Hull City 1-3 Luton Town: Nathan Jones says Hatters have reached 'utopia' by moving third
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Elijah Adebayo scored his 15th goal of the season to put Luton Town ahead at Hull City
Luton Town manager Nathan Jones said his side have reached "utopia" after moving third in the Championship following their 3-1 win at Hull City.
Elijah Adebayo's early left-footed goal set the Hatters on their way, before Harry Cornick's second-half toe-poke and James Bree's spectacular free-kick inside the final 20 minutes.
Tom Eaves scored a consolation in stoppage time for the Tigers as Luton missed out on a third clean sheet in four games.
"I've been in the game for 32 and a half years and this is the best group I've ever worked with - I'm so proud of them," Jones told BBC Three Counties Radio.
"It's not the most talented, but it's definitely the best, the tightest, hard-working, humble - all the good words you want to use about human beings and players, these have it better than anyone I've ever seen.
"I'm so proud of them and it's magnificent. To see where we are in the league, that's utopia.
"If anyone had said to anybody realistic that Luton would be third in the Championship with eight games to go I think there'd be a lot of laughing going on," he added.
Luton have scored in each of their past nine matches in all competitions and kept four clean sheets
Luton's win, coupled with Huddersfield's 3-0 loss at home to second-placed Bournemouth, sees Jones' side leapfrog the Terriers to go third on goal difference.
They are six points behind Bournemouth, having played two more games, and have a four-point buffer to seventh-placed QPR as they aim for the play-offs come the end of the season.
Bree's free-kick from the edge of the box will be the abiding memory for the 1,000 or so Luton fans that made the 157-mile journey to Humberside, but it was a victory they fully deserved.
Cornick had a sixth-minute chance before Adebayo put them ahead three minutes later when rebound fell to whose shot found the bottom corner, while Luke Berry forced Matt Ingram into a good save with a long-range effort mid-way through the first half.
Hull's best spell came either side of half time as Eaves volleyed a George Honeyman cross over the bar shortly before the break and Alfie Jones and Keane Lewis-Potter went close in the first few minutes of the second period.
Cornick's goal deflated Hull's fans as Adebayo nipped in to win the ball from Sean McLoughlin when the Irishman should have cleared before setting up his team-mate to slot home.
Bree's goal - which clipped the underside of the bar on its way in - underlined Luton's dominance as Hull slipped to 20th place, but 13 points clear of the relegation places.
Hull City manager Shota Arveladze:
"It's difficult to explain. Football can be really unfair. I still believe we didn't really deserve to concede three goals.
"We could have stayed in the game, but, unfortunately, it happens. We made mistakes and that is the difference at home and away - and we need to be better.
"We make more mistakes at home than away, it's as simple as that. I don't want to blame anyone. I don't think it's about away or home - it's just about football.
"Our supporters are unbelievable and they stayed with us until the last whistle.
"We have a lot of small injuries, but we disappointed them at home again and we will try to win them back."