Luton chief thrilled to continue 'trampling on history' as Town secure first win at the Den since 1999

Harry Cornick's double secures deserved 2-0 triumph at Millwall
Hatters boss Nathan JonesHatters boss Nathan Jones
Hatters boss Nathan Jones

Hatters boss Nathan Jones admitted his side enjoy ‘trampling on history’ as they ended yet another long wait for a victory by beating Millwall 2-0 yesterday.

Luton hadn’t tasted success against the Lions since 2005, some nine meetings ago, while you had to go back even longer for a win at the Den, that on May 8, 1999, when Tony Thorpe scored the only goal in a 1-0 Division Two triumph.

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It’s been a regular theme for Jones since he took over, as in his first away game in charge of the club back in January 2016, they went to Mansfield and won for the first time ever at Field Mill, a sequence spanning 80 years and 14 previous attempts.

Triumphs at the likes of Nottingham Forest, Preston North End, Coventry City, Rotherham and Reading all followed ahead of the latest success, sealed by a magnificent double from Harry Cornick, who produced two top class finishes in either half to ensure the 1,600 travelling supporters could finally enjoy their trip to south east London.

After the game, Jones said: “We like trampling on history and we’ve done that again.

“It’s a difficult place to come, whatever stage Millwall are in their season or whatever league they are, this is always a difficult place.

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"The crowd, the area, demands a certain level of commitment and desire that makes it constantly difficult to come here.

"I came here as a player many times and loved it as it tested me against Neil Harris, against Gary Alexander, people like that, I loved it, and that’s what we did today.

"A year ago we came here and got bullied at key moments, every time they had a set-play they looked like scoring, every time they had a set-play today, they didn’t.

"We got first contacts and you won’t get a bigger side than that.

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"You won't get a bigger box than that in world football, unless you to go Lilliput or the land of the giants, you will not get a bigger side finishing the game than that and I thought we were excellent in handling that.”

Goalscorer Cornick said of the victory: “Breaking records, trying to make this season a special one, I think we've got it in us, so hopefully we can break a few more.”

When asked what he was doing back in 1999 when the Hatters last triumphed at the Den, Jones added: “I was a lot thinner, I was sleeping a lot more, but I was playing at Southend.

“Since I've come back, my second game here, we beat Mansfield away I think it was 40 years since they've beaten Mansfield, so these things are there to be put to bed.

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"I didn’t have too many wins here, I had good times here as it tested my character and you look back on your career and think ‘I stood up to that test,’ but it's a tough place to come.

“So to win here, the fact it was 22 years ago, shows that it's a tough place to come and I'm delighted we got three points today as I thought we really deserved it.”