Tranmere goalkeeper Danny Coyne handed Luton an early Christmas present as his mistake helped the Hatters claim three vital points.

The Welsh international goalkeeper spilled a Matthew Spring cross into the path of Dave Edwards, who smashed home a shot from close range on 67 minutes.

Hatters boss Kevin Blackwell had questioned when his side would receive a slice of good fortune and Edwards' strike was certainly it.

Otherwise, the game was a rather dull affair and it wasn't until Luton reverted to a 4-4-2 formation in the second half that the game came to life.

Edwards, who has become a transfer target for Nottingham Forest in recent weeks, should have made the game safe with a second, but nevertheless, this was a win that lifted Luton off the foot of the League One table.

Luton made three changes from the side that lost to Cheltenham last week.

Hatters boss Kevin Blackwell was able to recall Jaroslaw Fojut, who replaced Keith Keane at centre-back, and David Bell, who came back in midfield at the expense of Marc Wilson, who returned to Portsmouth following the end of his loan spell.

Luton also recalled Alan Goodall to left-back, with Richard Jackson surprisingly missing from the 16-man squad.

Tranmere, with only one league win in their last seven, made a total of six changes to their side with Robbie Stockdale returning in defence and Gareth Taylor playing as the lone striker.

Very little happened in the opening 15 minutes of the game, with Steve Jennings' 20-yard effort forcing Dean Brill into a comfortable save to his left.

But Hatters were then to be hit by an injury to Paul Furlong as the former Chelsea and Birmingham striker hobbled off in pain after 17 minutes and was replaced by Calvin Andrew.

Luton's first real chance of the game never arrived until 23 minutes when, after Dave Edwards' layoff, Darren Currie almost found the target with a curling effort from the edge of the area.

But both teams were struggling to make inroads past the defence, with set plays looking the most likely route for an opening.

Rovers almost broke the deadlock on 27 minutes when, from a Taylor knockdown, Shane Sherriff smacked a first time volley inches wide of Brill's left post.

The game was still proving to be a dull affair, so when Currie smashed a long-range effort on 32 minutes that almost caught out Coyne, it began to lift the atmosphere around Kenilworth Road.

But that didn't last for long as the football soon saw it dominated in midfield with neither side looking capable of finding the back of the net.

AT HALF-TIME: LUTON 0 V 0 TRANMERE

The second half started in a similar fashion to the first. Neither side showed much promise in front of goal with Taylor's header on 50 minutes, which never really troubled Brill, the best opportunity of the opening ten minutes to the second half.

Edwards almost brought the game to life with a surging run and shot from 25-yards that narrowly missed the target on 56 minutes.

The game was showing little in terms of entertainment as the crowd began to vent their frustrations with chants of 'attack attack'

And the calls saw Blackwell change his system with Drew Talbot being introduced as the second striker.

The change then brought an instant change in fortune as Luton took the lead on 67 minutes thanks to gaff from Coyne.

Fine work from Talbot saw him beat four Tranmere players before laying off a pass to Spring, whose whipped ball into the area was spilled by Coyne, enabling Edwards to thump home the loose ball from close range.

Edwards should have had a second on 72 minutes when Bell's cross from the right found the former Shrewsbury man unmarked in the penalty area, but he scuffed his downward header as Coyne made a comfortable save.

But at long last - the game finally came to life. Luton were looking more threatening going forward and a second looked as if it would arrive.

Bell tried his luck from distance and then Coyne produced a wonderful save from Spring's first time shot from 25-yards.

Luton breathed a huge sigh of relief when Brill was called upon to keep out Taylor's close range shot with a point blank save after the Hatters failed to deal with a cross into their penalty area.

Luton: Brill, Perry, Coyne, Fojut, Goodall, Bell, Robinson, Spring, Currie (Talbot 67), Edwards, Furlong (Andrew 17)

Subs not used: Keane, McVeigh, Grant

Bookings: Robinson (82), Fojut (84), Coyne (85), Perry (90)

Tranmere: Coyne, Stockdale, Sherriff, Taylor, Greenacre (Curran 76), Ahmed (Myrie-Williams 76) , Jennings, Goodison, Taylor, Henry, Suker

Subs not used: Tremarco, Zola, Achterberg

Bookings: Greenacre (34), G Taylor (45), Goodison (85), A Taylor (90)

Referee: Mr T Kettle

Attendance: 6,070 (235 from Tranmere)