A much-changed Town side exited the Carabao Cup at the first round stage having been comfortably beaten 3-1 by Luton at Kenilworth Road. The Hatters, who switched their entire XI, went in front through Lloyd Jones on eight, Elliot Lee made it two from the spot in the 17th minute, then Andrew Shinnie added the third before Armando Dobra hit a debut consolation for the Blues 16 minutes from time.

Boss Paul Lambert made 10 changes handing keeper Will Norris and youngsters Bailey Clements and Dobra debuts.

Skipper Luke Chambers, who started at the centre of the defence alongside James Wilson, was the only player kept in the team from Saturday's 1-1 draw with Sunderland.

Clements, one of four academy graduates in the starting line-up with two more on the bench, was at left-back and Josh Emmanuel at right-back.

Emyr Huws made his first competitive start since December 2018 in central midfield alongside Andre Dozzell.

Dobra was on the left and Edwards, back after his groin injury, on the right with Alan Judge behind lone striker Jordan Roberts.

Jon Nolan was among the subs following his calf injury, while ex-Hatters loanee Flynn Downes was also on the bench.

Luton, who changed their entire XI, included former Blues loan man James Bree from the start at centre-half, while one-time trialist Marek Stech was a sub.

With former boss Mick McCarthy watching from the directors’ box in his new role as Republic of Ireland manager, Luton’s on-loan Chelsea midfielder Izzy Brown hit the game’s opening shot at keeper Norris in the opening minute.

The much-changed Blues took time to settle and on five Hatters captain Andrew Shinnie was played in behind Clements and hit a shot from the right of the box which Norris pawed wide off the woodwork.

And three minutes later, the home side took the lead. After a corner was cleared, the ball was played back in from the right by Brown where it found Jones unmarked and the defender had a simple task of nodding past Norris.

Luton continued to have much the better of it with Brown at the heart of most of their attacking play. On 13 the Chelsea youngster found Harry Cornick on the right but his shot flew over.

A minute later Dobra took the ball across the edge of the Luton penalty area before hitting a shot straight at home keeper James Shea, the Hatters’ third choice.

On 15 Dozzell curled a freekick over the bar after Edwards had been fouled by goalscorer.

However, in the 17th minute, the Hatters doubled their lead from the penalty spot. Emmanuel was penalised for blocking off Lee and referee Brett Huxtable pointed straight to the spot.

Town complaints came unsurprisingly to nothing and Lee slammed the spot-kick to Norris’s right as the keeper dived the other way.

The Blues were still to really get going but in the 27th minute Judge struck a shot which was deflected wide.

But a minute later, Luton again threatened on the counter-attack, but Kazenga LuaLua’s backheel flick from the edge of the area was blocked.

Luke Berry scraped another effort just past Norris’s right post on 31, then two minutes later Roberts battled his way on to the ball on the left of the Hatters box before cutting across to Judge, whose shot was diverted away from goal.

But it was still mainly Luton and in the 35th minute a quick Brown break ended with Lee hitting a shot which Norris saved to his right.

Six minutes before half-time, it was almost 3-0. The ball fell to Berry 25 yards out and the ex-Cambridge man’s low strike flew only just past Norris’s right post.

LuaLua shot not too far wide on 44, then as the half moved into injury time referee Huxtable inadvertently clashed heads with Brown midway inside the Town half with the Luton man coming off worse. Inevitably there were chants of ‘off, off, off’ from the Town fans.

Huxtable’s whistle ended a dismal half for the Blues soon afterwards with Town having been very much second best.

Despite having changed all their XI from Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Cardiff, Luton got on top very quickly and went into an early lead before Town had settled.

The Blues were still to find their feet when the Hatters doubled their lead from the spot and although they started to pass the ball around more fluently later in the half, the home side continued to look more threatening and might even have gone in further ahead at the break.

Too many of Town’s players looked off the pace having played few competitive games either due to lack of recent fitness or inexperience with youngster Dobra perhaps the brightest spark having made one or two tricky dribbles.

Luton withdrew Luke Bolton and LuaLua at half-time in favour of Martin Cranie and Josh Neufville.

The Hatters went close to a third two minutes after the restart, a cross from the right reaching Lee on the left of the area but his effort flew just over. At the other end, a Judge low shot was hit straight at Shea, also from the left of the box.

