Luton Town 0 Burnley 2: Luton's golden intent fades in the face of Gray double
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Your support makes all the difference.Luton tried all they knew to win last night for their stricken left-back Sol Davis, who is recovering in hospital from a stroke. But a Burnley side that is one of only two teams still unbeaten away in the Football League kept themselves in the Championship promotion race, finishing easy winners despite having only 10 men for 15 minutes after Steve Foster was sent off for two bookable offences.
The hosts, meanwhile, are struggling at the end of what their manager Mike Newell described as "a terrible week, on and off the pitch". In eight days they have lost three games, conceding 11 and scoring none.
All the talk at Kenilworth Road was about Davis, who was stricken en route to the weekend's game at Ipswich. The news seemed to be good on the left-back's health - Steve Howard, the former Luton forward now at Derby, said he had been texting his former team-mate, and Davis was reported to be "up and about, although feeling scared". The Spandau Ballet song Gold, which Luton fans adapt to feature the name Sol, was played as the teams ran out for each half.
Newell said that that there had been no further discussion of Davis' situation. "We can't keep talking about Sol because we have a job to do," he said. "But it doesn't mean we have forgotten about him. We are very grateful for all the messages of support he has had."
Burnley took the lead in bizarre circumstances. A clearance from Frank Sinclair was allowed to bounce on the edge of the Luton area before Andy Gray lobbed the goalkeeper.
Within five minutes, Burnley's lead had doubled as Wade Elliott's cross from the left byline was nodded home at the far post by Gray, unmarked once again.
Luton Town (4-4-2): Beresford; Edwards, Heikinnen, Barnett, Holmes; Brkovic, Langley, Robinson, Morgan (Bell, 65); Feeney (Boyd, 65), Vine. Substitutes not used: Perrett, O'Leary, Brill (gk).
Burnley (4-4-2): Jensen; Sinclair, Duff, Foster, Harley; Elliott, Hyde, O'Connor, Jones (McCann, 75); Lafferty, Gray. Substitutes not used: Coyne, Mahon, Branch, Spicer.
Referee: J Singh (Middlesex).
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