Mark Tyler: 6 – Bullet header gave Tyler no real chance, but his handling was assured on a largely quiet afternoon.

Steve McNulty: 7 – Instant cult favourite with the home faithful and turned in a no nonsense, if at times messy defensive display.

Janos Kovacs: 6.5 – Timed his challenges well and largely assured, although there were times when he and McNulty doubled up as they unnecessarily went for the same ball.

Alex Lawless: 6 – A minute of madness saw him twice needlessly get himself booked as his sending off put Luton on the back foot.

Jon Shaw: 6 – Won a few decent flick-ons, forced once fine stop out of Russell but missed a gilt-edged chance to give Luton the lead after the visiting keeper had flapped at a corner.

Jake Howells: 6.5 – Combined well with Martin on the left and impressed with his all-round game at left-back with Taylor benched.

David Martin: 6 – Started well and looked to have developed forged a fine understanding with Gray as he set up the forward’s opener, but faded before being sacrificed following Lawless’ sending off.

Scott Neilson: 5.5 – Looked dangerous when he saw the ball, sadly the ball was infrequently worked out to his wing.

Jonathan Smith: 6.5 – Quick on to several loose balls, played some telling passes and forced to cover countless miles, especially after Lawless’ dismissal.

Ronnie Henry: 6 – No thrills defending from Town’s captain, but was unable

Andre Gray: 6.5 – Looked dangerous early on, scored a good goal, nice turn to win the penalty but his composure deserted him as he blasted it over and faded from thereon in.

Arnaud Mendy (sub): 5 – Game was wide open in the middle and struggled to get to grips with t he visitors’ greater numbers there.

JJ O’Donnell (sub): 5.5 – Made an impact with his energy and tenacity as he made a constant nuisance of himself.

Stuart Fleetwood (sub): 5 – Lacked support and was struggled against Rovers’ rough-housing at the back.

Ratings by Mark Wood

It’s often not easy winning the affections of the girl of your dreams – but it’s a lot harder when you’re a decaying reanimated corpse with a passion for eating the brains of the living.

That’s the plot of Warm Bodies, though. It’s based on the novel by Isaac Marion, and tells the tale of a lovestruck young zombie named ‘R’ (Nicholas Hoult) who might be stone cold dead but still has the hots for the still living Julie (Theresa ‘I Am Number Four’ Palmer). Just what you want from a date movie with St Valentine’s day so close on the calendar.

Is there any way that these star-crossed lovers can overcome the small problem of one of them being dead? Warm Bodies has a lot of fun finding out.In the very capable hands of director Jonathan ‘All The Boys Love Mandy Lane’ Levine this is the smartest, funniest zombie story to hit the screen since Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead.

‘R’ is probably the most sympathetic cinematic zombie ever. He provides a superb, witty and eloquent voiceover, filling in the viewers about exactly how the majority of the population ended up like extras in the Thriller video.

There are also the ‘bonies’ – nastier feral undead skeletons who have lost traces of their humanity and who pose a threat not just to humans but to the zombies, too.

The course of true love does not run smoothly, however, and it seems unlikely that R will win Julie’s heart as the first time they meet he ends up killing her boyfriend and eating his brains.

If you’ve ever wondered why zombies are so keen on brains R explains that it is because it allows them to glimpse memories of the person whose brain they are munching on – which makes them feel ‘less dead’. Well, when you put it like that...

Warm Bodies gets the balance of romance, comedy and action just right.

The big picture plot of how Julie and R’s relationship might just save humanity sits within a strong paranoid threat that the last humans won’t be able to hold out as the resources begin to run dry.

This is a wicked riff on the classic Romeo and Juliet plot which will resonate with fans of Twilight as much as those who like more hardened horror / comedy.

Shakespeare probably didn’t see brains as the food of love but Warm Bodies delivers such a feelgood jolt of reanimation for the romance genre that it deserves to be a hit.

London One North
Luton 36 Basildon 20

Luton Rugby secured back-to-back bonus-point London One North victories after overturning an half time deficit to beat Basildon, writes Stephen Richards.

A below par first period performance left Luton trailing 10-8 at the break, although Steven Ellis did open the scoring for Luton, after collecting the ball from a kick upfield by Will Affleck to go over. Rik Hobbs missed the conversion however to leave the score at 5-0.

Basildon replied on 22 minutes with a try from Bradley Johnson with Zac Jones also wayward with his kick.

