Town boss felt being tipped as slight favourites for West Brom clash shows how far Luton have come

Luton boss Nathan Jones believes that the fact his side went into their trip to West Bromwich Albion considered pre-match favourites by some, shows just how far his side have come over the last few years.

Under Jones, the Hatters first visited the Hawthorns back in August 2018 in the Carabao Cup, when as League One side, with Jake Jervis leading the line and James Justin, Jack Stacey and Andrew Shinnie all starting, they were beaten 1-0 by Oliver Burke's 62nd minute winner.

Two years later and Luton, with Graeme Jones at the helm suffered a routine 2-0 defeat in their first season back in the Championship, Donervon Daniels’ own goal and Semi Ajayi’s strike doing the damage.

Last season, with the Welshman back in charge, it was 3-2, goals from Harry Cornick and Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu almost sealing a late, late comeback.

On all three visits, the home side were strongly preferred by the bookies ahead of the fixture, but on this occasion, the Baggies were sitting third bottom ahead of the game, with one win in 12 and manager Steve Bruce under increasing pressure, that eventually was to prove to much, sacked this morning.

Luton meanwhile were on the back of four game unbeaten run, sitting ninth, so for some, were tipped for an away victory, which was remarkable to see for Jones.

He said: “I remember coming here when we played them in the cup and we were nowhere near the levels we are now.

"I actually think we might have edged being favourites here today which is unbelievable, thinking how far we’ve come, but we’re a good side and I’m pleased.

"Pleased with the clean sheet, pleased with the defensive resolve and we probably had the best chance of the game.”

Although Jones was satisfied with the point from a side who were in the top flight just two years ago, he explained why, with a strong bench at his disposal, he didn’t ring the changes earlier in search of a victory that would have seen Town close the gap further on the top two, who both lost, Harry Cornick on with 20 minutes to play, before Mpanzu and Fred Onyedinma were introduced in the closing stages.

He continued: “We’ve got two front men, Harry Cornick who’s a threat, and it’s tough as we’ve got people to bring on.

“You look around and it was really cat and mouse, should I have really gone for it today, bringing Fred on, Alfie Doughty?

"As these are players that can really hurt people, it’s just you felt, it’s not the end of the world, this will be a good point at the end of the season, coming here to the Hawthorns, because they’ll be nowhere near the position they’re in now.

"So you look at it and think, yeah, it’s a decent one.”

Although the hosts were in a poor position, they still had some real class to call upon, Jed Wallace, Brandon Thomas-Asante and Gray Diangana, who cost a reported £18m when signing from West Ham in September 2020 as their front three.

Add in Turkish international Okay Yokuslu, plus experienced midfielders Jake Livermore and Matt Phillips, then on paper, it was some side that Town faced.

That made Luton’s clean sheet even more impressive for Jones, as the boss added: “Their front three were really, really lively.

"They kept three up against three and really gambled, they wanted to score early, but I thought we defended our box fantastically well, as even though they put a few crosses in, everyone was marked in the box, so it probably looked a bit more harum-scarum than it was.

“(Tom) Lockyer was right up against people, aggressive, and it was a real tough game.

"This is a tough game, I’ve come here loads of times to watch games and these are a big, big club, a real big club.

"We’ve shown that we’re not just competing with these teams, but we’re coming here wanting, not expecting, but wanting and with real ambition to win the game.”