The Hatters Under-18s completed a league double over title rivals AFC Wimbledon within the space of a week by winning 3-2 away on Saturday.

Just seven days after beating the then-second places Dons 5-0 at The Brache, Joe Deeney’s side followed it up with another excellent performance in a soggy south-west London to move a point clear thanks to goals from Samuel Hincapie-Alfonso, Tate Xavier-Jones and Christian Chigozie

The hosts took an early lead on nine minutes, but Town soon hit back, levelling on the quarter-of-an-hour mark with Hincapie-Alfonso in the right place at the right time to unwittingly deflect Charlie Trustram’s shot into the back of the net with his heel.

The Hatters were playing some really positive stuff, especially down the left-hand side and with Harry Fox, Dylan Stitt and Benny Benagr, the provider of the cut-back cross for that first goal, combining well on numerous occasions.

They had the lead on the stroke of half-time when Benagr got in down that side again and crossed for Xavier-Jones to finish left footed for 2-1.

However, the Dons hit back to level matters on 52 minutes, the conditions playing a part a close range finish on the rebound from a shot, and the Hatters had to weather a storm – not just with the pouring rain but wave after wave of Wimbledon attacks, without ever forcing goalkeeper Cai Hockey into a save.

Town missed a chance to wrestle control of an end-to-end game just before the hour when Benagr got to the byline again, with a Dons defender somehow clearing off the line with Jamie Odegah set to tap in.

With 20 minutes to go, the Hatters netted what proved to be the winner; a free-kick from Trustram reaching the far post where Chigozie headed in from seven yards out.

“You could see it was well deserved at that moment in terms of the chances we felt we’d had, we’d had the bigger chances in the game,” said Deeney.

“AFC Wimbledon have a threat in the front line though, they have a threat with wingers and they go at you, they get to the byline and fizz balls across.

“They get shots off as well with real power and venom from the edge of the box, so it was always a case of us being switched on to those moments of danger.”

Thankfully Hockey was fully focussed between the sticks, pulling off an excellent double save in the 82nd minute, parrying an initial shot from outside the box and then saving the rebound with his feet to preserve the win.

“I think it would have been harsh for our lads had that gone in, and in last ten minutes, we had two or three chances ourselves,” Deeney continued. “We had to ride waves of pressure, but we defended our box really well and in the end, it was a really good three points.

“When I reflect over the last week, if someone had said we’d get six points off AFC Wimbledon, who were second at the time, I’d have absolutely been delighted with that.

“I think the performance levels for so many different reasons were excellent. We had to show a different side to us in every area of our game on Saturday. We had to dig in at times, we had to come back from behind and we then had to deal with the momentum shift in the second half when they equalised.

“But our ball speed was really good on a tough pitch, the pressing was good, everything that we’ve done in the last week’s been really positive, and now we know that Oxford and other teams are coming for us. They are second by a point, so we’ve got to make sure we carry on our form if we ultimately to win the title. I’m delighted with the progress.”

Next up, Town head to Swindon on Tuesday afternoon for an EFL Youth Alliance Cup tie.