Nine minutes into the second half the home side did add to their lead. Dozzell committed a foul just outside the area after Emmanuel had failed to clear and Shinnie’s freekick flew past Norris.

Judge was shown the game’s first yellow card for a foul on Brendan Galloway two minutes later, before Lee hit a strike from the edge of the area which was too close to Norris.

Just before the hour mark a Wilson error allowed Cornick to break down the right and tee-up Brown, whose shot was deflected wide.

Danny Rowe replaced Edwards on 61 with the Welshman having benefited from the run-out but unsurprisingly not at his best having not played a game since April.

A minute later, the ball fell to Dozzell in space on the edge of the box but his shot was too close to Shea, who turned the ball over. Soon after, Roberts scraped a low shot to the Hatters keeper.

Town went closer in the 65th minute when, following a corner, Rowe crossed from the left and Shea failed to claim. Roberts turned goalwards but the ball was cleared away from the line.

Luton swapped very impressive loanee Brown for Callum McManaman on 66, before the Blues switched Huws, who again will have benefited from the competitive minutes if some way from his best, for ex-Luton loanee Flynn Downes.

The Hatters continued to dominate and went looking for a fourth, Norris saving from McManaman with his feet, the ex-Wigan man having found a way through the Blues’ defence.

The 1,064-strong Town support finally had something to cheer in the 74th minute when Dobra smashed home a debut goal. The Albanian U19 international picked the ball up from Downes after the sub had won the ball on halfway, brought it forward and inside to the edge of the box before slamming a low strike to Shea’s left and into the net.

With 13 minutes remaining Judge was replaced by Jackson, then on 79 Roberts was booked for a foul on Jones.

After a spell in which Town sent in a couple of dangerous balls from the right but without being able to create a chance, Dobra was booked for a foul on halfway.

Just prior to the fourth official indicating four minutes of additional time, Emmanuel was booked for a foul as Luton broke, the last serious action of a disappointing evening for the Blues.

Having started slowly and conceded early on, Town never looked like they would get back into the game and threaten to claim a place in round two.

The Hatters, who made one more change than the Blues, looked a much slicker outfit from the off with Town thoroughly disjointed with too many players either on the way back from injury or lacking senior experience.

Dobra’s debut goal and display and game time for the likes of Huws and Edwards were the only positives Town could take from the tie.

While manager Paul Lambert won’t be too disappointed at not having another game to add to the Blues’ lengthy fixture list, he will have been unimpressed that his fringe team was swept aside so easily by the Championship new boys.

Luton: Shea, Berry, Lee, Shinnie (c), Cornick, Bolton (Cranie 46), Galloway, Brown (McManaman 66), LuaLua (Neufville 46), Bree, Jones. Unused: Stech, Jervis, Moncur, Pante.

Town: Norris, Emmanuel, Chambers (c), Wilson, Clements, Huws (Downes 66), Dozzell, Dobra, Edwards (Rowe 61), Judge (Jackson 77), Roberts. Unused: Holy, Skuse, Nolan, Kenlock. Referee: Brett Huxtable (Devon). Att: 5,433 (Town 1,064).

Photo: Action Images

mrmorisato added 23:53 - Aug 13 Has anyone noticed that we lost our top goalscorer tonight...Anyone? Yes that's right, our player (or should I say, "loanee") is lost to injury for around a month. He was played in a pointless match tonight, a game for a League 1 club that is never going to really progress far in the cup competition is now not going to play at the weekend in a game that is FAR MORE IMPORTANT! #EvansOut

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BlueHarmony added 23:55 - Aug 13 Back 4 were poor as a unit and not Chambo's fault. Dobra excellent & good to get so minutes in the legs for Huws & Edwards. Judge much improved after his poor touches on Sat, so hope he's turned the corner. Dozzell looked totally uninterested, in the first half especially. Downes, Rowe & Jackson all improved the momentum & creativity. Defo need another striker tho. Roberts worked really hard, but is not a target man. We go again on Saturday. COYB!!

