Rob Edwards badly needed a result after Luton’s shoddy start to the season and his team delivered with a dominant performance in their emphatic derby victory. A hangover from last season’s relegation from the Premier League resulted in two wins from their opening nine Championship matches – their worst start to a Football League campaign for 22 years – but Luton rose to the occasion to outmuscle Watford.
Luton pounced for the opener through Jordan Clark’s close-range flick and the outstanding Carlton Morris marked his return by heading home at the start of the second half before an injury-time goal from Jacob Brown completed this mismatch. Watford started the weekend in sixth but Luton made a mockery of their flattering position, Tom Cleverley’s team second best throughout.
Edwards, who was sacked after 11 games in charge just over two years ago at Watford, took no extra satisfaction from defeating his former club. The Luton manager said: “It looked like today mattered to us. It looked like they cared and understood the magnitude of the game. I’m really proud of them. Our intensity was amazing. We had a fire about us that I liked.”
Cleverley promised an inquest after Watford’s dismal showing and was alarmed after their fourth away league defeat in five. He said: “We have to take the criticism. They have the bragging rights and that hurts. If we throw in a performance like that, we have to take it on the chin. It’s our local rivals and we have to apologise for our performance.”
Edwards made three changes to the team that lost at Sheffield United, with the captain Morris back to lead the attack after missing three matches with a thigh strain. Daniel Bachmann, Watford’s goalkeeper, returned after a thigh injury that led him to miss the past four games, although he laboured throughout and was forced into a series of short passes which almost landed his team in more trouble.
Tom Holmes, on his first start for Luton, made an immediate impact at the wrong end with his 40-yard back pass nearly resulting in an outrageous own goal. The defender Reece Burke tested Bachmann with an early effort from the right edge of the area which was turned behind.
Luton did not have to wait long for their opener, though. Alfie Doughty’s corner was volleyed towards goal by Holmes and Clark’s flick was diverted into the net to spark delirium at Kenilworth Road. Luton were in the ascendancy and Tahith Chong blasted over from the edge of the area as the rampant hosts pushed for a second goal. Watford could not handle Morris’s power and directness with a bulldozing run down the left setting up Elijah Adebayo. Mattie Pollock’s last-ditch tackle thwarted the forward.
Watford struggled to land a glove on their opponents but the talented Georgian midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze briefly threatened with his rasping strike going narrowly over Thomas Kaminski’s crossbar.
Luton quickly extended their lead at the start of the second half when the unmarked Morris planted his header from Doughty’s corner into the net. Watford needed an immediate reaction and Tom Dele-Bashiru forced Kaminski into a full-length save to keep out his strike from the edge of the area.
Morris was given a standing ovation when he was taken off after running Watford ragged for more than an hour. It was all too easy for Luton, with only Bachmann’s save with his legs preventing Adebayo scoring a third goal.
The substitute Brown added to the combustible atmosphere, a low finish past the unmoved Bachmann in injury time a fair reflection of Luton’s superiority. Watford’s wait for a first win at Kenilworth Road since 2006 dragged on after this limp effort against their fierce rivals.
