IF Wrexham manager Denis Smith had been able to swing a deal earlier this year, Trinidad international Hector Sam would no longer be at the Racecourse.

But the 26-year-old striker - who in the absence of any official statement to the contrary is still officially on the club's transfer list - is mounting a robust case for a re-assessment by the Dragons boss.

Both goals on Saturday, in addition to one in each of the previous two games, make Sam the first Dragons player this season to reach double figures and his total of 12 to date in all competitions (excluding the FAW Premier Cup) eclipse his previous campaign contributions of six, five and five since his arrival in August 2000.

Smith's verdict in the aftermath of Wrexham's first win in seven outings was unequivocal: "He had a super game," he said.

"I'm delighted but it doesn't surprise me. I know what Hector's capable of doing, but what we've got to get him to do is consistently work for the team and do everything else that goes along with that.

"Today and in the previous two games he has done that and that's why he's been picked."

If the enigmatic Sam was the complete player Smith wanted him to be, there's little doubt he would be attracting attention from bigger clubs but there were again occasions on Saturday when his concentration was obviously wandering.

Eleven offside decisions against the home side - with Sam most often the culprit - tell their own story but that's little more than nit-picking when compared to the awareness and ability he brought to putting the ball in the back of the net.

His first on the half-hour came somewhat against the run of play when Steve Thomas swung the ball in from a short corner. Sam found space but had to re-adjust his position before powering a header past Hatters goalkeeper Morten Hyldegaard.

Goal number two on 62 minutes showed Sam at his best, superbly assisted by Darren Ferguson's through ball. The Wrexham striker had plenty to do as defender Chris Coyne muscled in on him but Sam kept his head and his feet to hold off the challenge and put the home side two up.

And only a Sol Davis clearance from under the crossbar in the final minute denied him his first-ever Football League hat-trick.

But while Sam grabbed the headlines, there were a number of other outstanding individual displays.

Luton's early domination, particularly in midfield, asked plenty of questions of the home side's defensive qualities and no one did better than 18-year-old Simon Spender. The teenage rookie, the smallest player on view, was dwarfed on either side by Dennis Lawrence and Steve Roberts, to say nothing of opponents Steve Howard and Enoch Showunmi.

Time and again he was battered by the visiting strikers but he picked himself up and got on with the job in hand, always looking to use the ball to Wrexham's advantage rather than seeking out Row Z.

In the absence of Carlos Edwards, for whom Paul Barrett was an able defensive replacement, namesake Paul was an important outlet for the Dragons and he did not disappoint, combining his duties at the back with several excellent forays down the flank.

Overall, though, as Smith was at pains to point out, Wrexham's win was the result of a solid all-round team performance in the face of a challenging physical contest.

Thomas got forward after only two minutes for a shot that clipped a post yet it was the visitors who had the better chances throughout the remainder of the game. Coyne and Howard combined to give Michael Leary an opening but Mike Ingham spread himself well, although the goalkeeper knew little about Steve O'Leary's 17th-minute effort which cannoned back of the angle of bar and post.

Sam's first meaningful contribution put Wrexham ahead but it needed a long leg from Roberts to deny Howard an almost certain equaliser eight minutes before the break before the same striker headed an inviting Davis centre too high.

Twice in the opening seven minutes of the second half Showunmi might have done better, firing just wide from distance before failing to beat Ingham after running onto a Kevin Nicholls pass, and Luton paid the price when Sam struck again.

But Wrexham were immediately caught out, a Roberts slip allowing Howard to emphatically convert O'Leary's pass with the best part of 30 minutes still to go.

The visitors, who had maintained their play-off ambitions slightly longer than the home side and needed all three points, were unable to step up the momentum as Wrexham not only matched them but grew increasingly more confident and finished the stronger side.

A downcast Luton manager Mike Newell afterwards echoed pretty much what Smith had said about his own team only two weeks ago.

"I'm disappointed that the season has fizzled out in the way it has," he said. "We've been up against it in the last month but I believed that the spirit the boys have and the way the young lads have come in and done well that we could sneak in.

"The injuries and suspensions have caught up with us because we haven't been able to replace them. The teams at the top of the league in any country are the teams that have the best squads. You finish where you are supposed to finish.

"We created enough chances in the first half to have put the game out of Wrexham's reach. That's been the case on several occasions this season."

WREXHAM: Ingham: Roberts, Spender, Lawrence; Barrett, Crowell (M Jones 66), Ferguson, Thomas, P Edwards; Llewellyn, Sam. Subs: Whitfield, Holmes, L Jones, Armstrong. BOOKING: Crowell.

LUTON TOWN: Hyldegaard; Keane (Forbes 60), Davies, Coyne, Davis; Foley, Leary, Nicholls (Mansell 75),O'Leary; Howard, Showunmi. Subs: Brill, Neilson, Hillier. BOOKINGS: Foley, Davies, Howard.

REFEREE: Kevin Friend

ATT: 3,239..SUPL: