Last week was great. Another home win, Kasey Palmer nutmegging and no-look passing his own way into the hearts of every Hatters fan. 10 games at Kenilworth Road in League One without defeat, and the top six very, very much still in the sights of this young Luton Town team.
But after back-to-back victories in our own backyard comes the tricky bit: this week there are no home comforts. The game isn’t even in England. And the opposition happen to be the best team in the league.
So, having lost their last four on the road, the Hatters are aiming to rekindle their love affair with wins away from home at league leaders Cardiff City.
Right. Enough of the lovey-dovey stuff (for now).
Let’s get into it.
Bluebirds flying high
Like the Town, Cardiff sat below the dreaded dotted line at the wrong end of the Championship table last season.
However, under new manager Brian Barry-Murphy they have been nothing short of sensational in their bid for an instant return to the second tier.
The numbers and records are intimidating. 30 games played, 63 points, 55 goals. Even when reduced to 10 men in the first half of games, they’re still winning them 3-0. Easy.
Even if the Town had won every game away from home this would still be a toughie. No team has a better home record that BBM’s boys and, overall, it’s just one league defeat, home or away, in their last 16 games.
All very impressive.
But wait, wait, wait. Forget those last few lines from your memory. You never read them. Positive thoughts only, please.
Because whenever the Hatters need an away win, the Cardiff City Stadium seems to be just the place to get it. Remember last season? Cardiff away, cold, midweek and no win in 16 (sixteen!) away games. But Jordan Clark did what only Jordan Clark can do and Thelo Aasgaard scored the winner, and we all went home smiling.
Chance of a repeat on Saturday? Well let’s see.
Haven’t we met before?
So, there’s this website. Hatters Heritage. You might have heard of it. Got information and line-ups of every single game we’ve ever played. Scans of every programme and photos of every player, too, including Andy Dibble, a man who played for both us and Cardiff and probably made the most iconic save in our history. What a man, what a website and what work from an unsung team of Hatters heroes.
Visiting their website will give you the complete record of all our meetings with the Bluebirds, which goes back to our first game with them all the way back in 1912.
Cardiff’s win at the Kenny back in August ended a run of five successive Hatters wins over the Bluebirds, home and away – but, as we’ve mentioned, City’s new (opened 2009) stadium has been a bit of a Happy Hunting Ground for us.
It’s three wins in a row and four wins from five there. That is something not to be sniffed at.
So forgetting the times that Isaac Vassell broke our hearts with that injury-time winner in August 2019 and a behind-closed-doors-therefore-did-it-really-happen? 4-0 loss during Covid in November 2020, it has been an enjoyable stop on the football map for travelling Hatters.
Plus, going further back, the Town’s 2-1 win at Cardiff’s old Ninian Park in the fifth round of the FA Cup in 1994 will evoke memories of a different kind, especially those on the open terrace after David Preece’s winner.
Played for both
Gabe Osho started this season playing in the French top-flight with Auxerre but literally 24 days later the defender went from Nice in the south of France in Ligue 1 to playing for Cardiff at Exeter in the Vertu Trophy.
Not only did he help us to get to the Premier League, he did well, too. Plus, loved scoring exclusively in high-scoring classics that following season: the 4-4 at Newcastle and the 4-3 home defeat to Arsenal. Good times.
Gabe missed a large chunk of this season through injury but has been a regular in the Bluebirds’ defence since the turn of the year.
In charge
Ollie Yates will oversee this one. Those mortals whose powers contain past and vast knowledge of every referee who has taken charge of every Luton Town fixture don’t need to be told that Mr Yates reffed the 3-2 home defeat to Plymouth and the FA Cup exit at Fleetwood already this season.
On this day
Luton love a game on Valentine’s. Won the last two, only lost once in eight. The romantics among you may remember a 3-0 win over Hartlepool at home in 2017, our last game on this day. Danny Hylton opened the scoring and what more do you want? Beautiful.
We actually shared six goals with Cardiff at Kenilworth Road in 2006, going 2-0 up before trailing 3-2 and finally shaking hands at three-apiece.
In 1998 every Town fan wanted to plant a kiss on Marvin Johnson after his late equaliser helped us to a draw at Watford and, further back, we won 5-2 at Ipswich in the FA Cup in 1959.
Finally, email us, honestly, please, if you took your other half to Dagenham to see us lose 2-1 in 2009 – or, if you shelved plans with a potential love-of-your-life to go all the way to Barrow in 1970.
Team news
Town boss Jack Wilshere says it’s as you were squad-wise for Saturday.
Neither Hakeem Odoffin nor new signing Sverre Sandal will be involved despite the fact the pair are making good progress in training.
There’s still no Liam Walsh, who continues to nurse a shoulder or injury, while Elijah Adebayo is likely to play a game with the Under-21s before featuring for the first team as the striker bids to return from last season’s ACL injury.
Jack’s presser
Take in all 23 minutes and 48 seconds of the manager’s press conference here for free on LTFC+. No messing around with logging in or anything, just hit play.
Pay on the day
Cupid’s arrow points all the way to Cardiff and if you were umming and ahhing about going and missed the boat at the ticket office, you’re in the luck: you can now pay on the day. Click here for all that information.
Over 800 have already bought tickets. Safe travels there and back each and every one of you.
Tune in, turn on.
Simon Pitts will be, as ever, on the mic on LTFC+ to call this one as he attempts to get under the skin of every Cardiff fan sitting adjacent to the press box for a fourth visit in a row.
If you’re overseas and want to watch, it’s £10. Just want audio? It’s available anywhere, and it’s just £2.50 for the pleasure. Clicking here gives you those possibilities.
If you are an ex-pat overseas, take advantage of the half-season Global Hatters subscription which is now just £150. All the details are right here.
You can also follow our social media channels for live updates as they happen, plus photos and behind-the-scenes content during the 90 minutes. Stay on lutontown.co.uk post-match for a full report, post-match reaction and the all-important highlights.
And finally...don’t be THAT fan.
A reminder to all supporters, no matter who you are, how old or who you’re supporting, to go about your day with respect. We continue to support the Love Football, Protect the Game campaign.
Luton Town Football Club has committed in its customer charter to providing safe match-day experiences for all supporters regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation, and this applies equally to home and away fixtures.
In the event that any Luton supporters do make discriminatory chants, the Club will work with the police and football authorities to help identify such individuals. Any such fans would then face the strictest club sanctions, including football banning orders that would prevent them attending any matches, in addition to any criminal charges.
Furthermore, we would like to warn against pitch incursions and the use of pyrotechnics or missiles – including any type of object that is thrown onto the pitch during a match – which could lead to potential prosecution.
The Club can also be held responsible for the behaviour of its supporters, which could lead to substantial fines being imposed.
As a diverse and inclusive football club, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow EFL clubs in supporting the FA’s ‘Love Football. Protect the Game’ campaign and call on all fans to enjoy the game in a positive spirit.
If you are offended by any discriminatory abuse of any kind at any of our games, you can report it by clicking HERE, or by contacting your nearest steward immediately.
Alternatively, email [email protected] or report the incident via Kick it Out's free, confidential reporting app on the App Store and Google Play.
We're all Luton.
What we’re liking this week
After a busy deadline day, we caught up with the three boys, Devante Cole, Sverre Sandal and Davy van den Berg, for their first interviews in front of our cameras. Enjoy.
