The Tigers put a capable and organised Luton side, eleven points clear at the top of the table a week ago, to the sword in thrilling fashion with three first half goals.

What a glorious, thrilling uplifting afternoon’s football! This is the best we’ve seen in a while. The mighty Tigs sent Luton reeling to the canvas in the first half and then clamped boot to windpipe mercilessly throughout a ruthlessly professional second half. The visitors were down – our team made damn’ sure they stayed down. I seem to recall that on the last occasion that Luton visited Hull they whipped us 4-0 and I was moved to acknowledge them as thoroughbreds. Well, the shoe was on the other claw yesterday. Poor Luton tottered across the turf like a low-grade handicapper let loose among Derby winners.

This was a cracking display from our team.

Lengthening away from the opposition as the season begins to get serious:

Myhill
Joseph Cort Delaney Edge
Price Junior Green Elliott
Barmby Facey

So Dawson stepped down in favour of Ro-Land Edge, amid a flurry of rumours (i.e. Andy Medcalf told me) that our regular left-back has been sold to Sunderland, while, more predictably, the labouring France lost his place to last season’s star Jason Price.

Off we went on a grey blustery day, and initially Luton had the better of it. They pass, they give, they look tidy and composed and they have a classic little-and-large striking partnership composed of the nippy and alert Vine and the thick-thighed thug Steve Howard. Boaz plucks a couple of crosses out of the air and then, on 9, is fortunate to be able to tip a fierce header over the crossbar after one of theirs is left completely unmarked in our box from a free-kick – a header guided towards either corner of the exposed net would have the visitors into the lead. No mugs, Luton – they’re not top by accident.

The pattern of the game was turned decisively in our favour by a moment of outrageous invention from Stuart Elliott. He held possession wide out on the left, and suddenly, whole unpredictably and wholly unstoppably, sent a swirling dipping shot high across the face of the box and just inside the far angle of post and bar.

He meant it. No fluke, this. He saw the ‘keeper off his line and he punished him. It was a punt, because the effort would only succeed if delivered utterly perfectly: six inches over-hit and it would have hit the woodwork, six inches under-hit and the keeper would have stretched to collect it. It required perfect judgement and finesse in execution. It got both.

Luton were awed.

A Joseph cross – Elliott heads wide – KAPOW! Joseph crosses to the back post, Barmby intelligently squares it and Elliott, stooping low, heads goalwards but keeper Seremet blocks it – ZAP! A crisp half-volley from Howard, punched away for a corner by Myhill, reminds us that the visitors are good enough to fight back if we allow them space and room. But that’s not going to happen with our team in this pungently positive mood.

Price and Elliott combine superbly, and the Welshman slides a fine ball inside for Facey who is muscled out of it by a defender as we appeal half-heartedly for a non-existent penalty. But Facey’s moment is not long delayed. Underwood heads comically backwards, over his own goalkeeper, who has failed to provide the necessary shout that he was on his way off his line to gather the ball – or perhaps the Circle din smothered attempted communication. Either way Facey skips happily into space behind the defensive confusion and is offered an inviting empty net. Facey’s shot isn’t firmly struck but it carries enough momentum to elude a desperately retreating defender and it creeps over the line. 2-0.

It’s tumultuous stuff. Facey is destroying the morale of a terrified right-back, while Seremet, flapping persistently in the Luton goal, is doing nothing to calm his team-mates shredded nerves. Barmby, Elliott and Green combine – the ball finishes up over the crossbar, but it’s a fantastically fluent piece of play.

The crucial minute of the whole game is the 32nd. It could have been 2-1 – it’s in fact 3-0. A Luton shot from over 20 yards out takes a severe deflection and, with Myhill hopelessly wrong-footed, it spirals wickedly into our net. The lino’s flag is up, and it went up very early – offside. Well, I’ll take it, of course, but here Luton seemed unlucky. Who could have been interfering with play? But time spent moaning on a football pitch is time wasted, and Luton suffered as the ball was immediately transferred upfield. A long throw from Facey, a flick-on, and Elliott, arriving at speed in the centre, rams the ball home from close-range. Shoddy marking, but viciously incisive attacking. 3-0.

Luton, to their credit, weren’t about to surrender – which was wise of them, because in this mood we’d’ve scored 8 (eight) if they had. Vine seemed to have wriggled clear in the box, only to be stalled by a supremely well judged tackle by Cort. Then Robinson whips a smart shot just past Myhill’s right-hand post. And, on 44, Howard shoots over the bar when he had enough time and space at least to ensure his effort was on target. But the half concludes with a fittingly magnificent piece of attacking play unveiled by our shimmeringly excellent team. It’s a corner routine but not like we’ve known them these last 99 years in Hull. Green rolls a firm ball towards Price, lurking near the back of the box, he steps over the ball with the grace of a gymnast, and Barmby, accelerating smoothly into space, smashes a first-time shot just past the post. Elegant, confident, the highest quality.

