Luton begin EFL Trophy campaign by seeing off Barnet

Luton Town began the EFL Trophy with a 4-1 victory over Barnet at Kenilworth Road.

Lasse Nordas, Jerry Yates, Cohen Bramall and Shayden Morris scored the goals as the Hatters got their first EFL Trophy match since the 2018/19 season by winning in their first assignment of the group stage.

Adam Senior did score a late consolation for the Bees, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Luton from taking the victory.

The Tuesday night contest had seen Luton opt to reshuffle, with Matt Bloomfield making 6 changes from the weekend’s victory over Burton Albion.

One of those who maintained their starting berth was Nordas, who gave Luton an 11th minute lead when he turned in Gideon Kodua’s cross.

Yates would then double Luton’s lead 8 minutes later, scoring his first goal since his summer arrival at Kenilworth Road in the process. The striker received Bramall’s pass before cut inside and firing home.

A third goal came in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, as Bramall saw a crisp free-kick find the back of the net via the crossbar.

Luton would grab a fourth goal late on, as debutant Morris would be fouled in the box and the new arrival from Aberdeen would duly score the penalty.

Barnet would score a consolation late on when Senior headed home from Ryan Glover’s cross in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Luton’s next assignment in the competition will see them travel to play League 2 side Cambridge United on October 7, with the Hatters hosting the Brighton U21s on October 28 in their final group stage fixture.

Before then, the Hatters face multiple league fixtures, starting off with a home match against Plymouth on September 13.