Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Luton Town and Peterborough at Kenilworth Road as Elijah Adebayo, Harry Cornick and Fred Onyedinma score as the Hatters cruise on opening day
Saturday 7 August 2021 18:29, UK
Luton ensured their supporters enjoyed the perfect return to Kenilworth Road by putting on a show with a thumping 3-0 opening-day win over newly-promoted Peterborough.
Following almost 18 months without fans allowed in stadiums, bar two games with limited attendances last season, the hosts were clearly buoyed by over 10,000 present and produced a performance that was too hot for their opponents to handle at times.
The visitors almost took the lead on eight minutes when home defender Gabriel Osho's backpass rolled under the foot of 'keeper Simon Sluga, who just managed to get back in the nick of time and slide it away before it crossed the line.
Luton looked the more likely to open the scoring, though, Jordan Clark's header from James Bree's cross not missing by much, while Fred Onyedinma was then tripped by Frankie Kent 30 yards from goal - the Posh defender getting the game's first yellow card.
Peterborough upped the tempo for the first time as midway through the half Jorge Grant took aim from 25 yards, his low drive only narrowly off target.
Town had the lead on 31 minutes, though, as Onyedinma's deep cross from the right-hand side was met by Elijah Adebayo, whose downward header went into the net via the inside of the post.
United looked for a leveller, Joe Tomlinson's attempt blocked by Sluga, with the 'keeper just about getting to Grant's cross in front of Jonson Clarke-Harris.
The final opportunity of the half went to Luton, Harry Cornick finding Allan Campbell who teed up Amari'i Bell, his right-footer cannoning off a defender and flying wide.
After the break, Bree tried his luck from range for the hosts but Christy Pym saved comfortably, but the visitors should have been reduced to 10 men when captain Mark Beevers was only shown a yellow for handball despite being the last man.
Bree sent the free-kick wide, but Luton were not to be kept out for long as Onyedinma reached the byline and his cross was converted by the onrushing Cornick on 68 minutes.
A third arrived three minutes later, though, when Bree delivered a wonderful ball from the right and there was Onyedinma, whose first effort was saved by Pym but the rebound was gleefully hammered into the net by the summer signing.
Town kept on going too with Onyedinma almost on target again, denied by the legs of Pym, but the Hatters never looked like conceding even a consolation strike as they ran out handsome victors.
Luton's Nathan Jones: "Fred was brilliant, absolutely brilliant, but that's why we brought him here. We've got others and we work on stuff, he's nowhere near his ceiling. Admiral (Muskwe) came on, I thought he was excellent. Carlos (Mendes Gomes) when he came on, settled us down, Henri (Lansbury) you could see why we brought him here and we've still got five or six who are not even in the squad.
"So the strength in depth we've got is very good. What we wanted to add we've added - pace, power and athleticism to the squad. Our front three are really, really athletic, other centre-half as well, to be anything in the Championship you have to have that. I think we could have had even more quality today though as we got in some wonderful situations, but we need to convert those as we won't always have a three-goal cushion."
Peterborough's Darren Ferguson: "It was a disappointing result, the second-half was disappointing and the goals we give away are, everyone will say that's the Championship - that's not the Championship, that's any level. We can't concede goals like that and that was the problem today, the second half, the goals we gave away.
"We felt the game would start in terms of they would come at us quickly, which they did and we've seen that through and actually started getting a little bit of control when they scored. We spoke about that at half time, having a little bit more belief and becoming more of a threat going forward definitely, but we didn't really get that today to be honest."
