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South-eastern English football clubs Luton Town and Watford have been rivals since their respective formations in the late 19th century. The clubs are respectively from Luton, Bedfordshire, and Watford, Hertfordshire, and for this reason a match between the two teams is sometimes called a "Beds–Herts Derby". Another name occasionally used in the press is "M1 Derby", which comes from the M1 motorway, which passes both towns. Luton currently play at Kenilworth Road which has a capacity of 12,000. Watford currently play at Vicarage Road, an all-seater stadium which has a capacity of 22,200. The clubs were both founded during the 1880s, with Watford having been founded in 1881, and Luton Town in 1885. The first recorded game between both teams took place on 5 December 1885, when Watford Rovers beat Luton Town 1–0 in a friendly match at Vicarage Meadow. The two clubs met competitively for the first time in the third round qualifying of the 1898–99 FA Cup on 29 October 1898 at Dunstable Road. This resulted in a 2–2 draw, with Luton winning the replay 1–0 at Cassio Road on 2 November 1898. Since then, there have been 122 meetings between both teams. Luton Town hold the superior record in these matches, with 55 victories to Watford's 38, as well as 29 draws. The most decisive result in a Luton Town–Watford game was Luton Town's 5–0 victory at Kenilworth Road in January 1926. There have been three instances of a 4–0 score, with two won by Watford. In September 1929, Luton Town beat Watford 4–0 at Vicarage Road. In October 1997, Watford beat Luton Town 4–0 at Kenilworth Road, and again 25 years later, in October 2022 at Vicarage Road. Luton and Watford played each other regularly in the Southern League and, following the formation of Third Division South in season 1920–21, played every season until 1936–37, when Luton won promotion to Division Two. This, and the Second World War separated the teams from league competition until 1963–64 when they met again, this time in Division Three. The animosity between the clubs, both players and fans, intensified during the late 1960s and the 1970s, and reached a peak during the 1980s, when both teams played in the top-flight First Division. Watford were relegated at the end of the 1987–88 season, while Luton followed four years later. The clubs played against each other regularly for six seasons during the 1990s, in both the second and third tiers of English football. From the 1997–98 season, at the end of which Watford won promotion to the second tier, both teams rarely met, as Watford played in higher divisions than Luton during this time. In the last sixteen seasons there have been only six league meetings between the two teams, played during the 2005–06, the 2020–21 and the 2022-23 seasons. As of the 2023–24 season, Luton currently play in the Premier League for the first time in their history, and Watford currently play in the Championship. History Origins The first match between the two clubs can be dated to 5 December 1885, as Watford Rovers hosted Luton Town in a friendly. Watford beat Luton 1–0 at Vicarage Meadow in the inaugural match. The first match at Luton's Dallow Lane was played on 20 March 1886, where Watford won 3–0. Luton's first success in the fixture came at Vicarage Meadow on 16 October of the same year, where they emerged with a 4–1 victory. Two friendlies between Luton Town and West Herts, as Watford Rovers were now more commonly known, took place during the 1891–92 season; West Herts won 4–3 at Luton and the match at West Herts was a draw. Five more friendly matches were played over the next three seasons, all Luton victories. In the 1930s, a Vauxhall plant was speculated to be built in Watford, however due to the popularity of the Luton Body van at the time it was subsequently decided that the plant would be built in Luton. The Southern League Luton Town did not join a league until the 1894–95 season, where they joined the Southern League. West Herts also joined the Southern League two years later. However, as Luton had left the league the same year, a league meeting did not occur. The first competitive meeting of the two clubs came on 29 October 1898, as Luton drew against Watford in the 1898–99 FA Cup third qualifying round. The second meeting came soon after, as the 2–2 draw at Luton meant that a replay was needed. Luton won the replay 1–0 at Watford. The next season saw Luton draw against Watford again, this time Luton needed only one attempt to beat Watford 3–2. Luton rejoined the Southern League in 1900, and the fixture then became a regular one in the Southern League calendar except for the 1903–04, 1912–13 and 1913–14 seasons that the clubs spent in different divisions. Luton held the superior record, winning 13 Southern League meetings to Watford's eight. The 1920–21 season saw both clubs made members of the Football League when the Southern League First Division was incorporated as the Football League Third Division. The Football League Matches occurred regularly in this division until 1937, when Luton Town were promoted to the Second Division. A Southern Professional Floodlit Cup meeting during the 1956–57 season was won 4–3 by Luton at Kenilworth Road, and was the only meeting until Luton dropped back to the Third Division for the 1963–64 season. Luton were nearly relegated again, but in the last home game of the season, against Watford, Luton won 2–1 to both ensure survival and deny Watford promotion. Luton were relegated to the Fourth Division a year later, with Watford winning both matches held over a two-day period at Christmas. The game at Kenilworth Road finished 4–2 to Watford, and two days later Watford won 2–0 at Vicarage Road. Luton were not promoted to the Third Division again until the 1967–68 season, thus placing the derby on hold. Growth in prominence The 1968–69 season saw Watford promoted as champions of the Third Division, having led the division for almost the entire season. This led to the crowd violence associated with the fixture growing in prominence, and Watford won the first league clash with Luton that season 1–0 at Vicarage Road. The return match at Kenilworth Road was originally intended to take place on Boxing Day, but was abandoned due to fog with the game tied at 1–1. The game was eventually played after several postponements on 30 April 1969, by which time Watford had already been promoted as champions. The match resulted in Luton winning 2–1, and saw three players sent off, two from Luton, one from Watford. After the game, incidents occurred between fans in St Albans, a town between Luton and Watford, home to fans of both sides. Luton were promoted to the Second Division a year later to keep the fixture going. However, Watford's relegation at the end of the 1971–72 season ended it once more. The sides didn't meet again until the 1979–80 season, when Watford were promoted back to the second tier. At the end of the 1981–82 season, Luton won the Second Divisi.... Discover the Rigby Taylor popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Rigby Taylor books.