Heavy defeat for Boro in Bedfordshire...
Stevenage’s recent record of success over Luton Town came crashing down to earth on Saturday as the flying Hatters came out comprehensive 7-1 winners.
A Luke Berry hat-trick will be the headline story as Stevenage struggled to deal with Luton’s intensity and clinical edge all afternoon long.
Two goals within the opening ten minutes opened up the floodgates early and in truth, they never really closed.
Ben Kennedy, Tom Pett and Matthew Godden all passed late fitness tests to make the starting XI meaning just two changes from last weekend’s defeat at Crewe.
As previously mentioned, it was a nightmare start to the game as Luton went ahead just minutes after kick-off. Stacey getting down the right wing before finding Berry in the box to head under Fryer in goal.
Straight down the other end, Newton came inches away from a quick leveller with a free header which could have turned out to be a crucial moment in the game. One minute on, Danny Hylton had the goal in the back of the net after a defensive error allowed the striker to pick his spot from 6 yards out.
The theme of the first half from a Stevenage point of view was that every time Boro came close, Luton pulled away. After Luke Wilkinson came agonisingly near to making a goal-bound connection from Martin’s corner, the Hatters broke up the pitch with Luke Berry finishing off the move to make it 3-0.
Just as the whistle for half-time was about to blow, Kennedy breathed life into the contest. The tricky winger finding the bottom corner of the Luton goal after squirming his way into position inside the area. 3-1.
The second half started very much in the same vein as the first – Luton scoring. Referee Brett Huxtable pointing to the spot after Wilkinson and Hylton collided, Hylton doing the rest to make it 4-1.
Ten minutes later, it was 5. Luke Berry capping off his performance with a hat-trick strike worthy of the situation, curling in from the edge of the box out of reach of Fryer.
With the game under control for Luton and out of reach for Stevenage, the remainder of the second half saw little action. Wootton and Kennedy both saw chances go missing but damage control was very much on the menu with such a heavy defecit to recover from.
As the clock reached 90, there was still time for the home side to add to the misery. Justin and Gambin both finding the net in added time to make it 7-1.
Two home games within a week await now for Stevenage as they look to bounce back from a tough couple of weeks away.