Kevin Blackwell suffered yet another unhappy return to a former club as Luton's winless run on their travels continued.

The Hatters boss was a former player and an assistant manager at Huddersfield Town during his career.

But that couldn't inspire his players to a much-needed League win and to condemn the Hatters further, Paul Furlong was given an unwanted early birthday present when he was sent-off in the second half.

The former QPR man, who turns 39 on Monday, was shown a second yellow card early in the second half after raising an elbow towards Huddersfield's Richard Keogh.

But in truth, the damage had already been done in the first half as Luton were a shade of their performance in the Carling Cup win against Charlton on Tuesday night..

The win for Huddersfield leapfrogged them over the Hatters in the League One table as goals from Luke Beckett and ex Everton striker Danny Cadamarteri won them all three points.

Ben Alnwick was handed his Hatters debut after arriving from Tottenham Hotspur on a three-month loan on Thursday.

He was the only change from the win against Charlton, meaning there were some notable surprises.

Chris Coyne was left among the substitutes as Jarsolaw Fojut was given his first League start of the season, while Dave Edwards, who had been struggling with a virus, was also on the bench.

Huddersfield gave a debut to former Manchester United midfielder Ronnie Wallwork while Cadamarteri was handed his first start at the Galpharm Stadium.

Kevin Blackwell's starting line-up had meant Paul McVeigh kept his place in the side, as the Hatters reverted back to a more familiar 4-4-2 formation.

And it was the former Norwich man who almost opened the scoring inside the first five minutes as Furlong's flick released McVeigh in the area, but his snap shot failed to trouble Huddersfield goalkeeper Matt Glennon.

But that was as good as the entertainment got for the opening half-an-hour. The only bright spot to occur was the sunshine breaking from behind the clouds and learning Everton were Luton's next opponents in the Carling Cup.

The football really failed to sparkle as players from both teams struggled to cope with the surface, which was cutting up badly.

But, thankfully, there was some improvement in the match, although it was to prove frustrating for Luton's travelling supporters.

That was because Huddersfield began to get on top of the game and on the half-hour mark, their first real notable opportunity arrived as Malvin Kamara's cross from the right found the head of Beckett, but the former Oldham man couldn't find the power.

Cadamarteri then tried his luck from distance five minutes later, but he was unable to find enough power to trouble Alnwick after Wallwork displayed power and pace to get in a cross from the right.

And as chances began to come Huddersfield's way, it was little surprise when they took the lead on 38 minutes.

As a cross came into the area, Alnwick came out to meet the ball inside the area, which Cadamarteri swung at and missed. But as Luton failed to clear the loose ball, Beckett popped up to struck a shot past three Hatters defenders on the line.

It was a half Luton would certainly want to forgot, as they struggled to find a way through the Huddersfield defence.

AT HALF TIME: HUDDERSFIELD 1 LUTON 0

It was obvious that Hatters needed a change to the second half, and it was no surprise when Blackwell made brought on Darren Currie and Drew Talbot.

But only 65 seconds had elapsed when disaster struck for the Hatters as Furlong was shown his second yellow card after he was adjudged to have raised an elbow going up for a challenge with Richard Keogh.

And Huddersfield looked to take advantage immediately as Cadamarteri and Kamara both went close.

However, it wasn't long before the home side doubled their advantage on 61 minutes.

Jaroslaw Fojut was caught in possession inside the Huddersfield half and when the home side broke forward, Andy Holdsworth played a telling pass that released Cadamarteri, who remained calm to round Alnwick and slot into an empty net.

It almost got better for the home side on 65 minutes when Holdsworth again cut open the Luton defence, but on this occasion, Kamara flashed a shot against the side netting, when he should have pulled the ball across to the unmarked Cadamarteri.

Luton threw caution to the wind as Calvin Andrew replaced Richard Jackson as Blackwell switched to a 3-4-2 formation.

And it almost worked when Andrew fed through a pass to Talbot, but the former Sheffield Wednesday striker took one touch too many and was quickly closed down by the Huddersfield defence.

On 74 minutes, Chris Brandon stung the gloves of Alnwick with a swerving left footed drive.

Luton had chances for a late consolation, most notably when Alan Goodall hit a first time volley that struck a Huddersfield defender, but this was a result and performance that was probably best forgotten.

AT FULL TIME: HUDDERSFIELD 2 V 0 LUTON

Huddersfield: Glennon, Holdsworth, Skarz, Clarke, Brandon (Young 80), Cadamarteri (Collins 73), Sinclair, Kamara, Wallwork, Beckett (Booth 86), Keogh

Subs not used: Smithies, Mirfin

Bookings: Clarke (28), Holdsworth (54), Keogh (88)

Luton: Alnwick, Goodall, Perry, Morgan (Currie 46), Bell, Jackson (Andrew 69), Robinson, Spring, McVeigh (Talbot 46), Furlong, Fojut

Subs not used: Coyne, Edwards

Bookings: Bell (26), Furlong (35 + 46), Andrew (90)

Sent-Off: Furlong (46)

Referee: Mr D Whitestone

Attendance: (543 from Luton)