Although a Hobbs penalty instantly put Luton back in front, Ryan Creasey’s try two minutes before the interval sent Basildon 10-8 into lead, but the travellers again missed the conversion, this time through Dan Rowley.

The first action of the second-half saw Jack Elston sent off on 50 minutes for what was deemed a reckless use of the boot whilst clearing a ruck, leaving Luton down to 14 men.  

But two points behind and a man down, Luton battled back impressively.

Just two minutes later, Tesh Edwards finished off an attack down the right hand side by pouncing on a loose ball and diving over the line. Hobbs converted to give Luton a 15-10 lead.

Aiden Kenny then bagged a try on 56 minutes after a good run and kick forward by Ellis; Hobbs again converting for 22-10.

Edwards was next to go over again on 61 minutes with Tom Wilmore and Hobbs instrumental in the move as a dominant 10-minute spell saw Luton 19 points to the good.

Lee Randall’s try for Basildon 10 minutes from time gave them hope of earning a bonus point but Jones missed the conversion.

Kenny added his second score and his team’s fifth, two minutes from time with Hobbs converting to round off the home team’s scoring, as Basildon also crossed through Joseph Green to score a late conversion.

Luton travel to Chingford this weekend.

Luton: Pacey, Murphy, Blinkhorn, Elston (c), Rodell, Kay, Harris, Yang, Mahendran, Wilmore, Edwards, Ellis, Kenny, Hobbs, Affleck. Subs: Thomas, Scales, Butten.

T: Ellis, Edwards (2), Kenny (2). P: Hobbs. C: Hobbs (4).

Charismatic defender Janos Kovacs has called on the Hatters to ‘fight’ for promotion, writes Mark Wood.

Town were held to a 1-1 home draw by promotion rivals Forest Green Rovers on Saturday as their disappointing run of league results continued, meaning they have picked up just eight points from their last seven matches.

And Kovacs believes they need to show greater fight to succeed, starting with tomorrow night’s trip to Dartford.

He said: “Every game is difficult, especially in the league. Everybody is talking about we beat Norwich in the FA Cup, that’s a different type of story in my eyes. In the league everybody is playing us like cup finals, so every game is difficult. It showed even last week away at Barrow is a very difficult game.

“We just cannot take games easily, half-hearted. We always need to start well and go and put ourselves on the frontline and do our best. As I said 110 per cent is needed in the league in each and every game from each and every one of us.

“It’s not nice to say, but it’s fight. It’s fight for points, for promotion and in my eyes, this is the only way out of this league.”

The Darts were one of the few teams to outplay the Hatters at Kenilworth Road this season and Town will surely want to avenge their 2-0 defeat in November which saw sections of the home crowd applaud Dartford’s players from the field.

Kovacs said: “Payback? We need to take every game as it comes. Of course it would be nice to have a good win against them. It’s another three points up for grabs and we’ve got to go and grab them.”

Town host Championship outfit Millwall in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday as their glamorous cup run continues, and Kovacs admitted that the players must remain focused.

He added: “It’s another tough thing to deal with in football. That’s why a good mentality in my eyes is to always focus on the next one. Yes of course there is a big game coming up next Saturday, but in my eyes the Dartford game is even bigger. Take that one first and let’s win it and after the final whistle hopefully we can celebrate three points and then we can move on to the next one.”

The number of housing transactions in the south east rose during January, says the latest RICS housing market survey.

During the first month of the year, chartered surveyors across the region reported an increase in the number of newly agreed sales, with a net balance of 21 percent more stating that levels rose.

In tandem with this, prices in the south east remained stable during the first month of the year.

Seven per cent more respondents stated that prices fell rather than rose last month, meaning that prices have remained fairly consistent since September last year.

Along with other signs, this suggests that the very worst may be over for the region’s property market.

Despite this, demand from would-be purchasers dipped very slightly since the start of the New Year, with a net balance of five percent of surveyors reporting that new buyer enquiries fell during January. Local surveyors suggested that poor weather may have contributed to the softer figures.

Looking ahead, chartered surveyors in the south east are optimistic that the price stability seen in recent months will persist over the coming three months and, more significantly, they anticipate prices beginning to move a little higher as the year wears on.

Meanwhile, future transaction levels are expected to remain on an upward trajectory, with 24 percent more surveyors expecting sales levels to rise rather than fall.

