The projected battle of Bermuda between Nathan Trott and Nahki Wells ended up in more of a skirmish on Saturday.

It was goalkeeper Trott, who came out on the winning side, with Cardiff beating Wells’s Luton team 3-1 to maintain their lead at the top of League One in England.

Trott had little to do in the game, conceding a penalty in the 34th minute which was Luton’s only shot on target across the 90-plus minutes.

Wells, however, was not to blame for the shot-shy performance from Luton after starting the game on the bench before being introduced in the 66th minute by head coach Jack Wilshere with the game all but over.

The only blot on Trott’s copybook came in the 64th minute when he was given a yellow card for time wasting.

Luton, who are still receiving parachute payments from the Premier League after competing in that division in 2023-24, may have suffered back-to-back relegations but were widely regarded as one of the favourites for promotion given their budget.

But despite replacing coach Matt Bloomfield with Wilshere in October they have struggled for consistency and sit four points outside the play-off places with 15 league games left to play.

Cardiff are looking good to return to League One at the first time of asking, sitting four points clear of Lincoln City at the top of the standings and ten points ahead of third-placed Bolton Wanderers.

Coach Brian Barry-Murphy was thrilled with his side’s victory against Luton and the way the season is progressing.

“We’re over the moon with the performance.” Barry-Murphy said. “I thought we started the game with great intensity, created great chances and scored enough goals to win the game. Against a team of this calibre, we knew we had to be at our best and, really pleasingly for us, we were.

“I consider myself very lucky to be working with a dressing room that’s so keen to improve.

“We have a pretty clear identity as a Club now, and all the players have bought into that. We’re pretty confident that if we work the way we work and improve the way we improve, the goals will come, but it’s obviously nice to see it come to fruition, rather than just talking about it because then it gives the players something they can really feel and believe in.”

Cardiff are next in action at home to AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday, while Luton face relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic on Wednesday.