Luton Town

Reading 1-0 Luton
John Oster scored the only goal of the game as Reading advanced to the Carling Cup third round at the expense of Championship rivals Luton. The Royals found themselves under the cosh for much of the match. Dean Morgan fired over from the edge of the box and Warren Feeney was denied by Reading keeper Marcus Hahnemann. But the 26-year-old Oster fired home a free-kick from the edge of the box 10 minutes from time to snatch the victory for Steve Coppell's side. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Sonko, Hunt, Oster, Harper, Ingimarsson, Doyle (Lita 57), Makin, Obinna (Cox 85), Baradji. Subs Not Used: Gunnarsson, Little, Federici. Goals: Oster 80. Luton: Brill, Edwards, Davis, Coyne, Barnett (Keane 55), Nicholls, Holmes, Brkovic, Howard, Feeney, Morgan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subs Not Used: Seremet, O'Leary, Andrew, Stevens. Booked: Howard. Att: 6,941 Ref: M Fletcher (Worcestershire).

Luton 3-0 Preston
Steve Howard set the seal on a comfortable win as they overcame Preston with a first-half blitz. Howard drilled across goalkeeper Carlo Nash and into the far corner with eight minutes of the opening period left for his 93rd goal in 193 appearances. Earlier he had teed up Northern Ireland international Warren Feeney for the opener before Ahmet Brkovic doubled the advantage with a headed second. Chris Sedgwick and Dickson Etuhu came closest for Preston. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luton manager Mike Newell: "People might get excited, but they need to take stock of what we've done for the first 10 or 11 games here. "There might have been a bit of a surprise factor at first, but now teams will work out how to stop us. "Every successful team has to deal with that problem and we're no different." Preston boss Billy Davies: "I don't want to go on about our deficiencies, I'd rather talk about the good play of the opposition. "That's as poor as I've seen us and the defending in the first half was appalling, but credit to Luton they won all the battles and the 50-50 balls. "They outmuscled us and we didn't win any one-on-ones. Luton work hard and they get what they deserve." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luton: Beresford, Coyne, Heikkinen, Davis, Edwards, Nicholls, Robinson (Holmes 75), Brkovic (Keane 86), Morgan (Showunmi 81), Feeney, Howard. Subs Not Used: Perrett, Brill. Booked: Brkovic, Nicholls. Goals: Feeney 4, Brkovic 11, Howard 38. Preston: Nash, Alexander, Davidson, Hill, Lucketti, Jones, Sedgwick, Etuhu, McKenna (Agyemang 45), Lewis Neal (Mears 58), Dichio (Hibbert 81). Subs Not Used: Lonergan, Nowland. Booked: Davidson, Etuhu. Att: 7,815. Ref: C Penton (Sussex).

Sedgley joins Luton coaching team
Luton have appointed former Tottenham defender Steve Sedgley as a youth team coach at Kenilworth Road. The 37-year-old, who began his career at Coventry, spent five seasons at Spurs, racking up over 180 appearances. He moved to Ipswich in a £1m deal in the summer of 1994 and made over 100 appearances for the Tractor Boys before moving to Wolves in July 1997. Sedgley, who has a Uefa coaching licence, will work alongside Marvin Johnson at the Championship side.

Luton have earned break - Newell
Luton boss Mike Newell feels his squad have deserved their mini-break to Portugal - as their FA Cup exit means they have no game this weekend. The Hatters' next match is at Sheffield Wednesday next Tuesday, 31 January. "The lads have earned a break if you look at the results they have achieved during the first part of the season," Newell told his club's website. "There is no group bonding needed within the squad, but hopefully they can relax and recharge the batteries."

Newell charged over ref outburst
Luton Town manager Mike Newell has been charged by the Football Association for using abusive and/or insulting words towards match officials. The charge relates to Luton's defeat at Preston on Saturday where Newell was sent to the stands for hurling abuse at referee Darren Drysdale. The Hatters boss has also been asked to explain his post-match media comments about the match officials. Newell said after the match: "The fourth official is incompetent." Newell now has until 28 February to respond to the charge. The Hatters boss was angry at the officials' handling of the game. And after the match he said: "I don't want to get myself into more trouble than I'm already in, but I don't see the point in fourth officials because all they ever cause is trouble. "No-one (managers) ever gets sent off if there's no fourth official. I can't handle arrogance or incompetence from anybody. "I can't handle it, that's why I lost my temper. I can spot incompetence and arrogance very early."

Andrew to stay on at Bristol City
Calvin Andrew has extended his loan deal with Bristol City and will stay at Ashton Gate for another month. The Luton Town striker moved to the west country at the end of the January and made a promising start. However, the 19-year-old has since been sidelined by a knee problem he picked up in the defeat to Brentford. Boss Gary Johnson will be grateful of the extra time to run the rule over a player who was at Grimsby on loan earlier in the season.