Peter Bolton King of RICS said:“Price falls across the region have gradually stemmed in recent months and it is interesting to see that the amount of completed transactions are on the rise, as confidence returns to the marketplace.

“While it is still very early days to talk about a comprehensive market recovery, activity levels are still encouraging and there is some optimism out there that things could continue to improve.

“That said, in the south east, high house prices and the lofty deposits required by many lenders continue to prevent many first time buyers from getting a foot on the ladder, which is preventing any significant movement at the lower end of the market.”

Town midfielder Adam Watkins has joined Blue Square Bet South side Eastleigh on loan until the end of the season, writes Mike Simmonds.

The 21-year-old has made just nine appearances this season, his last coming in the 3-0 FA Trophy defeat to Grimsby Town.

Watkins has already had one loan spell this season that didn’t work out, when he joined Kidderminster Harriers, but will now join Town central defender Alex Lacey who is also on loan at Eastleigh.

Luton boss Paul Buckle said: “Adam Watkins will go out on loan, we’re hopeful he’s going to Eastleigh.

“Alex has done well there and they took (Dean) Beckwith on a permanent, so Adam goes from now to the end of the season,

“All the players that I dont see figuring now are out which I think is healthy for the club.”

For the full story, see the Luton News/Dunstable Gazette on sale this Wednesday, while for all the latest Luton Town FC news, reports, stats, player profiles, live match updates, MOM vote, prediction table and a complete fixture list, visit our {http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/football/hatters-microsite|Hatters Microsite|Click here for the Hatters Microsite}.

A Royal visitor will officially open the Luton & Dunstable’s new cardiac unit next week.

The Duke of Edinburgh, who had heart surgery in 2011, will visit the unit on Tuesday, February 19.

Hatters are still in the dark as to whether they can pick new signing Wayne Thomas for tomorrow nights Blue Square Bet Premier trip to Dartford, writes Mike Simmonds.

The 33-year-old moved to Kenilworth Road from Greek side Veroia on Monday, but international clearance prevented him from making his debut against Forest Green Rovers on Saturday.

It still hadn’t come through when manager Paul Buckle held his pre-match press conference this afternoon as he said: “Not yet, that’s frustrating. The boy’s here have been trying hard to do it, Kevan (Platt, club secretary) back at the club.

“He’s trained again with us and we’re waiting. we’ll wait right up until tomorrow.”
Buckle insisted it won’t affect his preparations though as he continued: “It’s not to the detriment of the team and won’t compromise our shape.

“If it hasn’t come through by today, he’s not going to be starting. If it comes through tonight or tomorrow, he’ll be on the bench, that will always be the case.”

The boss was hopeful over a return for defender Simon Ainge though who needed stitches in his foot following an injury while on England C duty last Wednesday, adding: “Ainge’s cut on his foot is healing up so we’re hopeful he’ll be involved in the squad tomorrow night.”

For all the latest Luton Town FC news, reports, stats, player profiles, live match updates, MOM poll, prediction table and a complete fixture list, visit our {http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/football/hatters-microsite|Hatters Microsite|Click here for the Hatters Microsite}.

A convertible car was stolen during a burglary in Dunstable on Sunday afternoon (February 10).

The incident happened some time between midday at 6.45pm while the occupants were out of their home in Oakwell Close.

Offenders forced open a door at the back of the property with a screwdriver before stealing jewellery including diamond and ruby rings.

They then drove off in the victim’s silver Audi A3 convertible.

Det Con Ian Knapgate is keen to speak with anyone who might have been in the area at the time.

Anyone with information is urged to call DC Knapgate on 01582 394071, or Beds Police on the non-emergency number 101.

A doting husband is appealing for his wife’s relatives to come forward to help them celebrate their golden wedding anniversary next month.

Audrey Lynch, 84, has not seen most of her relatives since her mother’s funeral 45 years ago, and husband Ken, 75, wants to put that right.

Now suffering from dementia, Peterborough-born Audrey – maiden name Thompson – was raised in Luton but now lives in Park House Nursing Home, Sandy.

Her late mother ran a confectionary shop in Luton and she may also have relatives in Dunstable.

Ken said: “I have no relatives at all. I would be nice if some of her relatives could come and visit her.”

So far, the guest list for the party consists of daughter Susan and Grandson Alex.

They will be celebrating their anniversary on Saturday, March 30, at Audrey’s nursing home. If you have information about Audrey’s friends or relatives, call Ken on 01767 681739.