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VanDusen added 23:59 - Aug 13 Eh? Garbutt was injured on Saturday not tonight?! Poor show but at least "Abraca"-Dobra's moment of magic was some consolation.
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BlueHarmony added 00:00 - Aug 14 Mrmorisato: Corbutt got injured last Sat. He didn't play tonight
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BlueHarmony added 00:01 - Aug 14 *meant Garbutt, sorry
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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 00:05 - Aug 14 RobsonWark - that post of yours is absolutely bewildering . To be honest , just makes you look very very silly .
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budgieplucker added 00:08 - Aug 14 Ok - the positives we can take out of tonight's game are to confirm what we already know or some new learnings. Which are:- 1). Jordan Roberts just not good enough at Championship or Division 1 level - confirm we can now discard him and avoid wasting time considering him 2). Andre Dozzell still not ready to compete in tough men's league football 3). Kayden Jackson's first touch is never going to improve, he may have plenty of pace but his football awareness is sadly lacking for this level of the game. A bench player at best. 4). Josh sadly is going to struggle in holding down a place. 5). Bailey Clements is way way off in threatening the left back position but will be better for the experience. 6) PL has proven to ME that his squad is not good enough and justified the need to bring in new players. 7). Whilst appreciating Judges lack of match fitness we are still waiting for at least an assist from him since he arrived back at the beginning of the year. 8) Armando Dobra shows he has enough to make it at this level. 9) That if Flynn Downes is fit he always has to play as there are no other “guts” in this side. 10) James Wilson shouldn't be looking for longer term accommodation after Xmas. 11) We should consider playing Tomas Holy at centre forward as that is the only way we are ever going to look like converting a corner. Genuine good luck to Luton, three seasons ago they were in the non league, a sub standard stadium holding little more than 10,000, they can now play a second eleven and beat us convincingly. 2 season ago we beat them comfortably - how quick fortunes can change. Perhaps this should give us some hope. How much have they spent? In a sense I won't loose sleep over tonight's exit, but the fact that we are not angry about going out of the cup yet again with a whimper shows that we surrender and make excuses too easily. As Mick Mills said there are more injuries occurring on the training ground than during matches and players prefer to play matches as they then do less training and get more rest days. Despite some useful learnings and game time for those who have not been involved I think it is a snub to the several hundred paying supporters who possibly took time off work to get to Kenilworth to give the team the support that has been asked for only to be rewarded with an approach that resembles a preseason friendly.

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runningout added 00:18 - Aug 14 was impressed with quite a bit tonight. Also disappointed with some slackness in 1st half. Giving them a free header and a clumsy penalty given away. Teams seemed even bit Luton wanted it more or that's the impression they gave. Brown was decent for them. Dobra for us. We have a few players that are not taking their chances and making the game more tricky for themselves

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Vanisleblue2 added 00:44 - Aug 14 Well said Budgie Plucker
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Dissboyitfc added 00:59 - Aug 14 Memorisato...... wish I could mark you down twice for your pathetic post! You obviously didn't go Saturday, otherwise you would know he got injured then and not tonight! Keep up. Mrmorisato#out
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Minneapolis_ITFC added 01:30 - Aug 14 Seems like two teams that couldn't give a rat's ass for the particular endeavor, only difference being the opposition had a better assortment of players - even with a changed side themselves. Still, you know what to expect with cup competition and this club so today comes as no real surprise. Would have liked to been involved a while longer but seems a decision was made to not bother and seek elimination as early as possible. Cue the obligatory "we can now concentrate on league matters" Why this club (now) ever enters cup tournaments is something of an enigma , I mean what IS the purpose of our annual involvement/s.

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shakytown added 02:09 - Aug 14 Outclassed and toyed with by a mixture of Lutons 2nd and third choice players. Shows just how low we have sunk.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 05:45 - Aug 14 Not too bothered about exiting this Mickey Mouse competition, but am bothered that with several first-teamers in the squad, we still can't give Luton's reserves a game. How long can we use the “not fit” excuse? I get that Huws has been out a very long time, but I expected more from some of the others. Well done Dobra. Hoping for better things on Saturday. We need to get the momentum going again fast.

