Cornick relishing friendly rivalry with Hatters team-mate Adebayo as he looks to score 20 goals for Luton

Attacker Harry Cornick is relishing the friendly rivalry with fellow forward Elijah Adebayo in the race to becoming Luton's leading scorer this season.

The 26-year-old was on target just nine minutes after coming on at Swansea City on Tuesday night, with his match-winning strike making it eight for the campaign.

Although he is four behind Adebayo, who missed the trip to Wales, in the Hatters' scoring charts, with 18 games still remaining, Cornick, who himself has been out for the last two months through injury, is now looking forward to the battle to become top marksman.

He said: “There’s no message, all I’m going to say is I can’t wait to play with him again, because he is top drawer, he is so good to play with.

"I’m back and he’s gone, it’s a shame but when we get back playing together, I want him to score as many as he can.

"I want him to score 20, 30, I want to score 20 as well, so it’s friendly competition between us and the more we both get the better the team does.”

Cornick’s finish in Wales was another fantastic effort to add to his growing repertoire this term as from Cameron Jerome's perfectly weighted cut-back, he bent a first time effort beyond the outstretched gloves of keeper Andy Fisher and into the corner.

He continued: “I’m not scoring tap-ins, I think I saw the other day Eli has scored the most goals in the six-yard box in the Champ.

"So if he’s tapping them in from six yards I can be scoring from the edge of the box, or further out, then it’s a good combo.

"I'm delighted with the finish, delighted with the goal and three points that’s the main thing.

"To come away from home at this place, they play good football, they’re hard to beat and it’s a massive credit to the team and how we’re playing at the minute.”

With Cornick on such fine form both on the pitch and in front of the camera, it gave an indication of just how good the team spirit is at Kenilworth Road, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu interrupting the interview to offer his congratulations his team-mate.

The former Bournemouth winger admitted the close-knit nature among the playing personnel was a huge part of just why Town are doing so well this term, closing in on the play-off places once more.

He said: "It’s a great team, it’s a great squad, all 24, 25 of us that are in the squad, we work so hard in training, but anyone of us on the Saturday or Tuesday night that gets called up, they know they’re going to play their bit.

"The unit in the team is great, we all work hard for each other and I’ve been injured for eight, nine weeks now and I've come back in and the team are playing so well, I can’t believe how well we’re playing at the minute.

"When I saw the game against Blackburn, I thought we could have won that, tonight we were excellent again.

"So I've been injured and the team has got better, I've come back in and nabbed the winner so happy days, the team has done that for me, everyone’s played their part

"It sums it up with Henri Lansbury, he runs around booting everyone, so when you look back and see him sprinting around booting people you think 'I’d better do a bit of work here.'

"But everyone was excellent, right from Sheasy (James Shea) in the net making a few big saves, and the back three.

"A clean sheet away from home at Swansea, not many teams come here and keep a clean sheet, it’s huge for us."

Although Cornick's humour hasn't changed during his injury lay-off, the one thing that is different was the amount of facial hair on display, an impressive beard sprouting while he put in the hard work to get fit.

It's staying for now too, even through it got him booked during Saturday's goalless draw when mistaken for team-mate Lansbury, as ion who it was modelled on, he added: "(Gennaro) Gattuso (former AC Milan midfielder, I'm going for the hard man look.

"When I got injured I said I’m not shaving my beard until I’m back fit, and now I quite feel it, I think I look all right with it.

"I scored tonight, so it's going to stay a bit longer, the beard stays.

“I’ll take that, if I look like Henri Lansbury, he’s a good looking lad, if I look like him when I’m his age I’m buzzing with that, I’ll take that all day."