ACCRINGTON Stanley’s unbeaten run came to an end as they lost 2-0 to Luton Town at a hostile Kenilworth Road.

The Reds headed to Bedfordshire having won three of their last four games and not having tasted defeat since the start of February but returned empty handed despite a solid away performance.

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John Coleman named an unchanged side for the game, sticking with the 3-5-2 system that saw them beat Burton in midweek, and saw his team pick up where they had left off.

With just six minutes on the clock Josh Windass threaded in Terry Gornell, who raced through one on one. Goalkeeper Elliott Justham charged out but Gornell couldn’t lift the ball over him and his effort instead bounced back off the keeper’s chest.

The loose ball fell to Windass, who looked to have picked out the bottom left corner only for the ball to hit the heel of retreating defender Luke Wilkinson and fly away to safety.

Two Gornell headers followed before Windass had a left foot shot deflected behind for a corner as the Reds looked to get their noses in front.

However, John Still’s Hatters had been unbeaten in 10 themselves before back-to-back away defeats and showed their credentials in an eight minute spell in the first half to take the lead.

First Scott Davies saved well from Elliott Lee’s header before the home side took the lead five minutes before the break. A Luke Guttridge corner found the head of former Stanley loanee Jayden Stockley and he nodded the opening goal, despite Stanley protests that Davies had been impeded.

Stanley soon saw their problems doubled as Dean Winnard, who had crumpled following a challenge in his own area a few minutes earlier only for play to continue around him, had to be replaced by Matt Crooks.

The visitors had been the better side in the first 45 minutes but went in behind and weren’t able to wrestle the game back in their favour after the break.

Luton had a penalty appeal turned down when Lee tumbled alongside Kal Naismith in the box before Windass cut in from the left and drove over the bar and then smashed a Gornell knockdown wide.

Soon Stanley’s task became bigger. Lee latched onto a flick from Jake Howells down the left and made his way into the box before picking out Guttridge for a tap in second goal on the hour mark.

By way of a response Coleman made attacking changes and introduced Sean Maguire and Shay McCartan, with the latter shooting wide and then straight at Justham as he looked to reduce the deficit.

But it was a Luton substitute who made the greatest impact, with top scorer Mark Cullen seeing a flick header pushed out by Davies and a 25 yard strike turned over the bar.

It was a third game in four for Stanley against sides chasing promotion, and the first they had lost, but that didn’t help a sense of what might have been as Luton saw out five added minutes to take the three points.

The Reds will probably play worse and take at least a point but must now concentrate on another game against high flying side when Shrewsbury make the trip north tomorrow night.