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Saxonblue74 added 06:47 - Aug 14 Budgieplucker, agree with every word regarding the players. Jackson in particular, I have never been a big fan and this season so far has done nothing to change my mind. In my opinion it should be PL's number one priority to strengthen in that area if we are to get the best out of Norwood. Yes we could strengthen the back 4 but I think we could easily adopt the "we'll score more than you" tactic with one addition up front, lge1 is there for the taking. I cannot however agree with your comment re travelling fans. Towns line up at Kenilworth rd was obviously going to happen and was in my opinion, the correct choice of personell for round 1 of a cup that is unimportant to us (more so than ever under the circumstances). I thank you for your considered post, and for (along with many other posters) restoring my interest in TWTD. Robsonwark was slowly chipping away at me to the point where I could no longer be bothered with it!!🤣

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BlueHarmony added 06:52 - Aug 14 Minneapolis: at least we can concentrate on the Johnson's paint trophy, or whatever they call it now 😉
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Saxonblue74 added 06:53 - Aug 14 Mrmorisato, perhaps you could focus a little more attention toward matters on the pitch rather than off it?! For all his faults it seems to escape your attention that right now if there's no ME there's no ITFC! But hey, seems your not one for facts?!
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Nobbysnuts added 07:17 - Aug 14 Well that's our cup run over. It was great while it lasted but we were beaten by Luton reserves. Oh dear oh dear.💀
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Dolphinblue added 07:18 - Aug 14 Does anybody in the country, except big clubs who have 50 players, care one hoot about this cup....those who go out are pleased, those who stay in are 😪
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londontractorboy57 added 07:26 - Aug 14 Welcome to new season bluebore81 our first defeat and up you pop!!!!
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shouldistayorcounago added 07:40 - Aug 14 No point being concerned with thia, it wouldn't be a priority for us with a full strength squad and I believe Luton will finish top half of the Champ this year. What's more concerning is the never-ending cycle of injuries. Absolutely gutted about Garbutt. COYB
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ShropshireBluenago09 added 08:07 - Aug 14 Tommy h- Huws and Edwards both coming back from injury
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warktheline added 08:08 - Aug 14 Luton are a fine example of a club, from top to bottom, pulling together striving for success , unfortunately whilst Evans the ‘Trojan Horse' continues to flatter to deceive (successfully) we'll continue this painstaking downward trend! Doesn't take ‘heaps' of money, but a ruddy lick of paint for starters would be a start, as highlighted by Lambert! The owner is gradually sending the club into a dilapidated coma! Shame on you Evans! If Lambert fails to find a winning formula on the pitch I'm sure he'll not hang around too long, and who could blame him!

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Naylorsboots added 08:14 - Aug 14 Now we move on to a thumping at Peterborough. Then the rose tinted glasses will start coming off
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tractorollson added 08:16 - Aug 14 Find it so sad that we dont have any investment in players, i dont understand how a businessman like ME can run a business and not speculate to accumulate. I think it may be a long time before we get any success again the only thing im thankful is that we arent in the financial mess Bury or Bolton are in.
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midastouch added 08:22 - Aug 14 Got to face a Luton supporter at 9am, can't wait! I can't even use the we played a lot of reserves excuse as seems they did too! First half sounded like we were chasing shadows. Things improved in the second half once the like of Rowe and Downes came on. But shows how thin the squad is. The silver lining to come out of yet another cup embarrassment could be Dobra so that's positive at least. AbracaDobra! And Andre Dozzell, scored for us when he was just 16 (like his dad). Obviously has some pedigree with his England youth experience and we know how good a player his dad was. Had some Premier League teams sniffing around him in the last transfer window apparently. But since his injury he's not really done a lot for us. He's struggled to establish himself as a regular. Games like last night are the sort of games you'd expect somebody who was being looked at by Premier League teams to stand out. I saw him against West Ham in the friendly last season and he played a delightful through ball to Harrison which he scored from. I understand he had a brilliant game against Birmingham the match he picked up his horrible injury that put him out for the entire season on the first game a couple of seasons ago (so huge setback obviously). Nonetheless, is he going to be a player that never quite manages to make the grade here though and make good on his potential? Maybe at a different team with better players around him he might look the part. But for some reason (and I'm not sure why) he's just not quite making the breakthrough here, at least not yet. I keep thinking one game soon he's going to rip it up and we'll never look back, but sadly we're still still waiting. We see glimpses and there is definitely some undoubted quality there. But it is a little frustrating that a few years on now (since his exciting debut at 16) that he's still not a regular and affecting matches as much as we'd like. No doubt it must be a cause of frustration to him and his dad too. Time is still on his side but I really want to see him boss a game and make us all stand up and take notice. If you were a scout at the game last night I expect there were several Luton players that would have impressed much more than Andre did on the night. I'm not writing Andre off, I'm just wondering why it's not quite happened for him here yet? I would love him to come good as his dad was a superb player and he did wonders for us and I was really hoping Andre could work some magic for us a generation on.

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