Luton light up League One with sensational performance

Sky Bet League One
Luton 5 Plymouth 1
Collins 12, 45 pen, 77 Grant 89
Lee 23, Justin 29

The story of the match
Luton had been 8-15 to win so it would have been a disappointment had they not collected maximum points but this was an absolute pummeling and the 5-1 margin flattered Plymouth more than it did the unstoppable Hatters.

Harry Cornick and Matty Pearson could have done better for the home side with opportunities even before James Collins put them in front on 12 minutes and the game was as good as over by the half-hour mark with further strikes from Elliot Lee and James Justin.

The Justin goal was a thing of absolute beauty, with 16 passes in total as the ball was moved from side to side in a slick fashion before the right-footed left-back finished off a move more in keeping with Manchester City than Sky Bet League One.

The football was brilliant throughout the first half and Collins capped off the performance by converting a penalty just before the interval.

Plymouth were lucky not to have been further embarrassed as Cornick, Justin and Lee all went close to making it even more one-sided in a totally dominant Hatters display.

Argyle substitute Ryan Taylor passed up a couple of chances in the second period as Plymouth attempted to regain some respectability and Luton eased off slightly.

Former Plymouth centre-back Sonny Bradley saw a header tipped over before Collins completed his hat-trick, although there was time for Joel Grant to smash in a nice consolation just before the end.

Tactics
Nathan Jones has perfected the midfield diamond during his tenure as Luton manager and every player knows the job required of him.

The passing is slick and the quick tempo plus rapid restarts make for a relentless wave of pressure which opponents struggle to nullify at Kenilworth Road.

Having four players so playing so narrowly allows Luton to dominate midfield with skipper Glen Rea dictating play from the base of the diamond and Lee joining in with the front players at the tip.

Andrew Shinnie is neat in possession while the more wasteful Pelly Ruddock makes up for that by adding energy.

Width is provided by two willing full-backs in Jack Stacey and James Justin, while the hold-up play of Collins works well with the speedy Cornick, who just lacks a touch of composure in front of goal.

You need a mix of attributes to succeed at this level and Luton are physical enough at centre-back, where Pearson and Bradley are unlikely to be roughed up by many opposition forwards.

Strengths
This was a complete team performance and came without the suspended Danny Hylton, who is seen as Luton's main goal threat. The bench included Dan Potts, Alan McCormack, Jorge Grant, Kazenga LuaLua and Alan Sheehan so Jones has a strong squad.

Justin was probably the pick of the Luton players, with two assists and a goal.The 20-year-old is destined for bigger things.

Weaknesses
There was nothing to report in this game but all of their four losses have come on the road so they may need to sharpen up on their travels. Those defeats have come against top-eight opponents.

Goalscorer notebook
Luton are arguably not a great team to focus on as they have so many potential scorers. Justin looks a real threat, however, cutting on to his favoured foot.

View from the camp
Jones said: "The first half display is as good as I have seen - the football we played was something to be really proud of.

"Me and my staff work long hours to achieve something like that. I thought we were wonderful, we were absolutely scintillating. The passing, the movement.

"I thought our performance was superb, first half I thought we were absolutely wonderful and the pleasing thing is we kept that up second half as well."

Prospects
Fifth-placed Luton are on the up and if they maintain these standards Town will be in the Championship next season.

That cannot be taken for granted but they have a terrific set of fixtures to finish 2018 with matches against Gillingham (currently 19th), Bradford (24th), Fleetwood (12th), Coventry (ninth), Burton (13th), Scunthorpe (17th) and Walsall (11th) before the year ends.

The 9-1 offered by 188Bet with three each-way places is of definite interest.

Opposition
Plymouth lost the shots-on-target count 12-3 and there were ironic cheers in the away end on 38 minutes when Argyle earned a corner.

It really was that sort of afternoon, but they did improve when Taylor, back from injury, came on and Derek Adams can console himself with the fact that he won't be facing a team of Luton's quality too often in League One.

Adams called key man Graham Carey "stupid" for picking up a late booking for dissent which rules him out of the clash with Fleetwood and he needs a good result in that fixture to quieten growing discontent.