Stockport County's miserable start to the season continued as they suffered their second successive league defeat.
And it couldn't have come in any crueller fashion as an unfortunate own goal from Rickie Lambert in the first half, and then a another mistake from the midfielder soon after the interval, allowed Steve Howard to seal matters for the Kenilworth Road side.
Carlton Palmer's team did pull a goal back in the 72nd minute when towering defender Rob Jones scored his first goal for his new club, on his home debut, after a delightful ball from John Hardiker on the right.
But it was heartache for the home team who were kept at bay after only showing their fighting spirit once they had gone behind.
Stuart Barlow and another new recruit, Wayne Collins, can count themselves unlucky after Rob Beckwith, Luton's agile keeper, produced two point-blank saves from headers on the line.
It wasn't to be though and Mike Newell's side extended their unbeaten run to three games on the trot, following other victories over Rushden and Diamond's, and Yeovil at the start of this season's campaign.
County made two changes to the side which defeated Lincoln City 1-0 in the Carling Cup on Tuesday night, with Owen Morrison replacing Martin Pemberton in midfield and last year's leading scorer, Luke Beckett, dropping out for Aaron Wilbraham.
Pemberton is still struggling with a knee injury, while Beckett, whose goals arguably saved Carlton Palmer's team from the drop last season, missed out because of a stomach bug.
Luton also had to make a forced change to their side with Matthew Spring unavailable because of a headache.
He was replaced by Ian Hillier, who played wide on the right, while Paul Hughes, who had a loan spell at Edgeley Park in 1998-99, also played against his former club.
But it wasn't a former Stockport man who opened the scoring for the visitors, instead, it was one of their own players.
Unluckily for Lambert, one of County's more consistent midfielders last season, he deflected a Kevin Nicholls free-kick into his own net in the 33rd minute.
However, to be fair to the home side, they should have been in front after only four minutes when Owen Morrison, one of Palmer's summer signings, laid off a delicate ball for Wilbraham to race through on goal.
But the striker, who missed most of last season after a back operation, scuffed his shot and this time, Beckwith saved well at his feet.
Luton's best chance of the opening exchanges came in the 21st minute, with Nicholls chipping through to Steve Howard, who was unlucky to see his swivel shot on the volley narrowly fly over the crossbar.
County came back in the second half with the introduction of promising youngsters Jon Daly and Andy Welsh, but it was Luton who came close to going two-nil up when Howard, in the 54th minute, saw his shot on the turn just go wide off the right-hand post.
However, it was 2-0 two minutes later when a lightweight back-header from Lambert, not having the best of afternoons for the home team, let in Howard, who rounded Hatters' goalie Nick Colgan, on-loan from Hibernian for the season, and stroked home into an empty net.
Barlow and Colins the saw their headers saved on the line, while Hardiker cleared off the line at the other end, but the scoreline stayed the same.