Brentford returned to winning ways with a deserved victory against Premier League strugglers Luton.
Neal Maupay put the Bees in front early in the second half when he prodded in from close range after Ben Mee scuffed a shot.
Mee did not have to wait long to get his name on the scoresheet, as his header just seven minutes later put Brentford firmly in the driving seat.
Jacob Brown gave Luton hope by halving the hosts’ lead, but Shandon Baptiste calmed Brentford’s nerves by restoring the two-goal cushion.
In almost an exact repeat of Luton’s meeting with Crystal Palace last Saturday, there was a distinct lack of goalmouth action early on at both ends of the field at Gtech Community Stadium.
Tha drabness was summed up by the fact Hatters goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski was shown a yellow card for time-wasting in the 38th minute.
Brentford’s Yegor Yarmolyuk went closest to scoring for either side before the break when his low shot was deflected narrowly wide by Luton’s Carlton Morris.
But the Bees, who dominated possession without creating enough in the first period, came out with more purpose in the second period and were given an extra boost as Luton captain Tom Lockyer failed to re-emerge after sustaining an injury.
Luton had to wait until the 61st-minute to register their first attempt on or off target in the game, substitute Brown firing a speculative effort wide of goal.
Brown showed greater accuracy 15 minutes later with his second shot, Luton’s first on target, when he latched on to a beautiful defence-splitting ball from Ross Barkley before driving low past Mark Flekken.
Brentford’s Baptiste, scoring his first goal since December 2021, wrapped up the points with just under 10 minutes remaining when he reacted quickest to convert after Keane Lewis-Potter’s shot was parried into his path.
