5 of the fiercest rivalries in the Football League

 Watford vs Luton Town

M1-Watford-LutonWith the first match between these two rivals coming in the 1888-89 FA Cup it’s a feud seeped in history. Although in recent times it may have diminished, with Watford being in a higher division for the last 15 seasons, there is still a mutual hatred between the sets of supports with chants about one another regular heard at matches. The fierceness involved in the “M1 Derby” can be dated back to the late sixties, with both teams languishing in the third division. Watford had already guaranteed promotion when they visited Kenilworth road in 1969 and as the match became more heated (3 reds cards were given out) fans became more aggravated. The two sets of fans later clashed in St Albans, a town located between Luton and Watford resulting in many arrests.

The two sides meandered around the leagues often going for long spells with ut regular league meetings until Luton, marred by financial troubles, dropped to the Football Leagues trough and the Hornets stabilized near the top. In recent years a League Cup match in 2002 was blighted by hooliganism, with fighting around Watford in the build up and many pitch invasions causing kick off to be delayed. A planned minutes silence was ditched and total of 29 fans were prosecuted, some banned for life.

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