Luton Town 1-4 Burnley
by Layth Yousif
at Kenilworth Road 

SCOTT PARKER’S impressive Burnley side blew away lacklustre Luton Town on both sides’ return to the Championship. 

Parkers’ impressive Clarets routed the home side on a warm Monday evening at Kenilworth Road, as the Lancastrians laid down a marker during their opening match in the second tier, following relegation from the Premier League. 

For Rob Edwards and fellow Championship promotion hopefuls Luton, it was a night to forget for his disjointed, albeit admittedly depleted, side. 

Speaking after the match, a disappointed Edwards reflected, saying: “Burnley are a good team, and they punished us.”

The Clarets certainly did.

Captain Josh Brownhill opened the scoring and Wilson Odobert doubled the visitors’ lead in a dominant opening half in front of 11,777 spectators. 

A smattering of boos could be heard after Luton’s insipid and underwhelming first display, prior to Edwards side rousing themselves somewhat after the interval when Tahith Chong’s close-range effort gave the hosts brief hope.

However, captain Dara O’Shea emphatically headed home for 3-1, before Vitinho fired in a late fourth following a sweeping move. 

Speaking afterwards a delighted Parker said: “The big statement was for us internally. The execution of what we went out to do was incredible, and the belief and the confidence that this result will bring.

“From afar, people will look at it and will talk about it. But the biggest thing is the statement we’ve proved to ourselves.

“A lot of hard work has gone in, a different voice from myself. To a man, [the players] were superb.”