Thieves stole a car from a Dunstable home and crashed into a stationary vehicle in the same street on Sunday (February 10).

Offenders gained access to the property in Mountview Avenue by forcing open a set of French doors.

They took jewellery including an engagement ring and a gold necklace before stealing the Daewoo Matiz from the driveway.

They then hit the stationary vehicle before driving off.

If you have information, call Det Con Simon Day, investigating, on 01582 394449 or the non-emergency number 101.

Town boss Paul Buckle has urged his side to finally end their disappointing away form at Dartford on Tuesday night, writes Mike Simmonds.

Since winning 2-1 at Forest Green Rovers on October 27, Hatters have gone six Blue Square Bet Premier games without a victory.

Four defeats and two draws means Town have taken just two points from a possible 18 and the run is threatening to derail any potential title charge.

Buckle said: “It’s been a rollercoaster season for us. We had brilliant away form at the start and our home form was patchy, now it’s been a bit of a role reversal.

“It’s been nine games and a couple of months since we’ve been defeated at Kenilworth Road, which is great.

“It shows me the players have learned to live with the pressure which comes with playing at Kenilworth Road.

“What we must do now is go on a run away from home because it’s still all to play for massively.

“The league tells a false picture in my mind with us having so many games in hand. You’d really like those games in hand to come now, that would be fair to us, but one of them is going to be near the end, so it’s about staying in there.”

On how Luton can turn their poor away run around, Buckle continued: “Maybe it’s getting ourselves into a game, making sure we sure we play our way into the game.

“I though we did that on Saturday and that’s what we’ve got to do away from home.

“Our pressing on Saturday was exceptional, we didn’t allow them time, they had no attempts on our goal, other than the goal they got from a free kick.

“They didn’t open us up, we opened them up and had good chances, but didn’t take them.

“It show shows we were solid, our work-rate was there, what we’ve got to do is take that into an away game now.”

For all the latest Luton Town FC news, reports, stats, player profiles, live match updates, MOM poll, prediction table and a complete fixture list, visit our {http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/football/hatters-microsite|Hatters Microsite|Click here for the Hatters Microsite}.

It’s all very well for the government to be planning a ban on cinemas serving supersized fizzy drinks as part of a crackdown on the causes of obesity, but it doesn’t go far enough.

I very rarely go to the cinema these days and it’s nothing to do with the films, it’s the people.

Now I’ve got no objection to movie multitasking – I can quite happily tuck into supper on a tray while watching my chosen feature in the privacy of my own home. I might even have a glass of wine.

But I don’t expect other paying customers to put up with it, and the sounds of scoffing are just one of the everyday irritations that cinemas ought to be stamping out.

Talking is a no-no, as far as I am concerned. Whispered enquiries about who is doing what and why, or what that bloke was in with that other woman, are bad enough.

But what really gets my goat are the people who seem to think it’s entirely appropriate to have complete conversations about anything other than what’s playing out on the screen in front of them.

And conversations between two punters in the same cinema are only part of the problem – what about the phone junkies who can’t bear to turn off their lifelines at the door?

They’ll take a call, they’ll make a call, and even if they turn the ringtone to mute you’ll be constantly irritated by the glowing screen in the row in front as its owner maintains contact with friends, family and unknown social network followers for the duration.

Multiplex movie venues have enough screens at their disposal that they could easily set aside a proportion for the sole use of customers who are prepared to promise that they won’t use their phones, won’t slurp giant drinks, won’t rustle sweet papers and chomp confectionery, and won’t offend others with the stale stink of their popcorn.

A quiet screen might bite into the huge margins the cinema operators make on drinks and snacks, but it would draw disaffected moviegoers back to the box office.

Those with long memories will recall the days when every film was projected onto the big screen through a fug of smoke because virtually everyone in the audience was puffing away.

Then smokers began to be corralled into specific areas, or expected to go outside if they wanted to light up.

The same progress when it comes to feeding your face would produce similar dividends, and while a single quiet screen would be a start, it wouldn’t be long before it was the chompers and the chatters who were in the minority, and expected to make do with a filthy, smelly, noisy auditorium set aside for them and their kind while the rest of us were able to relax and watch the movie in blessed peace and quiet.

Firms that have rejected recession and thumbed their noses at economic downturn are wanted as entrants in a Bedfordshire awards scheme launched yesterday (Monday).

