A historical look at Newcastle United vs. Luton Town

Before their FA Cup fixture, we look at the history between Newcastle United and Luton Town.

Sometimes cup fixtures allow clubs to face off with sides they’ve never played against before. For Newcastle United, they’re very familiar with their lower division opponent tomorrow. The Magpies and League Two side Luton Town have met 50 times, with a very competitive rivalry. Newcastle United has won 22 of the 50, with Luton winning 17, and 11 draws.

They first played in 1898 with Luton Town taking a 3-1 result in League Division Two action. The Hatters would win four of the first five meetings. Newcastle United scored a big victory in 1947, winning 7-2 at St. James’ Park.

Newcastle United won six of seven matches from 1957 to 1961. Those matches took place in either League Division Two or One. Luton Town won the first FA Cup fixture between the two clubs in 1973. Newcastle leveled the FA Cup series in 1981 with a 2-1 win.

The clubs battled back and forth in League Division One action for the next decade with neither side dominating the other. They held each other scoreless four times between 1986 and 1993.

In 1994, Newcastle United and Luton Town played to a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup, with a Peter Beardsley penalty the only tally for NUFC. At this point, Newcastle United was an upper half of the table side in the Premiership, while Luton Town struggled in the league below. When they met for the replay, it was largely thought that Newcastle United would easily dispatch Luton Town.

However, the underdog hosts defeated Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle side 2-0 to bounce them from the competition. That was the most recent meeting between the two clubs.