Luton Town FC vs Brighton & Hove Albion U21 (28th Oct 2025)

28/10/2025 LUTON TOWN 3-1 BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION U21

Evans makes history as Town progress

Yates scores brace but night belongs to Evans as Hatters reach Vertu Trophy knockouts

Fin Evans became the Hatters’ youngest ever senior goalscorer as the Town advanced to Vertu Trophy knockout stages after comfortable 3-1 victory over Brighton Under-21s at Kenilworth Road.

Jack Wilshere made a host of changes from the side that secured his first victory as Hatters boss on Saturday, including a debut for 16-year-old Evans and a first start for Hakeem Odoffin after his defensive heroics at Sixfields.

It was almost a perfect start for the Hatters after Liam Walsh’s free-kick was headed past Steven Hall only for the defender to be denied by the inside of the post.

An inch-perfect outside the boot pass from Jerry Yates picked out Joe Gbodé on the left-hand side but the Town forward was swiftly closed down by Zane Albarus.

With eight minutes remaining at the end of the half, Jerry Yates bagged his third Luton Town goal to give the Hatters the lead. Gideon Kodua fired an effort goalwards which was met by a flick from Yates into an open net.

Five minutes later, the Hatters were awarded a penalty. Cohen Bramall’s delivery from the left was blocked by the hand of Tyler Silsby and without hesitation referee Alex Chilowicz pointed to the spot. Yates stepped up and tucked the ball away two give Jack Wilshere’s side a two-goal lead at the break.

Harry Fox was introduced for his Luton debut at the break, replacing Bramall. His first piece of defensive action was a thumping clearance from an Albion free-kick.

On the hour, Hakeem Odoffin’s first Kenilworth Road outing ended to a round of applause from the Hatters faithful, he was replaced by Christ Makosso. Walsh’s return to action also ended with 60 in the tank, with Lasse Nordås the man coming on for him.

The visitors were given a lifeline with 15 to play. Noël Atom’s left footed effort rolled past James Shea giving the away team something to fight for in the closing stages.

But Hatters history was written with 10 minutes remaining. Evans found himself free at the backpost and launched an unstoppable effort past Hall to mark his senior debut with a goal, becoming the Hatters’ youngest ever senior goalscorer at 16 years and 271 days.

Yates, on a hat-trick, was denied by a strong save from Hall in additional time, and that proved to be the final piece of action of the match.

The victory ensures the Town advance to the Vertu Trophy knockout stages, but they must wait and see where they will finish in the group, with current third place side Cambridge United yet to play their final match of the group against Brighton.

Town: Shea, Odoffin (sub Makosso 60), Andersen, Evans, Bramall (sub Fox 46), Nakamba, Walsh (sub Nordås 60) , Nelson, Kodua, Gbodé (sub Richards 83), Yates.

Unused subs: Thomas, Lorentzen-Jones.

Attendance: 2,212, including 69 from Brighton.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N0D887Oiws – Jack Wilshere post match interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W421nvHctxg – match highlights

Vertu Trophy group stage: Luton Town 3 Brighton & Hove Albion U21s 1

16-year-old Evans makes history by becoming Luton's youngest ever goalscorer in Brighton win

Teenage centre half Fin Evans made history by becoming the Hatters’ youngest ever goalscorer as he crowned his first team debut in some style by finding the net as Luton made it through to the Vertu Trophy knock-out stages when beating Brighton & Hove Albion U21s 3-1 this evening.

With the centre half a surprise inclusion in the starting line-up, the first-year scholar, who is aged at 16 years and 271 days, beat Ricky Hill, Keith Keane and Roland Legate who were all on target as 17-year-olds, slamming home after a corner dropped invitingly to him inside the area in the second half to put the result beyond doubt.

The youngster was one of nine changes made by boss Jack Wilshere on the night, after he impressed for the U21s against Brentford B last week in the Premier League, when he also found the net following a set-piece. Evans was chosen to partner Mads Andersen in a new-look back four that saw Hakeem Odoffin get his first start at right back, Cohen Bramall one of two, with Gideon Kodua, keeping their place, as James Shea was named between the posts.

Marvelous Nakamba was in for his first start since February, while Liam Walsh was fit enough to show Town’s new manager just what he can do, Zack Nelson also recalled, as upfront, Jerry Yates and Joe Gbode got their first starts under Wilshere, as Gbode went to the wide left role, Kodua on the right. Town were inches away from taking the lead on when Walsh’s exquisite free kick was met by Andersen’s glancing header only to hit the inside of the post and bounce clear.

After a confidence-settling header away, Evans showed he was more than happy to bring the ball out from the back, getting deep into enemy territory but unfortunately ran into traffic before he could locate a team-mate. It took until after the half hour for any real quality to shine through on the night though, Yates taking the ball out of the sky superbly and drilling a magnificent outside of the boot pass to Gbode who was eventually able to get his shot off, seeing it deflect behind for a corner.

