UNPREDICTABLE Cherries are now offi-cially both the best and the worst team in Division 2.

Their home record of three successive vic-tories is second-to-none, while their away form is bottom of the class.

Steve Fletcher's third goal of the season extended Cherries' 100 per cent start at Dean Court and also means they have now scored more times at home than any other team in the division.

Victory has propelled Mel Machin's Jekyll and Hyde performers into sixth spot in Division 2 and at the same time relieved second-placed Luton of their unbeaten start to the season.

The Hatters arrived at Dean Court on the back of successive wins over Cardiff, Reading and Blackpool which put them among the early season pacesetters.

But defeat for Lennie Lawrence's men came as no surprise to their manager who has enjoyed little success against Cherries since he took over at Kenilworth Road in 1995.

Lawrence moaned: "Every time we come here it's the same old story - we always keep them quiet in the first half, we always lose 1-0 and it is nearly always from a cross. This was the best we have played here for a cou-ple of years, although I know we didn't deserve to win."

The Hatters came close to writing a new chapter in Lawrence's memoirs of his trips to the South Coast when they twice hit the woodwork in the first half and were denied by a late wonder save from Cherries keeper Mark Ovendale.

They could also have taken the lead as early as the fourth minute when a corner by Matthew Spring was wastefully headed over the bar by Liam George at the far post.

Luton had two early escapes of their own when Steve Robinson sliced wide from the edge of the box following good work by Mark Stein before a shot from Ian Cox was parried by Hatters goalkeeper Tanny Abbey and the follow-up from Robinson was blocked by a defender.

A huge punt from Abbey was flicked into the path of Andrew Fotiadis by Phil Gray, but the striker's lob from 30 yards bounced on top of the crossbar.

Cherries' best chance of the first half - if not the match - fell to Fletcher in the 26th minute when his header from inside the six-yard box hit Abbey on the line. The glorious chance was created by Richard Hughes whose cross from the left was measured to perfection.

Fletcher atoned with interest when, after Scott Mean had found Neil Young on the right, he rose superbly to squeeze a header from his team-mate's excellent cross into the net and out of the reach of Abbey in the 73rd minute.

There was still time for Luton to equalise and, but for the heroics of Ovendale who somehow managed to keep out a shot by Gray in the dying seconds, they would have.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.