SWINDON Town sustained their perfect away record in League Two this season with a third win on the road in a stunning victory at 10-man Luton Town this afternoon.
The dismissal of Hatters captain Scott Cuthbert on the half-hour mark handed the visitors the initiative at Kenilworth Road, with Luke Norris firing them ahead from the resulting penalty after Keshi Anderson was manhandled in the box.
Swindon then upped the pressure in the second half, capitalising as gaps began to appear at the back for Luton, with Chris Hussey doubling the lead with a superb solo effort before Paul Mullin completed the rout with a cool close-range finish.
The result was the perfect response from David Flitcroft’s side after disappointing defeats at home to Crawley Town and Barnet over the previous fortnight.
The home side were the first to threaten and Olly Lee had a sight of goal after seven minutes after right-back Jack Stacey found him with a cross from the right but he scuffed the shot and Swindon stopper Lawrence Vigouroux gathered with ease.
The Hatters full-backs were prominent early on and Dan Potts sent in a good low ball from the opposite flank but Dion Conroy got in a strong challenge to deny Danny Hylton.
It took a quarter-of-an-hour for the visitors to have their first effort as Kaiyne Woolery fed Norris in a brisk counter but Cuthbert quickly shut him down in the box.
Town had another chance soon afterwards, with Olly Lancashire heading Hussey’s free-kick from the left just wide, before Conroy got in another good challenge at the other end as Luton broke quickly from the goal kick, with the Swindon centre-back cutting out a teasing low ball from Potts.
Luton full-back Potts then had a sight of goal himself when Stacey’s cross dropped nicely for him but he did not get a clean connection from the edge of the box and volleyed harmlessly wide.
With the game having stagnated for a while, it suddenly burst into life on the half-hour mark as a penalty, red card and the opening goal all arrived in a frantic few seconds.
A deep cross from Hussey was met by Norris at back post and he headed down into the path of Anderson, who was grappled to the ground by Cuthbert, leaving referee Graham Salisbury no choice but to blow his whistle and point to the spot before giving the home captain his marching orders.
That presented Swindon with the perfect chance to break the deadlock and Norris made no mistake from 12 yards with a crisp low strike into the bottom left-hand corner, giving Hatters keeper Marek Stech no chance.
The home players and fans were further incensed shortly afterwards when their own appeals for a penalty were waved away after Collins appeared to be manhandled by Hussey in box, with the Luton forward also collecting a booking for his protests.
Stech then made a fine diving save to punch away a dipping Hussey free-kick from the edge of the box in the closing stages of the half as the visitors headed into the changing rooms in buoyant mood.
Town roared out of the blocks after the restart and doubled their lead after just five minutes thanks to a stunning strike from Hussey. The left-back picked up the ball midway inside the Hatters half before skipping past Harry Cornick with some nifty footwork and placing a perfect shot with the outside of his boot past Stech and into the corner of the net.
There was no let up from the visitors and they made it 3-0 on the hour with Mullin lashing home from close range after being picked out by Norris following a dart up the right-hand side of the box.
Town still had to be vigilant at the back and Vigouroux made a comfortable save from Luke Berry’s dipping free-kick in a rare foray forward from the Hatters.
However, that was the nearest thing Swindon had to deal with in terms of a threat to their clean sheet as they saw the contest with comparative ease to get back to form in blistering fashion.
LUTON TOWN: Stech, Stacey, Sheehan, Cuthbert (capt), Potts, Lee (Cornick 46), McCormack, Shinnie (Rea 32), Mpanzu, Collins, Hylton (Berry 74). Subs not used: Shea, Justin, Gambin, Lee.
SWINDON TOWN: Vigouroux, Purkiss, Lancashire (capt), Conroy, Hussey, Dunne, Elsnik, Mullin, Wooley (Linganzi 85), Anderson (Gordon 82), Norris (Taylor 64). Subs not used: Charles-Cook, Robertson, Brophy, H Smith.
Referee: Graham Salisbury
Attendance: 8,455 (832 away)
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