However, Luton were then ahead on 37 minutes when a cross came in from the right and dropped kindly to Kodua. He lined up his shot which flashed across goal and there was a perfectly positioned Yates to divert over the line from a matter of yards. The West Ham loanee went on another mazy run on the right moments later, seeing his shot charged down on the edge of the box.

Town then doubled their lead on 42 minutes when a short corner was played to Bramall whose cross hit the outstretched arm of Tyler Silsby for a penalty that was drilled into the bottom corner by Yates for his second of the evening. The summer signing almost had a quickfire hat-trick too, Bramall escaping on the left and his low cross was turned behind by covering defender Noel Atom before the striker could pounce.

At the break, Luton boss Wilshere handed out another debut as 18-year-old left back Harry Fox, a second-year scholar who has been at Kenilworth Road since the age of nine, replaced Bramall, with Milli Alli also on for Kodua. Town started to push their opponents back, Nakamba attempting to open his account for the club when having a pop from 25 yards, as it took a slight deflection on its way over the bar.

With an hour gone, Odoffin and Walsh made way, allowing Christ Makosso and Lasse Nordas to enter the fray, Alli having a hopeful effort from even further out that was never testing Steven Hall. With both sides beginning to go through the motions, Nordas simply had to score when he was played clean through by Yates, but with just Hall to beat, could only fire against the stopper’s legs as it went behind for a corner.

That miss was then made to look even worse on 74 minutes as Town switched off from a set-piece which saw the ball played in for Atom who was able to sidefoot into the bottom corner. Luton did have a third though with one of the biggest cheers of the night as a free kick was swung into the box and after a spell of pinball, it dropped for a delighted Evans to blast into the net and take his place in the record books. Yates tried to get his treble in the closing stages only for Hall to parry away, as the Hatters will now wait to find out who they face in the last 32.

Hatters: James Shea ©, Hakeem Odoffin (Christ Makosso 60), Mads Andersen, Fin Evans, Cohen Bramall (Harry Fox 46), Marvelous Nakamba, Liam Walsh (Lasse Nordas 60), Zack Nelson, Gideon Kodua (Milli Alli 46), Joe Gbode (Jake Richards 81), Jerry Yates.

Subs not used: Lucas Thomas, Jack Lorentzen-Jones.

Seagulls U21s: Steven Hall, Sean Keogh (Henry Kasvosve 84), Noel Atom, Ben Barclay, Zane Albarus (C), Yussif Owusu (Younes Ibrahim 85), Aidan West (Joe Belmont 60), Callum Mackley, Shane Nti, Matthew Hayden, Tyler Silsby.

Subs not used: Michael Dike, Tate Ferdinand, Adam Brett.

Referee: Alex Chilowicz.

Booked: Bramall 36, Yates 54, Keogh 69, Nti 86, Nordas 90.

'Surreal experience' for Evans as Town teen breaks Ricky Hill's near 50-year record

Defender becomes Luton’s youngest ever goalscorer

Luton Town teenager Fin Evans described it as a ‘surreal experience’ when taking his place in the record books by becoming the Hatters’ youngest ever goalscorer during their 3-1 Vertu Trophy fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion U21s last night.

The centre half, aged 16 years and 271 days, was a surprise inclusion in the starting XI by manager Jack Wilshere, who had been impressed with him enough during training to not just include him in the squad, but name him in the first team for the contest. Having seen the hosts move 2-0 ahead in the first half thanks to Jerry Yates’ double, the Hatters had just seen their advantage halved when Nigel Atom tucked home for the Seagulls, to set up a potentially nervy final 15 minutes.

However, four minutes later, Luton won a free kick out on the right which was sent into the box and when keeper Steven Hall punched clear under pressure from Lasse Nordas, the ball was turned goalwards once more, falling kindly for the lurking Evans who pulled his left foot back and drove his attempt beyond the stopper and a defender on the line, watching it slam into the net, as he beat the record set by Hatters legend Ricky Hill almost 50 years ago when he scored against Bristol Rovers at the age of 17 years and 45 days on April 19, 1976.

Stunned by what he had just done, the defender ran off with his hands on his head trying to take it all in, before his team-mates were able to celebrate with him. Running back through the moment again afterwards, he said: “I didn’t think, it was just instinct, as a kid it’s just swing and hit the ball. I couldn’t believe the chance fell to me and when I scored, it was just the best feeling in the world. I see what now people say, that’s what dreams are made of, I just couldn’t believe my eyes, it was mental.