A host of county companies and organisations have thrown their weight behind the Bedfordshire Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) awards, including headline sponsor Barclays Bank, The Mansion House, My Incubator, Park Woodfine Heald Mellows solicitors and Mercedes Benz of Bedford.

Simon Wright, area business manager for Barclays in Luton and Bedford, said he was keen to be fully involved in the community and in supporting the start-up businesses, which will help the local and UK economy. He added: “I am hoping to see some unique ideas from companies using the new technologies and those with the best ideas for supporting their local communities.”

Head judge Charlie Smith, of the Bedfordshire FSB, told the award scheme launch, that the awards are a showcase for the small business community in Beds. He said: “I am looking forward to stories of companies growing despite the general economy and of people who have overcome personal difficulties.”

Premier Newspapers, publishers of a range of newspapers in the county and this website, are the media sponsors, Prizes include a £5,000 package of free advertising for the winner.

There are 13 categories to enter plus one for the overall business of the year. They include employee of the year, real life entrepreneur, innovation and service excellence.

Entries will close on April 25, there will be a judging day on May 2 and the awards ceremony will be held at The Conservatory at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden, on Thursday, June 6.

For more details, visit www.fsb.org.uk/beds-awards

Tonight’s game at Dartford could be ‘make of break’ for Town’s season according to exciting young striker Andre Gray, writes Mark Wood.

With Luton 14 points off Grimsby Town in top spot and with three games in hand, Gray was in no doubt how important this evening’s game could be.

He said: “In the changing room we want to win every game now and I think it’s a game that we’re going to have to go and win because we need to catch up ground with our games in hand so Tuesday could probably make or break our season at the moment so I think we need to go and win it.”

With many of the top teams still to face each other, Gray was refusing to give up on automatic promotion after Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with promotion rivals Forest Green Rovers.

He said: “Today’s not a bad point, I think playing a team above us they’re fighting for promotion so it’s not doom and gloom yet.

“The only positive is we’ve still got games in hand and we’ve still got to play Grimsby, Forest Green have still got to play Grimsby and Mansfield have got to play Grimsby and I think Newport have as well so obviously I think people are going to say Grimsby have won the league already, but they haven’t. I think if we win our games in hand we go a few points behind them and anything can happen and I think it will go down to the wire now.”

Town have attracted plenty of media attention due to their exploits in the FA Cup, which may have proved to be a distraction to their promotion challenge.

It has certainly led to a fixture pile-up for the Hatters, but Gray was adamant the buck had to stop with the players.

The 21-year-old forward added: “I think we need to get our heads round the league and I think obviously that’s our main prerogative.

“Playing Millwall, obviously it’s a great game and great for the fans and if we win we are in the quarter-finals. Obviously anyone will say we’re not going to win the FA Cup being realistic, but we want to win the league. It can be frustrating, but that’s how it is and we’ve got to get on with it.

“It’s our job, we are professional footballers and that’s what we have to deal with. Obviously players at the top in the Premiership they have to deal with worse than that so I think it’s no excuse and that we are just going to have to get on with it, work hard and kick on.”

Snakes and Ladders in Dunstable held a toy collection in aid of the children at Keech Hospice.

The Blackburn Road children’s play centre welcomed donations from friends, family and wellwishers.

Dartford continue to be one of the most hit and miss teams in the Blue Square Bet Premier this season, writes Mike Simmonds.

Capable of producing some fine results, like defeating Macclesfield 2-0 recently, while also winning at Grimsby and Kenilworth Road earlier in the campaign, they are also prone to the odd hammering too, losing 5-1 to Kidderminster, while also going down 4-2 at home to Lincoln recently.

An impressive return to the Conference has seen The Darts on the cusp of a Wembley appearance too, reaching the semi-finals of the FA Trophy where they meet Grimsby in a two-legged affair.

The Trophy form has rather masked a disappointing sequence of league results though, as since December, they have only won twice, drawn twice and lost six of their 10 fixtures.

Dartford’s home form remains the main strong point with eight wins, two draws and four defeats so far, scoring 29 and conceding 19.

The club suffered a major blow to their forward ranks last month, losing leading scorer Harry Crawford on a free transfer to League Two Barnet.

The 21-year-old, who had trialled with Luton in the summer, had netted 12 goals in 24 appearances before earning a three year deal with the Bees.

Meanwhile, Darts failed in an audacious bid to lure former Wigan and Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard out of retirement.

