Finley Evans had a dream debut becoming Luton Town’s youngest ever goalscorer as the Hatters despatched Brighton Under-21s to progress to the knockout stages of the Vertu Trophy.
Jerry Yates’ first half double put Town in charge of the tie, but the night belonged to a teenager who may just have had the best half term of any kid in town. He was even named man of the match.
At 16 years and 271 days Evans made it 3-1 after Seagulls centre half Noël Atom stroked in what turned out to be a consolation and that strike saw him take the youngest scorer record from perhaps the club’s greatest ever player, Ricky Hill, who was 17 when he first netted.
The Luton debutant was named in the heart of the Hatters’ defence from the start, having only been told the day before by new boss Jack Wilshere that he’d feature, while Harry Fox came off the bench for his senior bow.
But Evans’ name might be in the history books for a while as he was at the back post to ram home.
He said afterwards that the night had been a “surreal experience”.
On his history-making strike, the youngster told the media: “I scored and hands on my head, I just couldn’t believe it. It’s a surreal feeling. I don’t think I’ll sleep tonight, to be honest.”
He added: “I didn’t realise what I’d done at the time. I just thought I’d scored a goal. Then, it obviously turned out it was a lot bigger than I imagined.”
Evans, who joined the Hatters in the under-10s, revealed that his friends and family had bought tickets to the game and hadn’t told him and after the final whistle he celebrated with them, revealing his mum and sister were crying.
Luton boss Wilshere made his Arsenal debut at 16, when Evans was a baby and the youngster said of Town’s new boss: “I can only thank him. He’s put me in this position. He had faith in me before the game, no pressure on me.
“Jack was so calm about it, I didn’t think it was real. I thought I was just filling in for someone. Then we got to the team meeting at 5ish and I saw I was on the board.
“He put no pressure on me whatsoever, he just said ‘go out there and do your thing’. All the coaches, Chris [Powell], Tim [Corcoran], they’ve just all been outstanding.”
Wilshere, who steered a Hatters side to two consecutive wins for the first time since opening two games of the season, said of Luton’s new history-maker: “I’m over the moon for him.”
Recalling his debut at the same age, the 33-year-old added: “We spoke to him a little bit yesterday, but I always remember when I made me debut at a young age and Arsene [Wenger] saying to me after that he didn’t want to talk to me too much, he just wanted to let me play.
“I kind of let him do that and I thought he was outstanding in the end. Of course, to top it off with a goal in front of his family, in front of the fans.
“I said to him after the game, ‘it’s important, you’ve experienced it now. League One will be a little but harder, a little bit different. You have to use that experience to keep growing and when the come over with us next time, make sure they’re a little bit better.
“I liked him the first day I saw him. He was confident in training. When he was getting pressed hard he was calm and he found passes.
“He’s a left-footed centre back and there’s not many of them around. He’ll take some time and we need to be patient with him. He needs to play with the U21s and keep getting better and better, but we know he can do a job for us, for sure.”
The goal was the icing on the cake of an expectedly comfortable performance from Luton, despite nine changes, which also featured the return from injury of midfielder Liam Walsh and a first start for Hakeem Odoffin.
It was the two players that started Saturday’s 1-0 League One win at Northampton that turned assisters, when first Gideon Kodua picked out Yates to covert at close range, while Cohen Bramall’s cross was handballed for the striker to double his tally from the spot six minutes later and edge in front as the club’s top scorer this term.
Mads Andersen had hit the post before the scoreboard was altered, when he perhaps should have scored, but substitute Lasse Nordås had Town’s best chance when Yates played him clean through but he couldn’t beat the Albion keeper.
The young visitors should’ve scored straight after but squandered the chance, only to take the next one. But Brighton’s resurgence last only five minutes before Evans confirmed Town as Southern Group H table toppers to progress to the next round of the Vertu Trophy, while rewriting a record that had stood for 49 years.
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