Luton Town secured victory in the Vertu Trophy for the second time in the 2026 final at Wembley Stadium, seeing off the challenge of fellow League One side Stockport County under the famous arch.
The game brought together two sides chasing promotion to the Championship for next season, with Stockport seeking to maintain a rise up the football pyramid having been down in the National League North less than a decade ago, and Luton aiming to rebound from back-to-back relegations down from the Premier League.
In front of a crowd approaching 50,000, Luton had an early call for a penalty when Isiah Jones was bundled over the box but it was Stockport who grabbed the lead when Adama Sidibeh was able to find space to race onto a through ball and beat ‘keeper James Shea.
Having gone close to an equaliser when Ethan Pye nodded against his own post, Luton drew level thanks to Emilio Lawrence in an end-to-end first half, and before the break, it was Town who grabbed the lead as veteran Nakhi Wells controlled a cross from Kai Naismith before smashing the ball beyond Corey Addai into the net.
Shea was saved by an off-side flag that prevented him from potentially being in trouble when he raced out of his box and clattered into Sidibeh, whilst Luton could have moved two clear had Ben Osborn not been able to manage a last-ditch tackle on Jones on the edge of the box.
After a slow start to the second half, it was soon Stockport in the ascendancy as County launched wave after wave of attack as the clock ticked down.
A stunning save from Shea with six minutes to go kept Luton out front and then, just after ten minutes of stoppage time had been signalled and with Stockport fans trying to drive their team on, Luton wrapped things up with a third goal.
Wells was once again the hero as he converted a cross from Shayden Morris as the second attempt to give Luton their second win, having previously emerged victorious back in 2009.
It also meant a first trophy as a manager for Luton boss Jack Wilshere, who took charge of the side back in October following the dismissal of Matt Bloomfield.
‘It’s an amazing feeling,” two-goal hero Wells – who is actually older than Wilshere at 35 - said. “A huge thank you to the Luton fans who have been amazing today and it’s fantastic to give them something to celebrate after what has been a difficult couple of seasons.
“We’re at that stage of the season where hopefully a result like this can really galvanise the team and help to shift momentum as we head into the final part of the season and we can look towards better things in the future.
“As a player, opportunities like this to play in a Wembley final don’t come around very often and it’s fantastic that we can leave here celebrating.”
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