This was our first visit to the newly promoted Luton Town and a chance to see our manager Phil Brown, having just won September’s manager of the month award, pit his wits against the experienced John Stills.
It is no wonder they are building a new stadium.Obviously, as I’m sure with the majority of away fans the first thing that strikes you about the stadium is the away turnstiles. Luton's home form all season has been poor, including a defeat to Crawley in their last home outing. I already knew the route from town centre, but just tagged on to the other Luton fans heading to the ground.Overall a fantastic day out with a fantastic result at the end of it. Was fairly straight forward in the end.For the first time that I can recall, we rested all eleven of our first team who had beaten Sheffield Wednesday the previous game - just as we had mused might happen on the car journey down.
After about 2-3 miles you come to luton town centre and a roundabout signposted Kenilworth road (LTFC). Luton was a new ground to me as I had never been before and I was optimistic about what it had to offer. I'd also heard great things about Luton fans so I was really looking forward to it.Kev Steptoe adds; 'There is a great fish and chip shop located five minutes walk away from the ground.
In the 1980s, Luton Town was one of the few teams on England to play on artificial turf, which lasted until 1991 when it got banned. And Kovas made it 3-0 when he turned in a cross on 79 mins to end any Tamworth hopes of a come back.
However, the ground has been in need of major redevelopment for many years now.
At the end of the game, it took us about 20 minutes just to get out of the ground as everyone squeezed through the small exits. You can also purchase hot pies inside the bar (£3.50) and there is one small television showing the early kick off. There were plenty of stewards outside the visitors stand but there were very limited searches, almost like they couldn't be bothered. Kenilworth Road has been the home of Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The bus station which goes to the airport was directly outside the exit for where I was sitting so was quite easy to find.Away fans are housed on one side of the Oak Road Stand (on the Executive Stand side) at one end of the ground. Beware that it's cold water only in the gents so you might need gloves in the winter months after washing your hands.Although very tired afterwards from only getting into Heathrow at 5am that morning ( All the way from Australia! In the end it was a disappointing performance from the Barneta who had won five out of the six preceding games including beating Blackpool in the FA Cup.The first half was a bit of a non event and not much football being played, I thought to myself this is the first time I have watched this level of football. The atmosphere was good throughout Tamworth and Luton fans made some good noise and some good banter between the two sets of fans. Southend were 4th and Luton 7th. The highest recorded attendance was 30,069 in the 1959 sixth round FA Cup replay against Blackpool. We ended up winning 2-1, bedlam in the away end when the winner went in but Luton were poor and I'm not surprised they currently sit bottom of the pile.
David Crossfield a visiting Barnsley fan informs me; 'The Bricklayers Arms is a proper old fashioned type pub. The Main and Kenilworth Road stands erupted with noise after every tackle, decision and of course goal.I took the supporters coach for the game as I know from previous experience that there is little parking available locally, and the fact that this is the safest method of travel to Luton. It’s not the nicest stadium to visit for away supporters. It felt slightly odd having a drink in the Conservative Club being a Labour member! A bus from London to Luton Airport then a taxi to a friends house (who lives in Luton and are Luton fans) and then a taxi to Kenilworth Road from there. Luton was not as bad as some would have you believe and worth a visit to a traditional old fashioned ground.I arrived at the ground with low expectations which were rightly so, however, the atmosphere and quality of the match made up for this. Filled with Luton Town posters and pictures, it even had a beer that for every pint sold a donation was made to Lutons youth team. As a Dundee United fan living in Scotland, I had planned this weekend in London with my wife which afforded me the chance to tick off English ground No.62 .I had bought a ticket online for the Kenilworth Road End so I had to walk round the ground past the strange away entrance and down a long narrow alley. Address: Maple Road, Luton LU4 8AW. The Kenilworth Stand used to be an uncovered terrace section but is now a fully covered seating area, The Main Stand is adjoined by the David Preece Stand and The Oak Road End is where the away fans are housed. From previous visits I know there are quite a few bars and pubs just outside of The Arndale Centre in the town centre more suitable for a pre match drink.The second half saw Luton excerpt some dominance after a bright start from Tamworth. There is also limited lighting along this route.The outside of the ground looks a little shabby. The leg room is tight (although I noted that away fans stood throughout on my last visit) and the toilets have seen better days.