Match report: Luton Town 2 Stevenage 0

Stevenage will face Southend United in the play-offs following the last round of matches in League 2 today.

While Phil Brown’s Shrimpers were beaten 3-1 at Morecambe, a result that saw them drop out of the automatic places, a makeshift Boro side fell to a second Luton defeat this season following goals from Mark Cullen and Michael Harriman.

Last summer, this was a fixture that had both sets of fans excited – the possibility of a final day decider in a bid to bounce back to League 1.

But, with Boro already in the play-offs and with Luton Town needing a ridiculous set of results to join them in the top seven there was, in the end, very little riding on the match.

Luton needed three points, for Plymouth Argyle to lose against Shrewsbury Town and for a turnaround of eight goals. In the end Plymouth got a win, and all else was irrelevant.

The Hatters struck early, Chris Day saving from the superb Elliot Lee with Mark Cullen, unmarked, following up for 1-0.

That was after four minutes, and it got the crowd on their feet. Only seven to go, then.

It was not going to happen. Luton scored again just before the break, a delightful finish from Michael Harriman.

With the ball bouncing and sitting up, and with Harriman running on to it, he manoeuvred his body to volley the ball into the top corner from the edge of the area.

There were other chances – Cullen flicked the ball wide, while for Boro Calvin Zola, off the bench, turned and fired at the keeper towards the end of the game.

But it was the sort of game that saw Stevenage finish with their top scorer this season, Charlie Lee, at centre-half with two other midfielders in the back four.

The defeat won’t bother Boro too much. They have bigger fish to fry over the next couple of weeks.

It all starts with a home game against Southend next Sunday.

Luton Town: Justham, Smith, McNulty, Howells (Guttridge 76), Griffiths (Kinsella 79), Cullen, Harriman, Doyle (Hall 73), Wilkinson, Lee, McGeehan. Subs: Lacey, Wall, Oduwa, King.

Stevenage: Day, Worley (McAllister 56), Ashton, Henry (Kennedy 57), Deacon (Zola 76), Walton, Conlon, Martin, Andrade, Jebb, Lee. Subs: Richens, Johnson, Okenabirhie, D Beasant.

Ref: Nigel Miller

Att: 10,054 (1,032 away)