), Moussa Sissoko ©, Vakoun Bayo (Daniel Jebbison 52), Angelo Ogbonna, Tom Dele-Bashiru (Tom Ince 82), Edo Kayembe (Kwadwo Baah 53), Ryan Andrews (Rocco Vata 82). Subs not used: Jonathan Bond, Francisco Sierralta, James Morris, Yasser Larouci.

Referee: Stephen Martin.

Booked: Bayo 7, Clark 16, Doughty 35, Porteous 36, Hashioka 60.

Attendance: 11,758 (1,281 Hornets).

Edwards left bursting with pride as his Luton players show their mettle against Watford

Hatters boss reacts to 3-0 victory over Hornets

Luton boss Rob Edwards hailed every single one of his players for showing just how much it mattered to them when producing an outstanding performance in defeating arch-rivals Watford 3-0 at Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

The Hatters supporters who packed out Kenilworth Road for the contest against a side that haven’t travelled well to Bedfordshire in recent years, also losing their last four on the road, arrived with an element of trepidation, having only witnessed one home win all season, and going into the game on the back of what was their worst showing of the campaign, losing 2-0 at Sheffield United before the international break.

Any fears of being turned over by their rivals were quickly put to one side, Luton snapping into their challenges from the off and Jordan Clark somehow diverting Tom Holmes’ volley into the net on 11 minutes to give them the lead they desired. Edwards’ side didn’t take a backward step once from there on either, Carlton Morris capping his own wonderful performance with a close range header from Alfie Doughty’s corner and then Jacob Brown sealing the points in stoppage time.

Speaking afterwards, Edwards, who has now masterminded Town to two victories over a team he once managed for just 11 games before being sacked ahead of being appointed by the Hatters, said: “It was good. We had a good day here on April the first last year and we've had another one today. I’m really pleased for the supporters because I know how much it means for them.

“It's been a big two weeks and we knew we had to respond after the disappointment of our last game. The lads have done that every day in the two weeks and then they've gone and shown it today as well and that's when it matters. It's no good just talking about it, you've got to go and show it. And they did it. It looked like today it mattered to us. It looked like they cared. It looked like they understood the magnitude of the game. We're really, really proud of them.

“I thought that every individual was at least seven or eight out of ten. We made a few mistakes, you’re always going to make some, but a few, and if we did, we recovered really well, either with a great block or a great tackle. I thought we played the conditions well because it was a difficult pitch, but our intensity was amazing. We had 23 high regains in their half. That’s a record for us and something that we do look at. Both with and without the ball, we had a real purpose, and a fire about us that I liked.”

Both of Luton’s first two goals came from set-pieces sent into the box by Doughty, as his corners were a real creative force for the hosts all afternoon. Although Clark knew little about his involvement in the first one, actually trying to get out of the way of Holmes’ volley, there was no doubting Morris’s intentions moments into the second period, criminally left unmarked to power his header beyond Daniel Bachmann.

Edwards continued: “We earned our own luck at that moment. The delivery, the areas that we hit, we've been threatening. I know we've not scored from them (corners) this year, but we've been threatening from them, and we always get a lot, we are a crossing team and we do get a lot of set-pieces. It was great today to see a couple of them go in. Any goal is welcome, especially on a day like this, but it was great to go 2-0 up so early into that second half. And then it was important to try and maintain the level.”

By that point, Luton had been hit by injuries though, Holmes’ full debut ended at the break, before the second period saw Reece Burke, Tahith Chong and Tom Krauß all forced off as well. Despite their misfortune and ending up with a defence containing Daiki Hashioka and Alfie Doughty alongside the excellent Mark McGuinness in Town’s back three, flanked by two wingbacks at the opposite ends of their careers, Victor Moses and teenager Joe Johnson, goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski didn’t really have to make any major saves, bar parrying one long range curler away.

Edwards added: “It’s just a real challenge at the moment because we lost a centre back at half time. We lost a centre back during the second half, we finished off with two wing backs, wingers really, at centre back. A young kid came on in JJ and it's a big game for him to come into, almost out from the cold.

“It's ridiculous at the moment how we're having to manage it. It's hard, and you know, we're going to be dealing with that again on Wednesday now (against Sunderland). But to keep a clean sheet today, with all the injuries and stuff that we had to deal with was incredible. I enjoyed the third goal the most. I think it was just about able to sort of breathe at that point.”