Strong Hatters development side see off Peterborough

In a side featuring first-teamers Howells, Rooney, Whalley, Guttridge and Walker amongst others, Luton looked comfortable throughout and could easily have won by more had they been more clinical in front of goal.

The hosts thought they opened the scoring in the eighth minute through Paul Benson, but the striker was adjudged to be offside, however he only had to wait two minutes for his first goal.

Charlie Walker’s downwards header from a Shaun Whalley cross was only parried by Aiden Grant in the Peterborough goal, and Benson had an easy task of scoring into the unguarded net.

The Hatters dominated throughout, and Saturday’s hero Luke Guttridge was at the heart of that, finding space in the visitors’ midfield at ease, and it was he who was central to Benson’s second goal after 21 minutes.

Guttridge found Walker on the left wing in space, and his superb in-swinging cross to the back post was met by the unmarked Benson, whose header found the bottom corner from eight yards out.

Luton goalkeeper Elliott Justham had very few touches in the Luton goal, but he was called into action on the stroke of half time when he was forced to parry a Nat Mendez-Laing effort onto the bar.

It didn’t get much better for the visitors after the break though as substitute Ricky Miller grabbed himself two goals in as many minutes.

Good one touch football by Luton forced a corner and Miller got in front of his marker and bundled Whalley’s cross in at the near post to give the hosts a deserved 3-0 lead after 52 minutes.

Then just two minutes later, Miller found himself in space on the edge of the area and the winger slotted his left foot strike into the far corner.

Miller could have grabbed his hat-trick in stoppage time, but his penalty crashed against the bar, but it was to no avail as Luton were comfortable 4-0 winners.

Luton Town: Elliot Justham, Curtley Williams, Jake Howells, Luke Rooney, Alex Lacey, Fraser Franks, Paul Benson, Shaun Whalley, Luke Guttridge, Jim Stevenson (Matt Robinson 60), Charlie Walker (Ricky Miller 35)

Goals: Benson 10 and 21 and Miller 52 and 54

Replacements not used: Lucas Perry, Frankie Musonda

Peterborough United: Aiden Grant, Keanu Robinson, Ollie Luto, James Goode (James Ward 29), Ben Keating, Luke James, Erhun Oztumer, Kane Ferdinand, Nat Mendez-Laing, Kenny McEvoy, Ricardo Santos

Replacements not used: Henrik Ravas, Jack Friend, Harry Anderson, Olutobi Adebayo-Rowlings