OPINION A win, derby glory and Watford put Luton deeper in the mire.

Yes it’s only three points and one more win, and there’s no column on the league table for particularly special victories.

But yesterday was far, far more. It was Luton, it was the derby and it was a game which, by winning, Watford climbed to ninth in the table while leaving the arch enemy peering through the Championship trap-door at a return to League One – which was their home only six short seasons ago.

And it was easy.

While not forgetting or ignoring the manner in which the Hornets were swept aside at Kenilworth Road in October, the 2-0 win yesterday was so comprehensive, so comfortable and so much more emphatic than the scoreline suggests that it more than balances the books.

Three consecutive home wins over Luton, seven goals scored and none conceded.

It’s 30 years since the Hatters left Vicarage Road with three league points, and given their current league position, they may have to wait a while to have another go.

For all the away fans sang about the fact they have won a trophy (the League Cup in 1988, for those under 40 who probably don’t remember), they will know they now face a battle to even stay in the same division as Watford, never mind beat them.

That song about having won a cup could sound good at Lincoln, Mansfield and Exeter next season.

Watford just didn’t give Luton a sniff from the first whistle.

Goalkeeper Egil Selvik and his young but accomplished defence found few problems in dealing with the direct and physical style that is Luton’s greatest threat and once they had nullified that . . . well, that was it, really.

Selvik’s first proper save came in the fourth minute of stoppage time, by which point the away fans’ corner had already started to thin out.

It was no contest in midfield. Imran Louza and Tom Dele-Bashiru gave their Luton opposite numbers a proper schooling.

When that pair are on song, as they were yesterday, then Watford can boss games.

Louza made 61 successful passes, with a success rate of 97%. He had 86 touches of the ball, nearly 20 more than any other player.

Not far behind was Dele-Bashiru, with 42 passes at a 93% success rate.

The midfield duo completed a third of all of Watford’s passes on their own, and their combined total of 103 was 40% of what Luton managed as a team.

They were everywhere, exuding confidence and calm in even the tightest of situations.

It was perhaps fitting, then, that Dele-Bashiru was to score the opening goal, though the penalty from which he netted was all about the hard work and persistence of Mamadou Doumbia.

The 19-year-old had played little more than hour of Championship football before stepping in to lead the line in the absence of suspended Vakoun Bayo.

That he kept his place even though Bayo was available yesterday was testament to how well he has done, and his part in the opening goal was exactly what you ask of a striker.

When Yasser Larouci played the ball through, Doumbia was a yard or two behind Mads Andersen, and the Dane clearly though he could simply usher the ball back to his keeper.

But Doumbia chased and, as Thomas Kaminski slid out to try and gather the ball, the striker got a toe to it and was then swept over by the skidding Luton stopper.

Referee Andrew Kitchen was in no doubt, and TV replays showed he was right.

Dele-Bashiru looks the calmest man in the stadium whenever he steps up to take a penalty and this was no different, the ball sent precisely inside the left-hand upright despite Kaminski going the right way.

Tom Dele-Bashiru converts the penalty. (Image: PA) Watford’s seventh penalty of the season was their most since the 2021/22 campaign. Dele-Bashiru’s fourth penalty made him Watford’s leading penalty taker since Troy Deeney; the previous player to score four or more from 12 yards was Matej Vydra, a former Hornets captain. Only 11 minutes in, the momentum was definitely with Watford, who continued to control and threaten with the ball. The second goal, which came 12 minutes later, was both beautifully accomplished and pleasantly straightforward. Doumbia was involved, as his control and layoff sent Chakvetadze tearing down the left. There was no chance Andersen would catch him, and Amari’i Bell knew he had Edo Kayembe behind. him, so he held off on approaching the Georgian until he arrived. Chakvetadze quickly skipped past Bell and, when Kaminski appeared, squared beyond Alfie Doughty for Kayembe to tap in at the back post. Watford have not lost a game when Kayembe (who now has 12 goals) and Dele-Bashiru (eight) have scored, and after they both scored yesterday, it appeared as if the outcome was already set with barely a quarter of the game gone. The Hornets dominated the first half, having more than 60% of the possession, completed twice as many passes as Luton and enjoyed four on-target goal attempts while the visitors didn’t muster one.

The second half was different, and it was always likely to be given Luton had to change what they were doing just to keep a foothold in proceedings.

Three half-time substitutions indicated as much, and while they weren’t as outplayed as in the first half, they were kept at arm’s length with relative ease.

Isaiah Jones fired wide from one of their few chances, but it always felt that should another goal arrive, it would be 3-0 and not 2-1.

Louza swivelled to shoot over after intricate work by Kayembe and Chakvetadze, and the latter forced Kaminski into a full-length save at the end of a typically direct run, though he might have been better off nudging the ball to the unmarked Ince on his right.

Four minutes into stoppage time was the first time Selvik had to break sweat, blocking at his near post after Jones had got on the end of a deep cross.

Egil Selvik denies Isaiah Jones in stoppage time. (Image: PA)

The defensive unit kept a second consecutive clean sheet for the first time since late November, but watching both James Abankwah and Kevin Keben hobble off was a reminder that the cost of victory may be more than anticipated. The Hornets’ domination was reflected in certain statistics, with football analytics site FotMob ranking the ten Watford players who played 50 minutes or more among the top 13 of all players across both sides. Every player got almost everything right. In fact, that applies for the club as a whole, which displayed a photo of Graham Tayor on the big screens in the 72nd minute, causing a nostalgic, poignant stir around the stadium.

There were several Elton John songs played before kick-off, the pre-game video contained a couple of goals from the 4-0 win in 2022 – enough to stir the emotions, but not too much as to over-egg the pudding.

And a particular nod in the direction of PA announcer Tim Coombs, for his perfectly-delivered but equally factual reminder after the game that “the Golden Boys move up to ninth in the Championship table . . . no change at the bottom”.

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