Izzy Brown shone, shimmied, twisted and thrilled on his Hatters debut as he orchestrated an impressive Carabao Cup win over Ipswich to set up a second round clash at Cardiff.
The transfer deadline day loan signing from Chelsea played little more than an hour until, with aching calves, he was subbed off to savour in a standing ovation.
Flicks, tricks, pace and an unselfish eye for an outside of the boot pass, the 22-year-old former England youth forward wowed the Kenilworth Road crowd with a performance that could’ve only been bettered with a goal of his own.
Instead, as part of a Luton side with wholesale changes, he had to settle for an early assist and a sublime one at that. He dinked over the Tractor Boys’ backline to an unmarked Lloyd Jones who opened the scoring with a headed first goal for the club.
Elliot Lee extended the scoring soon after, winning and converting a penalty before Andrew Shinnie did likewise with an edge-of-the-area free-kick.
But Ipswich clawed one back with a deflected Armando Dobra strike, which flattered the visitors as the hosts had, particularly when Brown was still on the pitch, run rampant.
It was only the Blues keeper Will Norris that kept Town at bay, tipping Harry Cornick’s stinger onto the bar and denying Lee and Callum McManaman, who replaced Brown.
And somehow – not that Lee wasn’t good – the sponsors ignored the new boy when nominating the man of the match. To everyone else, it could only have been Brown.
