Luton Town endured defeat in their first match under new boss Jack Wilshere as they lost 2-0 to Mansfield Town at Kenilworth Road.

Rhys Oates and Tyler Roberts scored the winning goals for the Stags, in a game that had seen Luton’s Nahki Wells miss a penalty when the game was still goalless.

The result saw Luton’s stop-start to the new League One season continue as they suffered back-to-back defeats and slipped into the bottom half of the table.

The match was billed as the start of a new era for the Hatters, who had seen former Arsenal and England international midfielder Wilshere replace Matt Bloomfield as their boss during their break since their defeat by Stevenage in Bloomfield’s final game in charge.

Despite hopes of a new manager bounce, it was Mansfield that began brighter. Roberts was denied by Josh Keeley in the opening three minutes, before Nathan Moriah-Welsh fired a strike wide of the target.

Luton soon began to respond. Jordan Clark would have one strike blocked before he came closer with a fine strike denied by away keeper Liam Roberts.

There was then a great opportunity spurned by the Hatters when they missed a penalty. A foul by Mansfield’s Kyle Knoyle on Clark was penalised, but from the spot, Wells was denied by Roberts.

Mansfield then took the lead in the final minutes of regular time of the first half. Wells lost the ball on the edge of his own box and the ball fell the way of Oates, who swept the ball beyond Luton keeper Keeley.

The Stags had arrived in Bedfordshire without an away win since winning at Exeter in August, and they missed chances to make it 2-0 in the opening stages of the second half when Will Evans missed the target from close range and Roberts hit the bar from a tight angle.

Like Luton, Mansfield were then handed a penalty. Handball by Luton defender Mads Andersen was penalised, and from the spot, Roberts beat Keeley to give the away side a two goal advantage.

That was the end of the road for the Hatters, as despite there being half an hour remaining, they found chances at a premium and slid to defeat.

Luton will seek for better things next time out, when they make the short trip up the M1 to take on Northampton Town at Sixfields.