Luton Town 2-1 Bradford City: Hatters Boost Play-Off Push

Match Details

• Competition: SkyBet League One
• Date: Saturday 7th February 2026
• Venue: Kenilworth Road, Luton
• Final Score: Luton Town 2 - 1 Bradford City
• Attendance: 11,000
• Referee: Richard Eley (4th Official: Callum Walchester)

Match Stats & Key Metrics

	Luton Town	Bradford City
Score	2	1
Half Time	1	0
Goalscorers	Richards 39', Morris 55'	Humphrys 90+6'
Formation	4-2-3-1	3-4-2-1
Yellow Cards	-	Tilt 27', Neufville 43'
Red Cards	-	-
Substitutions	Jones 67' (Morris), van den Berg 67' (Richards), Wells 77' (Kodua), Saville 83' (Clark), Al-Hamadi 83' (Cole)	Sarcevic 61' (Jackson), Humphrys 61' (Wright), Wheatley 61' (Mullin), Pointon 74' (Pennington), Evans 85' (Neufville)
Attendance	11,000

The Story of the Match

LUTON TOWN'S play-off push gathered pace as they saw off promotion-chasing Bradford City with an accomplished 2-1 home win in the lunchtime kick off at Kenilworth Road, rising to 7th spot, some three points outside the play-off zone. The Hatters' goals came from Jake Richards in the 39th minute and Shayden Morris in the 55th, before Stephen Humphrys pulled one back deep in added time for the Bantams.

Luton Town, in 7th on 42 points, hosted 5th-placed Bradford City on 49 points in a key promotion match. Luton came into the game off the back of one win against Blackpool (home) 1-0, a draw against Lincoln City (home) 2-2, and three defeats against Huddersfield Town (away) 0-1, Plymouth Argyle (away) 0-1 and Swindon Town in the EFL Trophy (home) 1-2. Bradford City arrived off the back of two wins against Doncaster Rovers (home) 1-0 and Blackpool (away) 2-1, and three defeats against Lincoln City (away) 0-3, Huddersfield Town (away) 0-1 and Cardiff City (home) 1-2.

Luton Town manager Jack Wilshere started with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Josh Keeley in goal, then a back four of Nigel Lonwijk, Mads Andersen, Teden Mengi and Joe Johnson, a double pivot of Kasey Palmer and captain Jordan Clark, a three of Shayden Morris, Jake Richards and Gideon Kodua, with Devante Cole up front. Bradford City manager Graham Alexander, an ex-Luton Town player, started with a 3-4-2-1 formation with Sam Walker in goal, a back three of Matthew Pennington, Aden Baldwin and Curtis Tilt, a midfield of Josh Neufville, captain Max Power, Jenson Metcalfe and Ibou Touray, then Kayden Jackson and Tyreik Wright behind Paul Mullin.

Bradford City kicked off the first half wearing a changed strip of all sky blue with maroon and amber trim. Luton Town handed a debut to Devante Cole up front, the son of the prolific Manchester United striker Andy Cole. The Hatters started slowly and Jordan Clark saw a left-footed shot from outside the box saved by Sam Walker in the 10th minute. Shayden Morris fired high and wide in the 18th minute as Luton pushed for an opener against a well-marshalled Bradford side.

Curtis Tilt was yellow carded in the 27th minute for a challenge on Shayden Morris, and Joe Johnson's resulting free kick went wide. Bradford City went close with a Tyreik Wright shot from an Ibou Touray assist in the 33rd minute. Luton's best move came in the 37th minute when Jordan Clark cut in and shot right-footed on target, only for his effort to bounce back off the crossbar. But the Hatters opened the scoring with their next attack, a smart left-footed finish from Jake Richards at the Oak Road end from a Gideon Kodua assist in the 39th minute.

Josh Neufville became the second Bradford player booked in the 43rd minute, and Luton led 1-0 at the interval. Bradford forced a corner in the 49th minute after a Paul Mullin cross, and won a free kick in a dangerous position after Clark conceded a foul in the 52nd minute. Luton doubled their lead in style as Jordan Clark came forward and found Shayden Morris, and the midfielder converted with a lovely left-footed shot to make it 2-0 in the 55th minute.

Bradford City made a treble substitution in the 61st minute, replacing Paul Mullin, Tyreik Wright and Kayden Jackson with Antoni Sarcevic, Stephen Humphrys and Ethan Wheatley. Within minutes Wheatley saw a left-footed shot when one on one saved by Josh Keeley in the 63rd minute. Bradford carried more energy after the changes, but Luton still led by two. Gideon Kodua should have made it 3-0 on the counter in the 66th minute but Walker saved.

Jack Wilshere brought on Isaiah Jones and Davy van den Berg for Jake Richards and Shayden Morris in the 67th minute. In the 72nd minute Isaiah Jones should have made it 3-0 but was again denied by Walker. Bradford replaced Matthew Pennington with Bobby Pointon in the 74th minute. Luton replaced Gideon Kodua with Nahki Wells, himself a former Bantam, in the 77th minute. Luton's final changes saw George Saville and Ali Al-Hamadi come on for Jordan Clark and Devante Cole in the 83rd minute, while Bradford replaced Josh Neufville with Lee Evans in the 85th minute. Keeley denied Stephen Humphrys in the 87th minute to protect the clean sheet.

Wheatley saw a left-footed shot deflected for a corner in the 89th minute, and Kasey Palmer forced another good save from Walker from 22 yards as Luton pushed for a third. Bradford finally broke through in the 90+6 minute with a consolation from Stephen Humphrys, a right-footed finish to make it 2-1. Luton held on to rise to 7th with the win, while Bradford City remained 5th.

Half Time Luton Town 1 Bradford City 0 (4 minutes added time)

Full Time Luton Town 2 Bradford City 1 (7 minutes added time)

Timeline of Key Events

• 10' - Save (Bradford) - Walker saves Clark's left-footed effort from outside the box.
• 18' - Chance (Luton) - Morris fires high and wide.
• 27' - Yellow Card (Bradford) - Tilt booked for a challenge on Morris.
• 33' - Chance (Bradford) - Wright shoots from a Touray assist.
• 37' - Woodwork (Luton) - Clark's right-footed shot bounces back off the crossbar.
• 39' - Goal (Luton) - Richards finishes from a Kodua assist. 1-0.
• 43' - Yellow Card (Bradford) - Neufville booked.
• HT - Luton Town 1-0 Bradford City (4 minutes added time).
• 55' - Goal (Luton) - Morris converts from a Clark assist. 2-0.
• 63' - Save (Luton) - Keeley denies Wheatley one on one.
• 66' - Save (Bradford) - Walker saves from Kodua on the counter.
• 72' - Save (Bradford) - Walker denies Jones.
• 87' - Save (Luton) - Keeley saves from Humphrys.
• 90+6' - Goal (Bradford) - Humphrys pulls one back. 2-1.
• FT - Luton Town 2-1 Bradford City (7 minutes added time).

Author's Standout Players

• Shayden Morris (Luton Town) - Scored the crucial second with a lovely left-footed finish and was a persistent threat down the flank throughout.
• Jake Richards (Luton Town) - Took his opener smartly at the Oak Road end and combined well with Kodua before being withdrawn.
• Jordan Clark (Luton Town) - The captain led from the front, hitting the bar and providing the assist for Morris's goal in an all-action display.
• Sam Walker (Bradford City) - Kept the scoreline respectable with fine saves from Kodua and Jones when Luton threatened to run away with it.
• Gideon Kodua (Luton Town) - The impressive winger set up the opener and should have added a third, a constant outlet on the break.