Nahki Wells bagged a Wembley brace as Luton came from behind to win the Vertu Trophy to earn Jack Wilshere his first silverware as a manager.
The striker, who was an injury doubt before the clash, doubled up in the first minute of time added on to put Town’s hands on the prize, but this final was won courtesy of a thrilling first half and a resolute second.
Wilshere said of Wells: “I’m really happy for him and I’m really grateful to him because he didn’t train this week,” he said.
“He came off on Monday with a tight groin, he trained a little bit yesterday and we wanted to wait for him for his experience, his know-how, his ability to lead the group.
“He’s probably by his own admission not scored the goals he wanted, but I’ve spoken so many times about how much more he brings.
“Of course we want him to add goals and he got that today, but he’s a leader and his energy around the place, we’re really grateful for that.”
That nous was needed after Stockport County took an early advantage when, at the third time of asking, a ball over the top of Town’s defence saw Adama Sidibeh give Mads Andersen a five yard head start and still race through to slot past James Shea.
The 34-year-old keeper, on his long-awaited Wembley debut, would have two memorable major moments go his way in the second period, but from the second they conceded, the orange Hatters were brilliant.
Even before the opener, Isaiah Jones went tumbling in the County penalty area, but referee Martin Coy was unmoved. Instead, Jordan Clark, Liam Walsh, Kasey Palmer and Emilio Lawrence dismantled their rivals.
The latter got Luton quickly back on terms, when Clark played him into space and walloped a shot between keeper Corey Addai’s legs.
From there, Ethan Pye almost scored an own goal, but the post came to the rescue.
Kal Naismith almost got a toe to Hakeem Odoffin’s header but, moments later, the skipper played a ball to Wells who found a first touch from the gods to give him the freedom of Wembley to pick his spot.
Jones perhaps should have made Town’s dominance pay with a run though on goal after picking the pocket of Stockport’s last man, but as his eyes widened he wasn’t alert to Ben Osborn chasing him down and was left crumpled on the turf when the County man slid in to deny him.
By the interval, the only down side was that Luton hadn’t put the game to bed. And so it proved to be a game of two halves. Yet Stockport weren’t as clinical, as was proved when Josh Stokes blazed wide when well placed. He was then denied by Shea, who tipped his close range header on to the bar and then celebrated like he’d scored a goal himself.
But the next best thing was that, just as ten additional minutes were indicated to encouragement of the County fans, Shea started the move that crushed their hope.
Newly introduced Shayden Morris found Wells in the box and though his first shot was blocked, he pounced on the rebound to send 35,000 Hatters behind the goal into raptures.
There would be no late Stockport show and the Bedfordshire Hatters could savour a glorious nerve-free finale and the club’s second EFL Trophy triumph, separated by 17 rollercoaster years.
The wonder now is whether there might be one last high this season, in the form of a late surge into the League One play-offs that could return them to Wembley in little over a month’s time.
Anything’s possible when you consider that the Hatters were eliminated from this competition by Swindon, only to get reinstated when the Robins were found to have fielded two ineligible players. For now, Luton are not only a team hitting form at the right time, but a side that sniffs at adversity and has, at long last, discovered how to claim big results.
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