Two steps forward, one step back. That pretty much sums up our past week, right?
Back-to-back victories over Wycombe and Leyton Orient got us all excited. Seven goals scored and none against filled us all, quite rightly, with Christmas cheer. What a way to end 2025.
And then came Exeter.
Sure, it absolutely was not the way we wanted the new year to start, but that’s the way it went down. Time is a fantastic thing. So is festive football when there’s another game 72 hours later.
On Sunday we head north, to Doncaster, aiming to put the record straight and return to winning ways and get our 2026 up and running.
Right. Shall we begin?
December of dread
Doncaster were sick of the sight of 2025 by the time it rolled round. And that’s saying something considering Rovers celebrated promotion from League 2 as champions back in May.
Grant McCann’s side failed to pick up a single point from their five league matches last month, conceding an eye-watering 16 goals in the process. A 4-3 defeat at Cardiff saw Rovers concede the winner in what must have felt like the 750th minute and that late gut-wrencher clearly did not help morale as in their next game Plymouth compounded the misery by beating them 5-1. Ouch.
Three more defeats followed – we’ll spare the detail – but 2026 began with a positive point to end that sticky sequence. In fact, they were 12 minutes away from earning a win against promotion-chasing Bolton.
All told, they have just one other club below them in the third tier standings, four points from safety.
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. Unreal work from an unsung team of Hatters heroes.
By doing the right thing and heading to Hatters Heritage and scrutinising the head-to-head record, you’ll see we haven’t won in any of our past seven visits to Doncaster. Four defeats, three draws. Not since 1955 have a Hatters team won in this part of South Yorkshire.
Rovers moved to their new home (known now as the Eco-Power but to others originally as the Keepmoat) in 2006. As you can deduce, that means we’ve never won there. Three visits and one point – a 1-1 in February 2017 – is all we have to show for it.
Conversely, our record at home to Rovers is excellent. Eight wins from our last 10, including September’s 1-0 win. Yes, yes, we know we’re playing away on Sunday.
Played for both
Oh Matty Pearson’s magic
He wears a magic hat
And when you throw a brick at it
He’ll head the [REDACTED] back
136 appearances, 10 goals, one promotion, one great escape and one picture of him in his full kit, muddy socks and a pint in his hand after *that* Blackburn game. What a man. Now playing for Donny. Love and respect to you, Matthew.
In charge
Paul Howard is the man in the middle on Sunday. In the 10 games this season he’s overseen (his first with the whistle came at the end of October), he’s reffed in the National League, Vertu Trophy, FA Cup, League One and League Two. And not a single red card shown. Yet. Sunday will be the first time ever he’s officiated one of our games.
Upton Park utopia
Sunday’s game will be our first in the Football League on 4th January since 1983. That, obviously by the way, doesn’t include two games in non-league (were you there at Hayes & Yeading in 2011?).
Anyway, 43 years ago to the day, Paul Walsh inspired the Hatters to a 3-2, top-flight, win at West Ham. The winner coming in the very last minute. Beautiful.
Town team news
Jack Wilshere will be hoping a long line of either injury or ill members of his squad are back fighting fit for Sunday. Gideon Kodua and Josh Keeley missed New Year’s Day with minor knocks and could be in line for a return.
Sing up, Town!
A little over 1,100 of you have already purchased tickets for this one. In the away end at Doncaster on a Sunday 140 miles from home, three days after clocking up 200 miles to Devon and back? Fair play, you brilliant people.
If you HAVEN’T got a ticket yet and WANT one, all’s not lost. You can pay on the day, just go to the Doncaster Academy Reception next to the away turnstiles. Tickets are available from 1pm.
Safe journey to you all.
Tune in, turn on.
Simon Pitts will be on the mic on LTFC+ to give you the lowdown on how it goes down at Doncaster. 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. No pressure – but 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 – 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. UTT.
This week we're mostly liking...
Our first goal against Leyton Orient. The pass. The finish. *Chef's kiss*