The 34-year-old quit the game in October because of knee problems, and boss Tony Burman told local media: “We have spoken but he has got interests which he wants to take up.

“If an opportunity comes along to have someone like Jimmy around we would obviously listen and talk.

“In all honesty it won’t happen as he has got other interests and offers outside football that he is looking at.”

The club did strengthen during January though, signing Dagenham & Redbridge winger Dominic Green on one-month loan, while also borrowing Gillingham youngster Jack Evans.

Team news: Lathaniel Rowe-Turner and Alex Lawless are suspended, while on Monday, Luton were still awaiting international clearance for Wayne Thomas.

Simon Ainge may well be fit, leaving just Danny Spiller and Garry Richards on the injured list.

Man in the middle: Wayne Barratt - official has taken 17 league games this season, showing 41 yellows along with two reds.

Hatters have a perfect record this year under his charge, beating Cambridge 3-2 and 3-0, while it is the first time he has taken Dartford.

In fact, Luton have never lost when Barratt has had the whistle as they drew 1-1 with Telford last season at Kenilworth Road.

Top BSBP scorer: Darts – Harry Crawford (12). Hatters - Stuart Fleetwood (10).

In charge: Tony Burman. A true Dartford legend, having played over 300 games for the club.

The 54-year-old was appointed coach in 1992/93 and then manager in 93/94, before resigning in 1996 due to business commitments.

Returned as caretaker boss in 2001 and quickly appointed the club’s new manager.

Since then has led Darts to promotion from Ryman One North, Ryman Premier and the Blue Square Bet Premier last season.

View from the opposition: Boss Tony Burman after the 2-1 defeat to Lincoln on Saturday: “We lacked quality and now we have some decisions to make.

“I’ve got scope to bring players in and I may have to because that performance was not good enough.”

One to watch: Midfielder Elliot Bradbrook - has had an excellent season for Dartford this year, notching seven league goals in 25 Blue Square Bet Premier games, including five in his last 13 matches.

Friendly faces: Recent Town signing David Martin began his career at Dartford, scoring 14 goals in 68 appearances before attracting the attention of Championship club Crystal Palace, who he joined for £25,000 in January 2007.

We’ve got form: Hatters have never visited Dartford before. The only time the sides have met was at Kenilworth Road earlier in this campaign where the Darts ended up 2-0 winners.

For all the latest Luton Town FC news, reports, stats, player profiles, live match updates, MOM poll, prediction table and a complete fixture list, visit our {http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/football/hatters-microsite|Hatters Microsite|Click here for the Hatters Microsite}.

The man who died after a collision with a car on Thursday evening (February 7) has been named as Kelly Dumpleton.

Mr Dumpleton, of Victoria Street, Dunstable, came into collision with a Ford Fiesta at about 6.30pm, 700m east of the Stanbridge Turn junction of the A505.

He was taken to Luton and Dunstable Hospital but died of multiple injuries.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Luton Town U18s enjoyed a 2-0 win over Stevenage thanks to goals from Arel Amu and Jemal McKenzie-Lowe in their Youth Alliance clash at the weekend.

For the second week running, Hatters were forced to switch venues due to Ely Way being unplayable as they travelled to Stevenage’s new facility at Bragbury End.

Tinashe Chabata and Jerome Jibodu were both fit to start the game in the centre of the defence, while U16 Lee Hawkes came into the side at left back, with Brett Longden moving to his familiar right back role.

On an excellent surface, Stevenage’s best chance came as they stole possession from Town’s backline, but didn’t unduly bother keeper Ben Barnes.

Town came close when Leeroy Maguarauhe fed Zane Banton but his square ball to Amu was cut out.

Luton opened the scoring on 36 minutes though with Banton finding Maguaraushe inside the box and the winger found Amu who made no mistake, firing into the corner of the net.

It was almost 2-0 before the break as McKenzie-Lowe’s shot was blocked by the keeper.

After the break, Hatters continued in the ascendency and doubled the lead when a precise Charlie Smith free kick was volleyed home by McKenzie-Lowe.

Further chances were crafted throughout the half and the Hatters were denied by the woodwork on three occasions.

Firstly, a flowing move ended with Longden bursting into the box and he fired against the woodwork, Smith’s free kick hit the inside of the post, before McKenzie-Lowe also saw his shot hit cannon against the same post.

Stevenage came close late on, but Chabata got in an important block to maintain the two goal cushion.

