No one could deny the Cumbrians effort and commitment but the little bit of quality needed to win matches was barely evident throughout the ninety minutes.

Carlisle did more than match Luton in a dismal first half, devoid of entertainment, which mustered only two shots on goal, both from the home side.

Luton stepped up a gear after the break, producing a ten minute spell of sufficient quality to find the winning goals and kill the game.

It was certainly a difficult baptism for new manager Roddy Collins. After the game he said: “We had good possession in the first half but didn’t penetrate. We became impatient resorting to long balls, but I was happy at half time. When you are containing the opposition there is always a chance that concentration might lapse. The goals were sloppy defensively and with the personnel we’ve got we’ve got to keep things tighter.”

It took 23 minutes to muster a first effort on goal with seventeen year old debutante Jonny Allen almost breaking the deadlock for the Cumbrians with a deft 20 yard chip which deserved better than nestling on the roof of the net.

The suffering supporters then had to wait until just before half time to see the next shot when Tony Hopper’s 25 yard effort beat Luton keeper Carl Emberson, only to sneak agonisingly wide of the upright.

Luton started the second half on the back of a half time Kinnear rocket and caught the Cumbrians cold within 27 seconds of the restart.

Matt Taylor fed Lee Mansell down the left and his pin point cross was volleyed home by Kevin Nicholls.

Four minutes later Steve Howard’s rasping shot from the edge of the Carlisle box was well saved by Luke Weaver.

The match was effectively sown up on 57 minutes when Taylor’s deep cross was headed back across goal by Russell Perrett for the unmarked Carl Griffiths to head home.

Carlisle then came close to getting a goal back when Lee Andrews left wing cross was headed narrowly wide by David Morley.

On 68 minutes the increasingly impressive Taylor broke through only to hit his shot straight at Weaver.

With Luton now content to sit back, Carlisle went close when Steve Soley played in Lee Maddison only for the left wing back to shoot across goal and wide of the far post.

As the game petered out, with the home side lacking the guile to create any real pressure, Steve Soley fired a 25 yard free kick straight at Emberson.

Take over rumours continued to mount with Brooks Mileson, who attended the match, confirming that negotiations were at an advanced state with current owner Michael Knighton and that a decision is expected this week.

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