COMMON sense prevailed yesterday (Thursday, September 15) when Luton Town agreed to move the first local derby of the season on January 2 back to the scheduled noon kick-off following discussions with Watford.

The decision means both clubs will miss out on the cash bonus they would have received from Sky Sports after the broadcaster announced on Tuesday that the game had been selected for live transmission, but with a later kick-off of 5.15pm.

This announcement was greeted with disbelief by some Hornets' fans, mindful of the previous off-the-pitch history between the two clubs and the potential for public disorder, particularly away from the Kenilworth Road ground if supporters had taken advantage of the later kick-off to visit pubs in the town and surrounding areas.

Watford chief executive Mark Ashton responded to Sky's announcement by writing to the Hatters, with the letter copied to police chiefs and the relevant footballing authorities, and it is understood chairman Graham Simpson followed this up with a phone call to his Luton counterpart, Bill Tomlins.

The dialogue between the two clubs led to the Hatters releasing a statement which said: "The club was approached by The Football League on behalf of SKY TV for the above game to be screened live on January 2 2006, but with a changed kick-off time of 5.15pm.

"Bedfordshire Police are always willing to police any match here at Kenilworth Road and that policy is unchanged however, both clubs have discussed the impact of the later kick-off and its implications of possible problems away from Kenilworth Road.

"Therefore it has been mutually agreed that we will revert back to the original kick-off time of 12 noon."

Simpson said: "I am very pleased. We have had discussions and everyone will appreciate that our fans' safety is paramount to the club," adding that Luton had been "very pragmatic".