U18s boss Paul Driver said: “I thought we did well. The decent surface helped us play a bit more football than we’ve been able to do recently and we continued the excellent work from the second half last week at Orient.

“As a team, we are learning how to defend better and that was our third clean sheet in the last five games which is also encouraging.

“We looked much more assured at the back with Jerome (Jibodu) and Tinashe in there who were both excellent and having Brett getting forward from full back makes us better going forward.

“With a bit more luck, we could have won by more as we created some good chances in the second half.”

Hatters: Barnes, Longden, Hawkes, Rees, Chabata, Jibodu, Amu, Smith, McKenzie-Lowe (Tayali 87), Banton, Maguraushe (Trottman 78).

Subs not used. Carpenter, Galliford, Pittfield.

For all the latest Luton Town FC news, reports, stats, player profiles, live match updates, MOM poll, prediction table and a complete fixture list, visit our {http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/football/hatters-microsite|Hatters Microsite|Click here for the Hatters Microsite}.

Missed chances and an inability to defend set-pieces again thwarted the Town as they were held to a 1-1 draw by promoting-chasing Forest Green Rovers at Kenilworth Road on Saturday, writes Mark Wood.

Andre Gray’s missed penalty was the biggest missed opportunity, but his team-mates refused to point fingers and believes they’d still done enough to win the game.

New boy Steve McNulty said: “Maybe we could have went on from there and kicked on, no-one likes missing pens.

“He stepped up and wanted to take it and you take your hat off to him for that. But stuff like that is going to happen and you are going to miss pens, but even before the pen we had chances to score and after that we had more chances. You can’t point the finger at one person, he’s had the guts to stand up and take the pen, good on him.

“I thought we had enough chances in the first half to win the game. Obviously we missed the pen, but it was a sloppy goal to concede from a set-piece which we’re not happy about.

“And then we have a man sent off, but I thought we still done well when we had the man sent off. I thought we still looked dangerous on the break because we’ve got some great forwards.”

Defensive partner Janos Kovacs was in agreement, saying: “On another day we would win this game I’m pretty sure, because we created enough chances. I think we cannot point our fingers on individuals. I mean of course Andre missed a pen, but it’s not his fault we didn’t win today. We draw together, we lose together and we win together. So I think we cannot point our fingers on him why we didn’t score the pen.

“Of course it’s a great chance for anyone to score a penalty, and we were very unlucky it didn’t go in today. Let’s just get on with it and move.”

Kovacs also went close to giving Luton the lead in the second half when his downward header clipped the bar on its way off.

“I followed the ball with my eyes,” he said. “It was very unlucky, but again we had enough chances. My header a few other chances, (Jon) Shawy had a great deflected second ball after a set-piece in the first half, Andre had half chances so in my eyes we had enough chances to win this game.

“I think through the whole game we were solid at the back, they didn’t create anything, they scored a set-piece the good old story. We just need to move forward and if we keep, stick what we did today sooner or later it will be fine, I’m pretty sure.”

Gray felt Luton lacked some quality going forward after initially working the ball out wide well.

He said: “I just think we probably lacked a little bit of quality in the final third, with our final balls. Obviously we played a different formation to them so there was always a spare man. I think it was just one of them games and I think we’ve had a few of them games this season, the likes of Telford and stuff where it’s just that final ball that last pass that’s just let us down today.

“The gaffer’s singled it out (crosses) what we’re crying out for most of the season. And we’ve got an understanding now as soon as the wingers get it we are going to cross the ball.

“We’ve been working on it in training for the last few days and it paid off today and obviously we should have won the game.”

But despite the disappointment of conceding from another set-piece, Kovacs was determined to take the positives.

He added: “It’s difficult to say anything. It was clear it was another set-piece where we conceded. We just need to dig in and hopefully soon it will be done and no more set-piece goals.

“It was a busy afternoon, absolutely. A few red cards, tackles, a few goals, loads of chances for us. I think we had enough chances to score the second one.

“A little bit disappointed we didn’t win the game but take the positives, I think we were solid and they didn’t create too much, so I’m happy with that side.

“It’s a little disappointment because we didn’t pick the three points up, especially at home. I know they are up there, but we have to take the positives out of the game. I think we were solid as a team, we created chances. I think on another day we would win this game. I think if we take this forward and do what we did today, a solid team performance, then I’m pretty sure sooner or later we will be fine.”