Luton	0 - 1	Everton
Booked Fojut 51 Perry 108	Half Time ( 0 - 0 )	Scorers Cahill 101  Booked Cahill 117

Luton, the lowest ranked side left in the Carling Cup, finally bowed out of the competition at home against a solid Everton side after being pushed over in the second-half. But Dean Brill kept them in the game again and again as the Premier League side struggled to find a way past the keeper.

The Hatters were unchanged from the side who beat the fancied Nottingham Forest at the weekend. While David Moyes made six changes to his Everton side, which included recalling Phil Neville to the starting line-up and playing James McFadden and Victor Anichebe up front.

Luton were hammered 4-0 by Everton in the Carling Cup last season but looked good value as they hoped for their first win over the Toffees in 18 years. They had the first attempts on goal as David Bell had a couple of shots off-target before Matthew Spring fire over shortly afterwards.

But they were rocked soon afterwards as the inspirational Paul Furlong was lost to injury and he was replaced by Calvin Andrew.

And Everton struggled to get into the game in the early stages, just as they have recently in European matches. They were outplayed by the League One side and it hardly looked as though there were as many league places between the two sides as there really are.

Anichebe escape his marker in first-half injury time and tried to find McFadden but the Scottish international had the ball taken from him by Chris Coyne as Everton’s clearest chance of the opening 45 minutes had gone.

At the start of the second-half, Luton continued to play some good football. Everton keep taking too long to get going in games and it looked as though this could be another game which could embarrass them unless they were able to kick-start their performance.

But then Everton started to play more like the team they promised to be as they had more possession and used it more effectively, moving forward with more purpose than in the first-half. Leon Osman forced goalkeeper Dean Brill into two saves which named his name, before Alan Stubbs came close with a stinging free-kick which went narrowly wide as at last, David Moyes’ men began to look the team they made themselves out to be.

Lescott shot narrowly wide and then Matthew Spring cleared off the line to keep the Hatters in the game.

Luton rarely threatened as they were pushed back by the Toffees and their best chances of the half came in the final 10 minutes. Alan Stubbs got himself in a muddle at the back and nearly put a David Bell cross into his own net. But with the scores still level at 90 minutes, the game went into extra time.

The Premier League side started where they left off before extra time as they continued their better football with substitute James Vaughan almost making an immediate impact when he fired just wide from inside the box.

But Tim Cahill soon opened the scoring when he stretched out his right leg at the far post to direct a flicked-on Thomas Gravesen corner past the keeper and put his side 1-0 ahead 11 minutes into the first period of extra time.

Luton pushed forward in search of an equaliser as they carried the hopes of the non-Premier League sides in this year’s competition. Joleon Lescott cleared off the line from Spring as the hosts tried to find the vital goal. Then early substitute Calvin Andrew sees his close-range header saved on the line by Stefan Wessels.

They kept up the pressure right to the end and a late corner for the home side came to nothing as the final whistle blew with the League One side so near and yet so far at the end of extra time.

It was a very brave performance by Luton but they just couldn’t hold out against a strong Everton side. The experience of the visiting team and their manager eventually was enough to overcome an opposition who belied their league placing.

Another game in which Everton took too long to start their game almost ended in disaster and it was only thanks to the recently returned Australian, Tim Cahill, that their blushes were saved.


Luton: Brill, Goodall, Perry, Coyne, Fojut, Bell, Currie (Morgan 104), Robinson, Spring, Furlong (Andrew 20), Edwards (McVeigh 104).

Subs Not Used: Hutchison, Jackson.

Everton: Wessels, Lescott, Stubbs, Jagielka, Nuno Valente, Neville, Pienaar (Gravesen 94), Osman, Carsley, McFadden (Vaughan 71), Anichebe (Cahill 77).

Subs Not Used: Howard, Yakubu.

Att: 8,944

Ref: Steve Tanner (Somerset).

By Ben Hughes