Hot Scot Jacob has got lots to celebrate

STOKE boss Michael O’Neill praised his side’s character after a gutsy win moved them up to fifth in the Championship.

Jacob Brown’s 35th-minute tap-in was the difference, with the striker celebrating his Scotland call-up in style by turning home Romaine Sawyers’ cross.

The visitors then had to resist a determined fightback from Luton who lacked the quality to work their way back on level terms.

Potters boss O’Neil said: “It is a great response to last week’s loss against Cardiff, we had to dig deep.

“You have to be able to manage the game to win away from home.

“We have a lot of younger players and they have had to adapt.

“I thought we did it very well. It’s part of the game, knowing how to turn the opposition around and how to slow the game down.

“It demonstrates the quality in our team, because this time last week we were scratching our heads having thrown away a three-goal lead. It tells me a lot about the players.”

Stoke could have gone one up in the 19th minute but for Gabriel Osho blocking Leo Ostigard’s close-range shot after Simon Sluga’s parried save fell to the defender.

However, The Hatters’ defence was breached 15 minutes later when Sawyers was set free down the right and afforded the time and space to drive the ball into the six yard box for Brown to turn home.

Luton boss Nathan Jones said: “In the second half we came out on the front foot, and we had enough situations to do more but we lacked quality in the final third.”

LUTON: Sluga 5; Burke 6, Naismith 6, Bradley 6; Bree 5, Campbell 6, Osho 7 (Clarke 81st), Mpanzu 6, Bell 5 (Mukwe

(63rd) 6); Cornick 4 (Onyedinma (64th)

7), Adebayo 6

STOKE: Bursik 7; Ostigard 7, Souttar

7, Batth 6; Smith 6 (Wilmot (75th) 6), Allen 8, Sawyers 8, Thompson 6, Tymon

6; Brown 8 (Surridge 84th), Fletcher 5 (Vrancic (64th) 5)

STAR MAN: Romaine Sawyers

REF: J Moss