Luton lost a third consecutive match after a 1-0 defeat at home by Norwich City.

Marcelino Nunez’s drive into the bottom corner won the game for the Canaries, as Luton were punished for missing several opportunities in the course of the game.

The Hatters’ defeat means they now fall to 20th position in the Championship table, with Rob Edwards’ side having lost 14 of their first 25 games of the campaign.

The team’s advantage remained at three points after Hull suffered an injury time defeat to Middlesbrough in the game’s evening kick off, but does little to ease building pressure around the club as they continue to struggle back in the second tier.

Having endured defeats at Bristol City and Swansea in their last two outings, Luton were hoping to return to winning ways on their on pitch as a relief from their poor away form that had seen them suffer nine consecutive Championship away losses.

Proceedings had begun in a busy manner, with the Hatters coming close early on after Elijah Adebayo saw a strike denied by Angus Gunn in the Norwich goal.

Norwich would come close when Emiliano Marcondes was thwarted by Thomas Kaminski, in a reminder of the visitors’ threat.

Luton came close in the latter stages of the first half after Adebayo met Tahith Chong’s cross and saw a header denied by Gunn in the Norwich goal.

Borja Sainz miscued a strike from the edge of the box just after the break, before a lot of the second half pressure fell Luton’s way.

Chong saw a firm hit strike the crossbar with Gunn beaten, with the rebound from Zack Nelson blocked, before Gunn denied Tom Holmes’ header at a corner and Shane Duffy pulled off a block on Morris’ strike.

But just as it seemed Luton seemed likelier to find a way through, the Hatters would instead concede the opening goal. The Chilean international received Marcondes’ pass and was able to advance to a shooting position. His low effort duly went through a crowd, deceived Kaminski and found the bottom corner.

Norwich sub Ante Crnac saw an effort go wide in an attempt to seal the deal for the visitors, before Luton missed a great chance to level in added time when substitute Cauley Woodrow smacked a shot off the post.

But there was no way back for Luton, who have now won just one of their last five games. The Hatters will be seeking to return to some form and fix their away record in their next game, when they travel to QPR next Monday.

Trains operated by Avanti West Coast on the line via Milton Keynes are set to be affected by strike action.

Members of the RMT trade union have announced train managers represented by the union will strike today (31/12) and on January 2nd, with further ongoing action expected further on Sundays into May 2025.

The action was announced earlier this month as part of a dispute over enhanced payments for rest day working.

Avanti West Coast have said in a statement that they recommend avoiding travelling on the affected days.

In their statement, they said, “This New Year, we strongly recommend you travel either side of the strike dates. If you booked tickets to travel with Avanti West Coast on 31 December or 2 January before the industrial action was announced on 17 December, you can now use them to travel any time from Monday 30 December to Saturday 4 January inclusive.

“Alternatively, if you no longer wish to travel due to the strike action, you can claim a full refund of your prebooked tickets from where you bought them.”

The strikes means that there is a significant reduction in Avanti West Coast trains in operation on the affected strike days.

A mix of engineering works and the strikes means that today (31/12), Avanti will be limiting operations to just three trains an hour out of London Euston, with one each going to Birmingham, Manchester and Preston, and a limited service going onwards from Preston to Glasgow. The last departures from Euston will be at around 5pm.

As for January 2nd, Avanti confirmed they plan to run three trains per hour to and from London Euston: one to each of Wolverhampton (via Birmingham), Crewe and Manchester. It is also the case that the last departures from Euston will be at around 5pm.

Pre-planned engineering works means no services are in operation to Liverpool, but the reductions also means no services run by Avanti to North Wales, Blackpool or Edinburgh.

The announced plans for strikes on Sundays between January and May 2025 will be confirmed by the operator in due course.

In a statement, Kathryn O’Brien, Executive Director of Customer Experience at Avanti West Coast, said, “We’re disappointed by the RMT calling strike action on 31 December and 2 January. Our customers will face significantly disrupted journeys as a result, and I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding.

“On the two strike days we’ll have a significantly reduced service, so customers with tickets for 31 December or 2 January are strongly advised to travel on alternative dates or claim a full fee-free refund. We remain open to working with the RMT to resolve the dispute.”

RMT have argued that Avanti failed to address their concerns adequately, leaving them with no choice but to call the strike action.

Mick Lynch, RMT general secretary, said, “Avanti West Coast created this dispute by ignoring train managers’ concerns and presenting offers those members deemed unacceptable.

“The company must come forward with a revised proposal so we can avoid more strike action further into 2025.”

MK Dons picked up a first win in 5 games as they just beat Chesterfield 2-1 in Derbyshire.

First half goals by Callum Hendry and Joe White gave the visitors a two goal lead at the break as they sought to bounce back from a run of one point in four games.

Chesterfield pulled a goal back when Darren Oldaker, who was sent off in the reverse fixture in early December, swept home a fine free-kick. But despite a few late near-misses, MK Dons held out to take victory on their visit to the SMH Group Stadium.

The three points means MK Dons are now just 3 points off the play-offs, albeit down in 11th as the division continues to remain congested as a busy period in the football calendar continues to develop.

Proceedings began in a lively manner, with the recalled Ellis Harrison having a shot blocked for the visitors before Chesterfield’s Dilan Markanday had a firm strike tipped wide by MK Dons keeper Tom McGill.

MK Dons would strike first with a goal in the 18th minute. The visitors won a free-kick for a foul on Joe White and a quickly taken kick by Liam Kelly released Hendry, who evaded a visiting defender before curling a strike into the back of the net.

Chances were being created at either end as the game continued. Harrison saw a strike palmed wide by Chesterfield goalkeeper Max Thompson, before Armando Dobra saw a strike fly wide via a deflection and McGill made a fine stop to keep out Tom Naylor.

Just before half-time, MK Dons found themselves a chance that they took as they moved two goals ahead. A pass infield by Joe Tomlinson skipped past Alex Gilbey but found White, with the Newcastle loanee able to get space for a shot and drill a strike that went beyond his fellow Magpie loanee Thompson for 2-0.

The Dons had chances for a third after the break, with Hendry glancing one header wide before the scorer of the Dons’ first goal had a strike well saved by Thompson.

Markanday saw a strike just clear the bar before Chesterfield had a goal back with just under 15 minutes remaining. The hosts won a free-kick on the edge of the box and Oldaker saw a strike sweep its way into the top corner.

Chesterfield had chances to find an equaliser as the game carried on, with Tim Akinola lashing wide before Liam Mandeville’s deflected strike lead to a major scramble at the back post where the ball just failed to go over the line before the Dons cleared.

MK Dons ultimately saw the job through, getting the win over the line. The team will seek to make it back-to-back wins when they welcome Salford City to Stadium MK on Saturday.

Police have released a CCTV image of a man officers would like to speak to following an assault in Milton Keynes.

The image’s release is part of Thames Valley Police’s appeal into an incident that happened in a pub in the city on Christmas Day.

The incident happened at around 3.50pm on Christmas Day at Wavendon Arms in Newport Road in Wavendon on the edge of Milton Keynes.

During the incident, a man was abusive and assaulted a person at the pub. Thames Valley Police confirmed that the victim, who was a man in his thirties, did not sustain injuries.

Investigating officer PC James Ferriman said: “I am appealing to anyone who recognises the man pictured as he may have vital information to assist us with our enquiries.

“If this is you, please come forward as soon as possible.

“If you have any information relating to this incident, please call 101 or report it online, quoting 43240622823.

“Alternatively, if you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via its website.”