Luton Town made their second half dominance pay off with a 1-0 win at Hull City.
Luton Town made their second half dominance pay off after recording a 1-0 victory at Hull City.Steve Howard's late strike proved well deserved for The Hatters, who were left frustrated for most of the contest by the play of Hull goalkeeper Boaz Myhill, before taking the points on Humberside.
A slow start at The Kingston Communications Stadium saw The Tigers suffer an injury blow when summer signing Danny Coles was stretchered off after landing awkwardly in a challenge for the ball with Luton's Warren Feeney.
The home side created the first set of chances but Ryan France saw his first shot blocked by Russell Perrett before heading Stuart Green's cross from the right wide when unmarked.
Hatters goalkeeper Marlon Beresford looked in fine form after two excellent diving saves denied Green then Chris Brown, while Myhill was equally impressive following brilliant stops from Dean Morgan and Carlos Edwards.
Both sides had goals disallowed before the break, with Hull's Nicky Barmby rightly adjudged to be in an offside position after scoring a close range header. Luton's strike, however, proved to be a very harsh decision by the officials after Ahmet Brkovic converted Edwards' deflected cross from the right at close range.
Mike Newell's side looked the brighter after the restart and Howard was unlucky not to find scoresheet with a right foot strike that hit the post.
Kevin Nicholls then forced another good save from Myhill with a right foot curling strike, while the former Aston Villa keeper needed to stop Sol Davis' close range shot with his legs.
At the other end, Beresford needed to make another diving save from France's left foot strike before the visitors took total control of the match.
Luton's pressure proved relentless towards the closing stages and despite the best efforts of Myhill and the Hull defenders, Howard was on hand to convert Brkovic's flicked cross from the right with five minutes remaining to seal the win.