Millwall 2-1 Luton
Marvin Williams came off the bench to score a priceless injury-time winner for Millwall and sink Luton. Ben May put the Lions ahead after 32 minutes when he controlled a high ball on his chest and beat Marlon Beresford for his third goal in three games. Luton were level a minute after the interval when Chris Coyne scored after good work by Steve Howard. Williams then burst between two static defenders late on to prod the ball past Beresford to give Millwall the points. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Millwall manager David Tuttle on his decision to substitute impressive debutant Colin Cameron: "I made the decision and luckily it worked. Colin played 90 minutes for Wolves reserves on Thursday and didn't train yesterday. "He's only here for a month and obviously we want to look after him. He's a great player and we didn't want to burn him out in his first game. "Marvin and Barry Colgan came on and livened the game up. With the effort we put in, I thought we deserved a result." Luton manager Mike Newell: "I'm getting used to not winning games that we should away from home. It's more than frustrating and I'm fed up of saying it. "I didn't feel we competed in the first half, and I told them at the break to go out and compete and I felt we did. But we're not putting sides away when we're away from home. "If we can sort that out I think next year we will have a real chance of promotion. We're not giving up this year - although obviously this hasn't helped - but we're looking for other teams to slip up now." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Millwall: Marshall, Lawrence, Paul Robinson (Dyer 82), Whitbread, Elliott, Dunne (Williams 72), Cameron (Cogan 72), Craig, Livermore, May, Asaba. Subs Not Used: Doyle, Braniff. Booked: May, Paul Robinson, Whitbread. Goals: May 33, Williams 90. Luton: Beresford, Foley, Underwood, Heikkinen, Coyne, Edwards, Nicholls, Holmes (Morgan 86), Brkovic (Showunmi 86), Howard, Vine (Feeney 73). Subs Not Used: Brill, Barnett. Booked: Vine. Goals: Coyne 47. Att: 9,871 Ref: U Rennie (S Yorkshire).

Luton keeper is handed FA warning
Luton keeper Marlon Beresford has been warned as to his future conduct after being found guilty by the Football Association of breaking rule E3. Beresford had denied the charge of "using abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official" after he was sent off in the 5-1 defeat at Preston. Hatters boss Mike Newell was handed a similar charge, of an alleged breach of rule E3, relating to the same game. Newell has since denied the charge and has requested a personal hearing.

Luton 1-2 Leicester
Chris O'Grady struck three minutes from time to give Leicester a crucial win. Leicester had gone ahead in the 15th minutes when Gareth Williams' clever pass picked out Matt Fryatt, who buried a comprehensive finish. Steve Howard levelled for Luton seven minutes after half time when he headed home Paul Underwood's corner after a flick from Warren Feeney. Luton continued to press, but Leicester substitute Andrew Welsh set up O'Grady, who snatched the points for the Foxes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luton boss Mike Newell: "We're very disappointed. We didn't play anything like we're capable of and didn't deserve anything. "Their winner came from a mix-up and a mis-hit shot at the end of the day, but if that sort of thing happens for you, you know it's going to be your day. "Realistically we have to win seven of our eight games left to get in the play-offs and that's a tall order." Leicester manager Rob Kelly on goalscorer Chris O'Grady: "I'm delighted for him. He's on the training ground morning, noon and night, and we literally have to drag him away from there sometimes. "He's a great example of how you can go out on loan somewhere and use it well. "He went out to Rushden, learned about the harsh realities of the League, and came back with an ambition to kick on." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luton: Beresford, Davis, Barnett, Coyne, Edwards, Underwood (Showunmi 69), Nicholls (Bell 8), Holmes, Foley, Howard, Vine (Feeney 45). Subs Not Used: Perrett, Brill. Booked: Howard, Coyne. Goals: Howard 53. Leicester: Henderson, Johansson, McCarthy, Kisnorbo, Stearman, Hughes (Welsh 64), Williams, Gudjonsson, Maybury, Hume (O'Grady 79), Fryatt. Subs Not Used: Brevett, Gerrbrand, Logan. Booked: Gudjonsson, Hume. Goals: Fryatt 16, O'Grady 88. Att: 9,783. Ref: A Bates (Staffordshire).

Luton v Derby
Luton midfielder Steve Robinson is set to return to action for the first time in two months following a knee injury. Skipper Kevin Nicholls is now out with a similar ligament injury and in attack Warren Feeney could replace Rowan Vine. On-loan striker Kevin Lisbie has shaken off a hamstring injury and will be included in the Derby County squad. Defender Richard Jackson is also likely to be in the travelling party having proved his fitness from a hamstring injury in a midweek reserves outing.