“I didn’t know where to go, I wanted to celebrate with the fans but instinct took over. I just went to the closest side, hands on my head and just couldn’t believe it. The boys came over and congratulated me, I didn’t realise what I’d done at the time, I just scored a goal and then it turns out it was a lot bigger than I imagined.

“Honestly it’s been a surreal experience, I can only thank the gaffer for having the faith in me and obviously the players for helping me throughout the whole thing. I don’t think I could have done that without them to be honest, so I can’t really take as much credit as I would like to, but it goes out to them. They were superb for me so thank you so much.”

On taking the accolade of being the club’s youngest ever player during a senior game in their 140-year history, a shell-shocked Evans continued: “My friend actually had a look at that and said, ‘it’s 17, so if you score today you’ll be the youngest.’ I was like, ‘I don’t believe that. I’ll be happy if I get a couple of minutes on the pitch,’ and then I scored and I was just hands on my head, I couldn’t believe it. It was a surreal feeling, I don’t think I’ll sleep tonight to be honest. I’m not aware (of Ricky Hill), but he must have been some player to hold that record, so hopefully I can continue on his legacy and do better if not the same as him.”

In the closing stages of the match, Evans was named star man over the tanny to loud cheers from the just over 2,000 in attendance, as he got to celebrate with his family and also friends, the latter unbeknown to him, having made the trip to Kenilworth Road to watch his debut. He said: “They all surprised me by just turning up and buying some tickets, so when I saw them in the crowd I was just buzzing they were here. My family and friends, my mum’s crying, my sister’s crying, most people are crying but overall just buzzing.

"I can only thank my family and friends for that as without them I don’t think I would be in this position as well, as well as the first team players, so I can only thank my mum and dad. They just keep me grounded, keep me going, my friends as well, they keep me going, telling me to be the best I can be.”

Discussing his performance against the Seagulls, Evans, who was partnering Mads Andersen in the centre of defence, hadn’t thought he was going to be playing in the build-up to the contest, revealing: “I found out on the day before and I was like, it’ll be good to get a couple of minutes on the pitch. Then I was easing into the game, I was doing all right, a couple of mistakes, but we’ll forget about them and move on. Then I score and I was like, this is just making my game so much better. After that I was so much more confident, everyone just had their faith in me, congratulated me, all the boys in the changing room afterwards as well, it was a joke, I couldn’t explain it.”

It was actually the second Tuesday in a row that Evans had found the net at Kenilworth Road, having been on target in the U21s’ 6-1 Premier League Cup defeat against a Brentford B side that contained Fabio Carvahlo a week previously, which he felt helped him ahead of his senior debut. That day saw him fire home the opener from a corner, while he displayed the ability to bring the ball out from the back and deep into enemy territory, something he did during the first half against Brighton as well.

On having the confidence to do so, he added: “Instinct took over at that point, a few mistakes, but the boys just told me to forget about it, it happens. You learn to get on with it and I think from there, the goal just pushed my confidence and helped me even more to progress and get through the game. I actually scored against Brentford as well and I was like, that didn’t feel right. I got man of the match last week as well, I was just like, keep pushing on to the next. I think that’s just me as a person, on to the next one, on to the next one, keep getting better, getting better, getting better.”

Wilshere labels Evans as 'outstanding' as defender marks senior Town debut with record-breaking goal

Hatters teenager becomes the club’s youngster ever scorer

Luton boss Jack Wilshere described youngster Fin Evans as ‘outstanding’ as the 16-year-old marked his full senior debut with a goal during the Hatters’ 3-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion U21s on Tuesday night.

The centre half was one of nine changes made by the Town chief for the Vertu Trophy group stage tie at Kenilworth Road, as he partnered Mads Andersen in a back four that also contained Hakeem Odoffin and Cohen Bramall. With Jerry Yates putting the hosts 2-0 in front in the first half, the Seagulls then pulled one back with 15 minutes to go, only for Evans to ensure there was no comeback, slamming home when a free kick dropped to him inside the box shortly afterwards, becoming the club’s youngest ever goalscorer in the process.

Discussing his achievement, Wilshere, who himself was 16 and eight months when he made his debut for the Gunners, replacing Robin van Persie in the closing stages of a 4-0 Premier League victory at Blackburn Rovers in September 2008, said: “I’m over the moon for him. I think more importantly he grew into the game as you could see at the start he was a little bit shaky which is absolutely normal. We spoke to him a little bit yesterday (Monday). I always remember when I made my debut at a young age and Arsene (Wenger) saying to me after, he didn’t want to talk to me too much, he just wanted to let me play, so we kind of let him do that.

"I thought he was outstanding and of course to top it off with a goal in front of the fans. I said to him after the game it’s important that you’ve experienced it now, League One will be a little bit harder, a little bit different, but you have to use that experience to grow and keep growing and when they come over to us next time, make sure they’re a little bit better.”