The second-half cannot match the first for juicy action and thumping strikes on goal, but it is every bit as enjoyable. We keep control – professionally, sensibly, and unHullCityly. Do you remember a game at Fulham ten or more years ago? 3-0 up after quarter-of-an-hour, we were. What don’t you do when 3-0 up? Concede immediately. We did that. What don’t you do when 3-1 up at the start of the second half? Concede immediately. We did that. What don’t you do when 3-2 up in injury time? Let one of theirs run fifty yards and smash in a deflected shot to equalise. We did that. I love stuff like that – most of my Hull City memories involve comic ineptitude (among players and fans). But just now and again it’s nice to see us look like a proper football team and a proper football club. Yesterday we did everything right.

Luton’s jittery defence is rooted in an inadequate goalkeeper. Seremet, a Slovenian (I read), is tall but slight of build and doesn’t even command his own pants, never mind his six-yard area. We test him, but we don’t go mad, we don’t throw ten men forward and risk getting hurt on the break. On 49, Barmby seizes control brilliantly on the edge of our box and releases Elliott for a storming downfield surge, ended only when Seremet gratefully hangs on to the looping cross – OOF! Then Prices breaks clear, shoots, is denied by the keeper – THUMP! Edge cleans up a moment of alarm inside our box with a sturdy defensive header before Luton finally sign off their own death warrant. Nasty little snarling midfielder Nicholls has been second best all afternoon and decides to express his frustration with a cowardly elbow aimed directly at Elliott’s head. Referee Parkes has impressed no one with an officious, erratic display of whistling but he calls this one right, and Nicholls is red carded. He slinks off, and Luton are sunk irretrievably.

15 to go, and Barmby and Price are now due a rest, and on come Allsop and Keane, who goes into central midfield with Green sliding out to the right. A delightful touch by Facey sets up Green, charging through a ragged rearguard, but the Cumbrian maestro lofts his shot over the bar. Elliott, Edge, Facey … superb interplay, Facey shoots straight at the keeper. Then he muscles his way through to force another defiant save from Seremet, who looks a decent shotstopper, but his frailty beneath a high ball has already cost his team dear.

They key to this thundering victory was that no one had a bad game. Put more positively, everyone was at least worth their place in a Group One, while four of our players deserve special mention for Classic-Winning performances. Stuart Elliott did plenty of hard work down the left and weighed in with another couple of vital goals – Sinndar. Stuart Green’s display was – once again – rich in confidence, imagination and industry – Nashwan. Nicky Barmby is rather obviously too good for this Division, but while he’s playing for us it gives us an unmatchable advantage in vision, passing and sublimely instinctive first touch – Lammtarra. But I save best for last, albeit unexpectedly so. By the time yesterday’s game reached its closing minutes there was one man of whom Luton were heartily sick. He’d run them into the ground, he’d harried them, he’d hurt them, he’d had us all howling his name in glee. When he went off, subbed, at the end, the Circle faithful rose as one to greet his masterly display, and the Luton defence must have been tempted to join in the applause in sheer relief at their tormentor’s departure. It is Delroy Facey of whom I speak. Mr Taylor hasn’t timed the run right, because this fellow should have been in our side from the start of the season, but if bad timing can cost you the Derby it won’t stop a superstar blazing bright through the rest of the season. Delroy Facey is Dancing Brave.

The last ten minutes offer us the enticing spectacle of Luton in a remarkable 3-3-3 formation and the parched Jon Walters, on for Facey, thirsting after that elusive first goal of the season, decade, century, whatever. O, he nearly gets it. Elliott releases Keane down the left, who could whisk a first-time pass square across the face of the goal for Walters to score, unmarked at the far post and with his hand in the air to attract attention. Keane doesn’t pass, but instead nips inside to beat a flailing tackler. Now Keane can whisk a first-time pass square across the face of the goal for Walters to score, unmarked at the far post and now becoming visibly agitated. Instead Keane toys with another opponent, and shimmies (a fat shimmy, not easily done, don’t try it at home) inside. And now? Well, you’re getting the picture, I think. Keane could now whisk a first-time pass square across the face of the goal for Walters to score, unmarked at the far post and now howling, pleading for a pass while pulling a large banner from inside his shorts on which is written “PLEASE pass to me, I really want to score”. Keane puts his head down, blats a shot straight at Seremet who slaps it aside with ease.

Jon Walters may have had a drink last night.

I did too, but for different reasons. Well played, City.

HULL CITY (4-4-2): Myhill; Joseph, Cort, Delaney, Edge; Price, Lewis, Green, Elliott; Barmby, Facey.  Subs: Allsopp (for Barmby, 72), Keane (for Price, 72), Walters (for Facey, 81), Brock, Hinds.

Goals: Elliott 11, 33; Facey 22

Booked: Barmby, Elliott

Sent Off: None

LUTON TOWN: Seremet, Foley, Davies, Coyne, Davis, O'Leary, Nicholls, Robinson, Underwood, Vine, Howard.  Subs: Showumni (for Davis, 57), Holmes (for O'Leary, 73), Blinkhorn (for Howard, 81), Beckwith, Perrett.

Goals: None

Booked: Davis, Foley, Howard

Sent Off: Nicholls

REFEREE: T Parkes

ATTENDANCE: 18,575