Last updated on .From the section Championship

Joe Allen (left) has now scored three goals in his past seven games for Stoke City

Stoke City pulled to within three points of safety in the Championship as they comfortably beat Luton Town.

The hosts took the lead when Sam Vokes worked onto a loose ball to tee up James McClean to finish past Luton goalkeeper James Shea.

McClean then turned provider, turning in a cross towards Joe Allen, who headed home from inside the box to double the hosts' advantage.

Allen added another after the break as he slotted home a low shot from the 18-yard line as Luton struggled to make an impact.

The result means the Hatters, who beat fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic on Saturday, slip to 21st place and have a three-point cushion on the drop zone.

Graeme Jones' side have struggled on the road this season and they were on the back foot when McClean found the net in the first half.

Luton have now lost six away league games in a row and have conceded 20 goals in that period, as they slipped below Huddersfield Town in the table.

Stoke ended a run of three straight defeats following the win as their victory pulled them closer to exiting the relegation zone under Michael O'Neill.

Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill told BBC Radio Stoke:

"I'm delighted with the result and there's a lot of positives. The individual performances were very good and as a team we showed a lot.

"There's a lot to be happy about and it's a step in the right direction, nothing more than that so hopefully that builds and breeds confidence in the group.

"We've decided to keep consistency in the team so when we get a good result we need to be consistent with our selection."

Luton Town boss Graeme Jones told BBC Three Counties Radio:

"For 35 minutes we came to Stoke and reasonably controlled the game. I can't remember them having an effort on goal.

"There's an individual error and all of a sudden we're 1-0 down. We got picked off for 2-0 and we tried to change a few things at half-time.

"Another individual error and we're 3-0 down and the game is finished. It's happened too often. You can't play at this level of football and give goals away and we're doing that too much at the minute."