Dagger's first visit to Kenilworth Road ended in defeat in the face of an intense Luton performance. The home club's display will suggest to many watching that the beleagured Hatters have a fighting chance of avoiding the relegation that their 30 point pre-season deduction seemed to make a formalilty.
The Bedfordshire team are facing that monumental task of overcoming that huge handicap with a vigour that frankly surprised Daggers. John Still's team didn't plan badly on this first visit, but it was that a Hatters team - clearly on a mission - who played better.
The early minutes belonged to Daggers. A second minute Paul Benson header, just about the only sight of goal the Daggers' top scorer managed in the entire 90 minutes, was blocked by Luton's Sol Davis in front of goal and a Danny Foster cross moments later found the diminutive Matt Ritchie on the end of it, when surely anyone taller would have got a better connection to trouble home keeper Conrad Logan.
But in six minutes Luton were ahead. Davis galloped down the left, switched passes with Jake Howells, took a return and drove a firm low effort beyond Tony Roberts into the bottom corner.
The goal clearly galvanised the home team and Roberts had to make a sharp save with his legs to foil marauding defender Michael Spillane to prevent Daggers going 2-0 down in 16 minutes.
Daggers had their chances, but they were largely half chances, until rather against the run of play, they found themselves on terms just past the half-hour. A 31st minute corner driven in by Sam Saunders saw Logan parry, but fumble and Magnus OKOUNGHAE was first to the loose ball, to bundle in his first Daggers goal from little more than two yards.
The parity was almost instantly removed when Roberts made a hash of a clearing kick, the effort going straight to Martin who was in the clear. Martin switched it across the area for the on-loan Kevin Gallen to drive goalwards, but Roberts redeemed his error with another good save.
Then five minutes from the interval, Luton restored their lead when Mark Arber slipped over going in for a challenge allowing Chris Martin to cross from the left. Paul McVeigh cleverly peeled off from the back of Scott Griffiths to find room to hit a dipping volley that beat Roberts into the far corner.
The Beds team picked up from where they left off at the start of the second-half and again gave Daggers' defence a stiff examination.
Howells outjumped Foster to meet a right-wing cross, but flicked his header over and Howells then outstripped the defence to pull back a cross that fell between two in-coming Luton forwards.
Eventually Daggers weathered the storm although Peter Gain went into referee Jones' book for a reckless challenge on home skipper Kevin Nicholls.
Daggers' best effort of the half saw Arber outjump the home defence and power an on-target head goalward. Unfortunately, it flicked off defender Claude Gnapka and went for a fruitless corner.
Mark Nwokeji and Glen Southam were introduced for Ritchie and an ineffective Solomon Taiwo.
Sam Saunders saw Logan punch away a free-kick to Ben Strevens, but the keeper recovered well to snatch the rebound effort up from under his own crossbar.
It took a superb clearing header from the outstanding Okounghae to clear a Martin cross destined for the waiting Gallen, before Foster sent Strevens away down the right to cross over the face of goal, with Benson unable to make contact with the net beckoning.
Gallen brought another fine stop out of Roberts two minutes from time, while Saunders had the last meaningful effort of the game, a fierce 20 yarder that winged wide of the near post during the five minutes of stoppage time that referee Jones somehow found necessary.
D&R: Tony Roberts, Danny Foster (Anwar Uddin 86 mins), Magnus Okuonghae, Mark Arber, Scott Griffiths, Sam Saunders, Solomon Taiwo (Glen Southam 75 mins), Peter Gain, Matt Ritchie (Mark Nwokeji 71 mins), Ben Strevens, Paul Benson. Subs: David Hogan (GK), Jon Nurse.
Luton: Conrad Logan, Claude Gnakpa, Sol Davis (Rossi Jarvis 75 mins), Keith Keane, Ian Roper, Kevin Nicholls (Asa Hall 84 mins), Chris Martin, Michael Spillane, Paul McVeigh, Kevin Gallen, Jake Howells. Subs: Dean Brill (GK), Harry Worley, Drew Talbot.
Att: 5,402 (268 D&R)
Referee: Michael Jones (Cheshire)
