Three Wins on the Bounce for The Stags

A third successive win for Hertford leaves them just two points off fourth place, and secured mathematical safety from relegation in the process. It was a victory earned through a second-half fight back, as a pacy, counter-attacking Luton side led 2-1 at the break.

Hertford started brightly and their early pressure told as they took the lead after South African international Ben van Rooyen latched onto a ball down the right-hand flank and drove into the D, only to be impeded by a Luton foot. From the resulting penalty corner, the ball was slipped left to van Rooyen, who dragged into the bottom corner to give Hertford a deserved lead.

Whilst Hertford's back four were able to comfortably deal with Luton's forward line, breaks from midfield and down the wings posed a greater threat. Two such breaks in quick succession down Hertford's left saw Welsh international Gavin Elliot outnumbered, and Luton were clinical in converting these rare forays into the Hertford D to put themselves 2-1 up.

As Luton continued to press at speed, Ben Tootell illegally halted a break with cold-eyed cynicism, and earned himself a green card for his efforts. Shortly after returning to the pitch, a petulant Tootell saw yellow for an almost identical offence. With Irish international Stan Power filling in at centre back, Hertford stood resolute until the break, with Jeremiah Donoghue battling well in midfield and Tom Smith making some smart saves in goal.

After a sloppy first half, some Churchillian rhetoric from captain Short and coach Downer during the interval saw Hertford resume with a renewed sense of purpose. With Tootell returning two minutes after the break, a full-strength Hertford began to make their quality count.

Short's faith in youth was particularly repaid by debutant and future international Luke Kennedy, whose meteoric rise through the club culminated in a man of the match performance, as he showed a composure and level-headedness that belied his inexperience at this level.

After dominating the second half, the equaliser came from a set piece, as Tootell fired a pass into the D that was deflected onto a Luton foot by van Rooyen. From the penalty corner, the ball was again slipped left to can Rooyen, whose drag flick this time found the top right corner, via the inside of the post.

With Elliot Barling, whose commitment to his club has inhibited his international chances, leading the back four in snuffing out any Luton threat and Short and Downer using their muscular strength to pull the strings in midfield, Hertford went in search of a winner. The breakthrough came as a marauding run from centre back Jamie O'Sullivan launched another attack. O'Sullivan played in van Rooyen to run at the Luton defence before finding Short, who drove into the D before selflessly squaring for Archie Akers to jab home the winner.

With four games remaining, an in-form Hertford side can now look to cement their place in the upper echelons of the table.