The Town will be backed by almost 33,000 fans at Wembley on Sunday as they aim to be the second Hatters team in history to lift the EFL Trophy.
Will the class of 2026 go on to achieve what those in 2009 did and be crowned winners of the Vertu Trophy?
Let’s get into it, shall we.
The road to Wembley
The Hatters’ route to the final has certainly been eventful. A comfortable 4-1 win over Barnet was followed by a disappointing 3-1 defeat at Cambridge. James Shea for one did not enjoy it.
A path to the knockout stages was confirmed after a 3-1 win over Brighton’s Under-21s and the goals continued to flow in the round of 16 when Exeter were beaten 4-0.
Our run in the competition looked over when Swindon beat us 2-1 at Kenilworth Road but with the Robins fielding two ineligible players, the Hatters advanced and then saw off Plymouth to set-up a semi-final against Northampton.
Under the lights at Kenilworth Road, the Town fought back to beat the Cobblers 2-1 thanks to second-half goals from Nahki Wells and Liam Walsh.
As for the Stockport, they began the competition with a 5-3 win over Wolves’ youngsters in early September but, like the Town, lost their next game 3-1 to Salford.
A penalty-shootout win over Wigan after a 1-1 draw got County through to the knockout stages where they needed penalties to see off Crewe at Gresty Road.
It’s been pretty plain sailing since, as victories over Harrogate and Port Vale set-up the semi-final where a goal from Ollie Norwood earned a 1-0 win over Doncaster.
Haven’t we met before?
Well, yes. Only a few weeks ago the two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road with the point suiting County rather than us in the race to rubber stamp a play-off place.
The draw did mean, at least, the Hatters continued their excellent record against Stockport. Town teams from the past and present have now gone 17 games unbeaten against the other Hatters (W10, D7). No County team have recorded a win over the Town since November 1968 – incidentally the last time a Hatters side did not score against Stockport.
As far as cup games go, there have been two meetings: our first ever meeting was in the FA Cup back in 1932 which the Town won 3-2. Then, in January 1958, County got their revenge winning 3-0.
Our Wembley record
Sunday will be our ninth official visit to Wembley – the 10th if you include a defeat to Manchester United in the opening round the Football League Centenary Tournament in 1988 (it was basically a friendly).
The Hatters have lost in five of the nine: Forest in FA Cup final of 1959, the Simod Cup final in 1988 against Reading, to Forest again in the League Cup final in 1989, a 2-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea in 1994 and a 2-1 defeat in the National League play-off final against York in 2012 (Matty Blair is still probably standing offside and yes, we’re still very sad about it!).
As for the wins: they’ve been memorable: 3-2 epics against Arsenal in the League Cup and, of course, Scunthorpe in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
Who can forget our last visit – a penalty shootout win over Coventry sealed our promotion to the Premier League. It gives us any excuse to embed this video* to the preview, eh?
*although, real ones know this is what you really should watch.
OTD
Ah! Hatters teams in the past haven’t faired the best on 12th April but, as you should, know, this has zero effect on Sunday’s outcome.
Looking back, however, it’s one win in the last 12 on this precise date in history – a 1-0 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge in 2016. John Still made his return to Kenilworth Road on a night in which Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu scored the only goal of the game.
While there have been no cup games played on this day, the Hatters did have an opportunity to lift a trophy. However, Still’s team were beaten 3-2 at home to Braintree in the National League in 2014 and the wait to lift the championship trophy would have to wait.
Team news
The Town will wait on the fitness of Nahki Wells after the striker limped out of the Easter Monday win at Wimbledon. Other than that, the Jack Wilshere has no fresh selection worries ahead of the final.
Jack’s presser
Watch the manager’s press conference on LTFC+ as he discusses all things Wembley at Stockport. You can watch it all here for all to see for free without any logging in faff. Enjoy.
In charge
Martin Coy has the honour of whistling at Wembley on Sunday. It will be the second time the official has taken charge of a Town game this term, having overseen the 1-0 home defeat against Cardiff back in August.
You have to go back to Boxing Day 2018 for the previous time he was in the middle for one of our matches when Nathan Jones’ side ran out 2-0 winners at Scunthorpe. The season before Mr Coy oversaw another 2-0 triumph, this time at Accrington.
30 miles to Wembley, here come the Hatters again
Hatters fans will pack out the East end of Wembley – the part of the stadium which we sat in for the wins over Coventry and Scunthorpe – with just under 33,000 tickets sold.
Tickets are still available online only until 11am on Sunday.
Tune in, turn on.
Simon Pitts will be, as ever, on the mic on LTFC+. He’ll be giving his all from the press box at Wembley which is at the opposite end to the Hatters fans on Sunday. Therefore, he’ll be surrounded by Stockport fans so excuse him if he’s louder and more passionate (not possible?) than usual.
If you’re overseas and can’t make it Wembley, you may be able to watch live on LTFC+ for £10.
The live video stream is available in the following countries where the EFL does not have a broadcast deal, or where the local broadcast partner have opted not to screen the game live:
Albania, American Samoa, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Baltics (Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania), Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Botswana, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Congo (Republic of), Cook Islands, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Eurasia & Baltics, Faroe Islands, Fiji, France & French Colonies, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Guam, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Macau, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Poland, Portugal, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, South Tyrol (Italy), Spain, St Helena & Ascension, Sub-Saharan Africa, Swaziland, Tahiti (French Polynesia), Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, Western Samoa (Samoa), Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Audio commentary is available in the UK and abroad and it’s just £2.50 for the pleasure. Clicking here gives you those possibilities.
You can also follow our social media channels for all the build up and live updates as they happen from under the arch, plus photos and behind-the-scenes content during the 90 minutes. Stay on lutontown.co.uk post-match for a full report, post-match reaction and the all-important highlights.
And finally...don’t be THAT fan.
A reminder to all supporters, no matter who you are, how old or who you’re supporting, to go about your day with respect. We continue to support the Love Football, Protect the Game campaign.
Luton Town Football Club has committed in its customer charter to providing safe match-day experiences for all supporters regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation, and this applies equally to home and away fixtures.
In the event that any Luton supporters do make discriminatory chants, the Club will work with the police and football authorities to help identify such individuals. Any such fans would then face the strictest club sanctions, including football banning orders that would prevent them attending any matches, in addition to any criminal charges.
Furthermore, we would like to warn against pitch incursions and the use of pyrotechnics or missiles – including any type of object that is thrown onto the pitch during a match – which could lead to potential prosecution.
The Club can also be held responsible for the behaviour of its supporters, which could lead to substantial fines being imposed.
As a diverse and inclusive football club, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow EFL clubs in supporting the FA’s ‘Love Football. Protect the Game’ campaign and call on all fans to enjoy the game in a positive spirit.
If you are offended by any discriminatory abuse of any kind at any of our games, you can report it by clicking HERE, or by contacting your nearest steward immediately.
Alternatively, email myvoice@lutontown.co.uk, or report the incident via Kick it Out's free, confidential reporting app on the App Store and Google Play.
We're all Luton.
Come on Luton!
What we’re liking this week
Liam Walsh. Enough said.
