Match ends, Stoke City 3, Luton Town 0.
StokeStoke City3LutonLuton Town0
Stoke City pulled to within three points of safety in the Championship as they comfortably beat Luton Town.
The hosts took the lead when Sam Vokes worked onto a loose ball to tee up James McClean to finish past Luton goalkeeper James Shea.
McClean then turned provider, turning in a cross towards Joe Allen, who headed home from inside the box to double the hosts' advantage.
Allen added another after the break as he slotted home a low shot from the 18-yard line as Luton struggled to make an impact.
The result means the Hatters, who beat fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic on Saturday, slip to 21st place and have a three-point cushion on the drop zone.
Graeme Jones' side have struggled on the road this season and they were on the back foot when McClean found the net in the first half.
Luton have now lost six away league games in a row and have conceded 20 goals in that period, as they slipped below Huddersfield Town in the table.
Stoke ended a run of three straight defeats following the win as their victory pulled them closer to exiting the relegation zone under Michael O'Neill.
Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill told BBC Radio Stoke:
"I'm delighted with the result and there's a lot of positives. The individual performances were very good and as a team we showed a lot.
"There's a lot to be happy about and it's a step in the right direction, nothing more than that so hopefully that builds and breeds confidence in the group.
"We've decided to keep consistency in the team so when we get a good result we need to be consistent with our selection."
Luton Town boss Graeme Jones told BBC Three Counties Radio:
"For 35 minutes we came to Stoke and reasonably controlled the game. I can't remember them having an effort on goal.
"There's an individual error and all of a sudden we're 1-0 down. We got picked off for 2-0 and we tried to change a few things at half-time.
"Another individual error and we're 3-0 down and the game is finished. It's happened too often. You can't play at this level of football and give goals away and we're doing that too much at the minute."
Line-ups
Stoke
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Butland
- 2Edwards
- 17ShawcrossSubstituted forBatthat 16'minutes
- 5LindsayBooked at 51mins
- 3Ward
- 4Allen
- 24Cousins
- 22ClucasSubstituted forPowellat 82'minutes
- 7Ince
- 9VokesSubstituted forDioufat 79'minutes
- 11McClean
Substitutes
- 6Batth
- 18Diouf
- 20Hogan
- 25Powell
- 32Federici
- 37Collins
- 38Woods
Luton
Formation 4-1-2-1-2
- 36Shea
- 26Bree
- 6Pearson
- 5Bradley
- 44SheehanSubstituted forButterfieldat 88'minutes
- 17Mpanzu
- 11ShinnieSubstituted forMoncurat 45'minutes
- 4Tunnicliffe
- 8BerrySubstituted forReaat 45'minutesBooked at 46mins
- 14Cornick
- 19CollinsBooked at 29mins
Substitutes
- 7McManaman
- 12Sluga
- 16Rea
- 20Moncur
- 25LuaLua
- 28Jones
- 29Butterfield
- Referee:
- Jarred Gillett
- Attendance:
- 20,216
Match Stats
Home TeamStokeAway TeamLuton
- Possession
- Home42%
- Away58%
- Shots
- Home15
- Away4
- Shots on Target
- Home8
- Away1
- Corners
- Home7
- Away4
- Fouls
- Home16
- Away10
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Stoke City 3, Luton Town 0.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke City) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
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Corner, Stoke City. Conceded by Jacob Butterfield.
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Foul by Ryan Tunnicliffe (Luton Town).
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Nick Powell (Stoke City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Ryan Tunnicliffe (Luton Town).
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Nick Powell (Stoke City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Harry Cornick (Luton Town).
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Stephen Ward (Stoke City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution
Substitution, Luton Town. Jacob Butterfield replaces Alan Sheehan because of an injury.
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Harry Cornick (Luton Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Stephen Ward (Stoke City).
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Offside, Luton Town. Ryan Tunnicliffe tries a through ball, but James Collins is caught offside.
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Corner, Stoke City. Conceded by James Shea.
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Attempt saved. Tom Ince (Stoke City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Nick Powell.
Substitution
Substitution, Stoke City. Nick Powell replaces Sam Clucas.
Post update
Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu (Luton Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Danny Batth (Stoke City).
Substitution
Substitution, Stoke City. Mame Biram Diouf replaces Sam Vokes.