The Hatters were condemned to a 3-0 defeat against Brentford in the Sky Bet Championship this afternoon.
Rico Henry opened the scoring, whilst Ivan Toney got in on the act in the first half too, before Marcus Forss scored a third for the Bees in the second period.
Manager Nathan Jones made two changes for the visit of Brentford, with Danny Hylton leading the line once again and Jordan Clark back in the fold ahead of James Collins and Elliot Lee respectively.
Hylton was presented with a good opportunity early on from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s free-kick, but shot went wide of the target.
The visitors threatened on occasion before taking the lead in the 20th minute through Henry. Sergi Canos’ cross into the box was cleared only as far as Brentford’s left-back, who struck low into the far corner past Simon Sluga.
The Bees scored a second just before the half-hour mark as Toney scored his ninth goal of the campaign. Bryan Mbeumo drove into the box after good work from Josh Dasilva in midfield and picked out the striker, who simply tapped the ball into an empty net.
It was an uphill task for the Hatters who pushed to find a way back into the game with the assistance of two early changes – Kazenga LuaLua and Luke Berry – but struggled to create a clear-cut opening.
Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu’s effort may well have been heading goalwards if it wasn’t for Mads Bech Sorensen’s block and LuaLua later saw his shot saved, before the Bees put the game out of reach in the 76th minute.
Moments after entering the fray substitutes Mathias Jensen and Forss combined, the latter's delicate chip beat Sluga and gave the away side a three-goal advantage.
Dasilva missed a golden chance to make it four, shooting over the bar from close range and Sluga was on hand to make a fantastic save when the ball deflected off Martin Cranie in the latter stages.
The Hatters will hope to put a tough afternoon at Kenilworth Road behind them when they travel to Rotherham on Wednesday night for a 7:45pm kick-off.
Town: Sluga, Cranie, Pearson (LuaLua 37), Lockyer, Bradley (C), Norrington-Davies (Berry 45); Rea, Mpanzu, Dewsbury-Hall, Clark (Collins 75), Hylton.
Subs not used: Shea, Tunnicliffe, Lee, Morrell.
Yellows: Hylton
Brentford: Raya, Dalsgaard (C), Pinnock, Sorensen, Henry; Marcondes (Jensen 75), Dasilva, Janelt; Mbeumo (Fosu 82), Canos, Toney (Forss 75).
Subs not used: Daniels, Thompson, Ghoddos, Goode.
Goals: Henry (20), Toney (29), Forss (76)
Referee: Michael Salisbury