On what it was that he had noticed about the defender at the Brache which helped push him into his first team thoughts, Wilshere continued: “I liked him the first day I saw him. He was confident in training, he found passes, even when he was getting pressed hard, he was calm. A left-footed centre back, there’s not many of them around and for him to step in, he will take some time, we need to be patient with him. He needs to go and play with the 21s and keep getting better and better, but we know he can do a job for us for sure."

Although he had it in his mind to pick Evans for the contest, Wilshere revealed that the youngster hadn’t really taken the hints on board that he would be getting his senior debut during the build-up, saying: “We did a little bit yesterday in shape, but especially for Fin it was probably hard to read that situation, as he’s not been round it that much. So he was fine in training, he trained really well and I said to one of the coaches, Kev Foley, go and speak to him, see how he is.

"Kev was like, ‘yes he’s fine, he’s ready to go,’ and I think you saw he was nervous at the start which is absolutely normal. He’s not been around the first team that much, he hasn’t got on the pitch, he hasn’t been in the squad and then to be in your first squad and to start is a lot. We wanted to see how he would deal with that and he was outstanding.

“You see the character and the personality of someone in that moment when they have a tough moment, but he went to get the ball back straight away. He tried and tried, he kept wanting the ball, he showed courage, even at the end you could tell he had cramp and he was still standing tall and trying to defend his box. So a really good night for him and an interesting profile for us to keep trying to make better.”

Having experienced Kenilworth Road just seven days prior when he was also on target during the U21s’ 6-1 Premier League Cup loss to a Brentford B side who had plenty of top flight and international experience, was certainly a huge benefit for the youngster as well in Wilshere’s eyes. Following his time in charge of the Arsenal U18s when he was learning his managerial trade, the ex-England international added: “Two in two! That’s the importance and Al (Alex Lawless, U21s head coach) and the guys in the academy do a fantastic job in trying to put on a games programme that’s competitive

"I come from an academy and sometimes you lack those competitive games, you lack that competitive environment in the stadium, you don’t get to feel that a lot. So the guys do an amazing job at that and I think you saw he looked ready. Okay he made a shaky start, but he grew into the game and made some nice passes, and then to get his goal in front of his family, I’m really happy for him.”

Hatters boss praises Town scholar Fox as young full back earns his first senior Luton outing

U18 player comes off the bench against Brighton & Hove Albion U21s

Town boss Jack Wilshere was eager to talk up the efforts of academy defender Harry Fox after the 18-year-old made his senior debut for the Hatters during their 3-1 Vertu Trophy group stage victory over Brighton & Hove Albion U21s at Kenilworth Road yesterday.

The Luton-born teenager joined the club at the age of nine and is now a second-year scholar, capable of playing as a full back or wingback, also anywhere in midfield too. Having featured in 47 matches for the U18s last term, racking up over 4,000 minutes, the most from any player, then having impressed the Town management staff, he was named on the bench for the trip to Cambridge United during the last match in the competition.

Although not getting on at the Abbey Stadium, Fox did start for the U21s in their 6-1 Premier League Cup defeat to Brentford B at Kenilworth Road last Tuesday night, as he impressed new boss Jack Wilshere sufficiently to be named on the bench, along with fellow youngster Jack Lorentzen-Jones when the Seagulls were in town, introduced at the break for Cohen Bramall to take his place in a defence that also included 16-year-old Fin Evans.

Although it was Evans who was the toast of the town aferwards, scored the hosts’ third to become the youngest ever player to find the net in the club’s 140-year history, Wilshere felt Fox acquitted himself impressively during his first run-out too, saying: “He was excellent (in training) because we still had a squad to decide yesterday (Monday) and we knew Fin was going to play, but we wanted to see the other players, how they were.

"Harry and Jack, who was also on the bench, they were both really, really good in training. I thought Harry was good when he came on as well. Of course he doesn’t get the headlines like Fin does, but he was solid, he defended well, he made some good passes, tried to join in and what I love about them as well is they’re top kids, so humble.

"Fin did a speech in the dressing room afterwards, he got a cheer and I want people to know that’s who we want to be as well. I come from a place (Arsenal) that has a tradition of developing young players and bringing them into the team and I want to do the same. I come from that world, so they’ve got work to do and they’ve got to get better and play with the 21s, but definitely we know that they can help us in the future.”

When Fox made his way on to field, he adopted his usual left back role, which gave the left half of Town’s back four an extremely youthful feel, as at 16, Evans, playing centre half alongside Mads Andersen, is two years his junior. Asked about his fellow scholar, Evans added: “It’s normally me and Harry when we play on Saturday with the 18s, so we’re comfortable together. We have a good relationship and I think he’s a really, really good player, so I had my faith in him, and I knew he’d do the business. I knew he’d do well when he came on, so my praise to him as well.”