Luton Town endured a 4-1 defeat at home to Burnley in the first match of the new Championship season.

Against a side also defeated from last season’s Premier League, the Hatters endured a difficult start after fell 2-0 down in the first half through goals by Josh Brownhill and Wilson Odobert.

Tahith Chong scored a goal back for Luton, but hopes of a comeback were extinguished when Dara O’Shea and Vitinho scored two goals in eight minutes to put Burnley out of Luton’s reach.

Luton handed new signings Reull Walters and Shandon Baptiste debuts while injuries issues saw Zack Nelson and Joe Johnson both make starts.

Burnley would however make a flying start at Kenilworth Road as the Clarets took the lead after six minutes. A through-pass down the left flank by Lucas Pires released Brownhill down the Burnley left, and he duly broke into the box before beating Thomas Kaminski.

Elijah Adebayo saw a strike blocked by James Trafford and a knock-down by Carlton Morris was intercepted by Burnley.

Luton had a few half-chances but couldn’t find a way through, and would instead fall 2-0 down with 8 minutes of the first half remaining.

The goal came through a similar routine to the Clarets’ first goal, as a pass by Conor Roberts down the right flank released Odobert, who duly threaded a shot through Kaminski’s legs.

Needing a comeback, Luton nearly found a way through when James Trafford fumbled a cross and Adebayo got the ball off the bar.

But Burnley could’ve extended their lead further, as O’Shea saw a header well saved by Kaminski and Vitinho struck the post.

However, Luton would grab a goal back within ten minutes of the restart as Alfie Doughty received the ball in the box and squared for Chong to reach ahead of Trafford and tap into the back of the net.

Luton struggled to create chances for an equaliser, however, and Burnley would grab a third with less than 20 minutes to go as O’Shea headed home from a Burnley corner.

Vitinho would strike an effort wide but the Brazilian would score as the game moved into the final ten minutes. Lyle Foster won the ball back for the visitors and the South African charged forward before feeding Vitinho, who fed a shot beyond Kaminski.

Despite six minutes of added time, Luton were unable to grab chances for a consolation, and the Hatters slipped to defeat on the first day of the campaign. Rob Edwards’ side will seek to pick themselves up when they play Portsmouth in their first away game of the campaign on Saturday.