At some point this evening, even Nathan Jones will have winced at what was unfolding before his eyes. 

Luton Town recorded a seismic victory away at relegation rivals Huddersfield Town today, though this was a contest that will be quickly erased from the memory of anyone who was unfortunate enough to bear witness.

With Luton four points adrift of safety and Huddersfield hovering precariously above the drop zone, the game was fraught with significance at the bottom end of the table and yet, if you thought the stakes would be matched by the tempo, you were to be sorely mistaken.

Void of creativity and imagination, the two sides traded cagey spells of possession throughout. Danny Cowley said his side "would show the best of Huddersfield Town" in the run-up to the game but he couldn't have got it more wrong, with a lifeless display against their relegation rivals plunging the Terriers right back into the relegation quicksand.

There was hope of real progress after a three-match unbeaten run in which not a single goal had been conceded, but this defeat represented yet another false dawn under the Cowley brothers and a microcosm of their season as a whole. Patience, from the fans and the hierarchy, is wearing thin.

Destiny, though, is still in their hands, something which can't be said for Luton, who - if not quite there yet - were certainly approaching the last chance saloon.  

Nathan Jones, a divisive figure among Luton fans due to his acrimonious departure from the club in January 2019, had provided shoots of optimism upon his return to Kenilworth Road with a draw at Elland Road and a win away at Swansea City. This victory, although scrappy, provides confirmation of Luton's revitalised credentials in the race for survival.

After a largely forgettable first half, Sonny Bradley rose above a congested penalty area to head the visitors into the lead before Elliot Lee doubled Luton's advantage in the 73rd minute, firing into the roof of the net from the edge of the penalty area. 

With the breakthrough arriving via a corner, the margins were slender but Huddersfield could not possibly feel hard done by. Emil Smith-Rowe posed a constant threat with his floating menace in the final third and came close from the edge of the penalty area after Bradley's opener, but that was about it from a Huddersfield perspective.

James Collins, shimmying past Jonathan Hogg and Jon Stankovic with two drops of the shoulder, had shot marginally wide from a promising position just a minute before Smith Rowe's chance in what was an isolated period of entertainment for the spectator. 

Indeed, after 0 attempts on goal in the first half, Luton displayed a renewed offensive ambition for the first 10 minutes of the second half before retreating into their defensive shape, happy to sit off as Huddersfield laboured in their increased share of possession.

Luton also had an eye for the counter-attack, and Lee's goal in the 71st minute was a triumph in transition that even the Manchester United side of the late 2000s would have been proud of.

Collecting a miscued Juninho Bacuna pass inside the Luton half, Luke Berry delivered a pinpoint through ball into the path of James Collins, scything the left side of Luton's defence in half. Collins raced in on goal and lashed his effort onto the near post of Jonas Lossl before Lee, supporting Collins upfield, latched onto the rebound and smashed home Luton's second to seal an invaluable three points in their quest for survival.