Luton 1-0 Derby
Steve Howard's second-half strike was enough to give Luton victory. Carlos Edwards volleyed wide for the Hatters who also threatened when Chris Coyne met a Sol Davis free-kick and headed just wide from close range. Derby's best two efforts came from Darren Moore who headed wide from Inigo Idiakez's free-kick and then nodded over the bar minutes later. Coyne set up Howard for the winner and only a good save by Lee Camp stopped Rowan Vine adding a second for Luton. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luton manager Mike Newell: "It's a result we wanted and I think we deserved it over the 90 minutes. "We played some decent football, created a lot of chances and kept a clean sheet so it was pretty pleasing all round. "We tried to pick as experienced a team as possible because we've struggled in the past few games to get a result. "We wanted our experienced players to help get us a result and that's what they've done." Derby caretaker manager Terry Westley: "It was very disappointing, especially after the way we played last week. "We thought that with that momentum we might be able to have a go at Luton, but that didn't happen and in the end we were left with exactly what we deserved from the game - nothing. "It was a dour game, but it's not a Terry Westley problem that has happened to us over the past eight weeks. "Giles Barnes was leading the way for us at the age of just 18 and there were some harsh words said at half-time." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luton: Beresford, Foley, Perrett, Coyne, Davis, Edwards, Brkovic (Bell 71), Robinson, Underwood, Howard, Feeney (Vine 77). Subs Not Used: Showunmi, Brill, Barnett. Booked: Robinson. Goals: Howard 72. Derby: Camp, Edworthy, Moore, Nyatanga, Wright, Smith, Bolder, Idiakez (Peschisolido 77), Barnes, McIndoe (Holmes 60), Lisbie. Subs Not Used: Thirlwell, Jackson, Poole. Att: 9,163 Ref: N Miller (Co Durham).

Brighton 1-1 Luton
Gifton Noel-Williams netted on his Brighton debut but it was not enough to earn the relegation-threatened Seagulls a much-needed three points. Noel-Williams put Brighton ahead after 18 minutes with a glancing header from Adam Hinshelwood's right-wing cross. Luton levelled when Warren Feeney's low cross was palmed out by keeper Wayne Henderson on to the shins of unlucky Steve Robinson who deflected it in. In atrocious conditions on the south coast neither side could find a winner. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brighton boss Mark McGhee: "Obviously we're favourites to go down but we're not going to give up. "The determination is their as you could see in the way we performed in this match. "We need to be winning games, and we still have Wednesday to play. You get to a point where you start calling games 'must win', and we're there now." Luton manager Mike Newell: "I thought a draw was a fair reflection of the game. "But we had the chance for three points here, with Brighton in a precarious position, but it wasn't to be. It's a point, which is better than none. "If our away form was anything like our home form we'd be up the top of the table. But we're still coping reasonably well in a new league." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brighton: Henderson, Hinshelwood, Butters, McShane, Lynch, Hart (Carole 90), Carpenter, Hammond, Frutos (El-Abd 62), Noel-Williams, Kazim-Richards (Gatting 73). Subs Not Used: Dodd, Chaigneau. Booked: Kazim-Richards. Goals: Noel-Williams 18. Luton: Beresford, Foley, Heikkinen, Coyne, Underwood, Edwards (Bell 64), Davis, Robinson, Brkovic (Vine 65), Howard, Feeney (Showunmi 75). Subs Not Used: Perrett, Brill. Booked: Davis. Goals: Robinson 61. Att: 7,139 Ref: P Armstrong (Berkshire).

Underwood to miss rest of season
Luton boss Mike Newell has confirmed that midfielder Paul Underwood will miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken arm. The former Rushden & Diamonds man was injured in the Hatters' 1-1 draw against Brighton last week. However, captain Kevin Nicholls has returned to light training after suffering medial ligament damage. "These things can niggle on - we won't consider him until he's had a few days back with us," Newell explained.

Luton 1-0 Ipswich
Luton climbed above Ipswich into 10th place with a late Steve Howard goal. Howard nodded Ahmet Brkovic's left-wing cross into the top left-hand corner of the net from six yards for his 14th goal of the season in the 80th minute. Ipswich dominated possession but could do little with it and their goalkeeper Shane Supple made a string of saves. Late on, the visitors sprung into life with Owen Garvan missing and having a shot blocked before Howard scored and Luton comfortably played out time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luton manager Mike Newell: "They had a bit of pressure at times and had a penalty that wasn't given, but these things happen and we had the same thing at Leeds. "But we created chances and could have had more goals. I know the supporters would like to see more goals - but it's difficult sometimes. "Ipswich are a side in transition, but it's still another scalp for us." Ipswich manager Joe Royle: "In the first half, we were very poor. "It's an atrocious pitch here but it probably suited Luton more with their direct style. "But we had too many players who were under par and were making the same mistakes which have already cost us this season." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luton: Beresford, Foley, Davis, Coyne, Perrett, Heikkinen (Showunmi 77), Edwards, Robinson, Morgan (Brkovic 76), Howard, Vine (Feeney 76). Subs Not Used: Bell, Brill. Booked: Howard, Davis, Heikkinen, Brkovic. Goals: Howard 81. Ipswich: Supple, Wilnis, Richards (Bowditch 54), De Vos, Naylor, Sito (Haynes 86), Juan, Garvan, McEveley, Lee, Currie. Subs Not Used: Casement, Brekke-Skard, Price. Att: 9,820 Ref: L Mason (Lancashire).

Andrew has City loan terminated
Calvin Andrew has returned to Luton following a loan spell at Bristol City. The striker only made three appearances for the Ashton Gate outfit as he has been suffering with a knee injury. As Andrew's injury is set to keep him sidelined for the foreseeable future, City have decided to terminate his stint with the League One outfit. The 19-year-old also spent nearly four months on loan at Grimsby at the start of the season and scored one goal in nine appearances.

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