Foursome Hatters hammer woeful Yeovil

League Two Yeovil Town 0 Luton Town 4
Danny Hylton makes it 1-0 to Luton from the penalty spot at Yeovil this afternoonDanny Hylton makes it 1-0 to Luton from the penalty spot at Yeovil this afternoon
Danny Hylton makes it 1-0 to Luton from the penalty spot at Yeovil this afternoon

Luton Town produced as dominant a performance as you could ever wish to see, thumping a desperately poor Yeovil Town side in front of their own fans this afternoon.

Prior to the game, Hatters boss Nathan Jones had urged his side to put the opposition to the sword after the disappointment of the Checkatrade Trophy semi-final defeat to Oxford United, and that's exactly what they did, in complete control from virtually minute one to 90, with the outcome never really in doubt, even before Danny Hylton's seventh minute penalty.

Hylton added another in the first period, with Glen Rea and Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu notching second half strikes as the visitors ran riot to give their goal difference a welcome boost, closing the gap on third placed Carlisle to just one point as well, after the Cumbrians lost 2-0 to Plymouth.

Luton chief Jones made three changes to the side that had been beaten on Wednesday night as Scott Cuthbert, Jonathan Smith and Stephen O'Donnell came in for Johnny Mullins, Jack Senior and James Justin.

That saw Alan Sheehan switch to left back, while Rea dropped into central defence alongside captain Cuthbert.

With the hosts not scoring in three games and on a run of one league win in 15, it was imperative Luton didn't give them any chance to get a foothold and so they did, forcing a number of corners early on and then winning a spotkick with seven minutes gone.

There can be little question mark over the decision too, Glovers' centre half Bevis Mugabi diving in on Isaac Vassell, clearly taking out the Luton forward before actually getting the ball, despite the home players and fans protestations.

Hylton stepped up and despite missing against Grimsby last time out, produced a lovely clipped finish over the diving Artur Krysiak for goal number 21 of the season.

Luton were close to a second on 16 minutes, when a corner, won by the quick thinking of Vassell was swung in by Jordan Cook and Rea's effort had to be cleared off the line by Liam Shephard, the defender's rebound deflected behind too.

Town should have made their early dominance pay soon after too, Sheehan's free kick picked up at the back post by Rea, who pulled back for Cuthbert to slam over from eight yards out.

The clearly low on confidence hosts barely threatened in the opening 25 minutes, before finally improving a touch, Matt Macey alert to sweep up from the onrushing Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro, with the striker then sending an acrobatic volley wide.

Macey made a crucial save from Zoko's looping header, quickly blocking the rebound too and the importance of his stop was highlighted with Luton clearing the corner and then breaking with their now usual devastating pace.

Gray fed the onrushing Vassell, who nodded on for O'Donnell with the full back racing away on the left hand side of all places, lifting his head up to notice Hylton all alone in the middle and putting the striker clear.

As befitting a forward who had recently reached 20 for the first time in his career, he displayed a cool head to round the advancing Krysiak and slot into the net, doubling his account for the afternoon on 31 minutes.

Town easily saw out the rest of the half, with the only danger for the visitors was complacency creeping in, as they had been here before, leading 2-0 last season, only for the Glovers to hit back for a 3-2 victory.

The opening moments of the second period was the only time, Yeovil looked remotely capable of replicating such a feat though, Akpa Akpro diving full length to head wide from a corner, with Macey's handling spot on from Zoko's sharp turn and shot.

However, Hatters quickly turned the screw and snuffed out any chances of lightning striking twice, notching a third on 55 minutes when Sheehan's deep free kick was met by Rea's cushioned header into the far corner for his third goal of the season.

Sheehan tried his luck from fully 40 yards from another deadball situation, spying Krysiak off his line, but his cheeky effort just didn't quite come down in time.

The hosts, now looking absolutely bereft of ideas, almost had a fortunate way back into the match, Macey fumbling a cross only to see Matty Dolan nod straight back into his grateful gloves.

With Luton almost in cruise control for the final quarter, they brought on Dan Potts for his first action since New Year's Eve, as Sheehan swapped to centre half, with Rea back in central midfield once more.

Yeovil were denied the chance of making any kind of grandstand finish with 22 minutes remaining, thanks to a truly wonderful save from Macey to deny sub Shayon Harrison, the on-loan Arsenal stopper reacting superbly to stick out a left hand and turn behind for a corner.

Hylton had a great chance for his treble, dragging wide after a powerful break from Sheehan, which was his last action of the match, replaced by Jack Marriott.

Even without their talisman, Luton still managed to grab a fourth for the first time on their travels this season, when Smith picked out Mpanzu and he cut inside to drill low beyond Krysiak for his first goal since April 12, 2016.

Hatters' replacement Ollie Palmer almost notched a fifth, when his audacious volley was collected by the hastily back-pedalling Krysiak, as the beleaguered home fans were reduced to cheering a passage of play that led to Yeovil almost bagging a late consolation.

However, Macey stood firm to pick up what was a first clean away from home for Luton since the 2-0 win at Blackpool on December 17, as the dream of automatic promotion to League One is now firmly alive and kicking.

Glovers: Artur Krysiak, Liam Shepherd, Matthew Dolan (Brandon Goodship 82), Bevis Mugabi, Alex Lacey, Kevin Dawson, Alex Lawless, Ryan Dickson (C), Francois Zoko, Ben Whitfield (Shayon Harrison 62), Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro (Thomas Eaves 67).

Subs not used: Jonathan Maddison, Matthew Butcher, Omar Sowunmi, Thomas James.

Hatters: Matt Macey, Stephen O'Donnell, Alan Sheehan, Scott Cuthbert (C), Glen Rea, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, Jonathan Smith, Jake Gray (Dan Potts 66), Jordan Cook, Isaac Vassell (Ollie Palmer 69), Danny Hylton (Jack Marriott 76).

Subs not used: Stuart Moore, Johnny Mullins, Lawson D'Ath, James Justin.

Booked: Dawson 35, Smith 44, Lawless 58.

Attendance: 4,914 (698 Luton).

Referee: Kevin Johnson.

Hatters MOM: Danny Hylton. Forward showed just what a menace he is to opposing defences throughout, making it 22 for the season