Swansea grabbed two last gasp goals to see off a depleted looking Luton Town side and deservedly book their place in the next round of the LDV Vans Trophy. A first Swansea goal from Sam Ricketts followed Kevin Nugent's second goal in four days as the home side dominated this tie, perhaps mainly down to the 12th minute dismissal of Luton defender Leon Barnett.
Kenny Jackett made two changes from the side that beat Rushden 1-0 at the weekend, with Brad Maylett and new loan signing Scott Fitzgerald replacing the injured Trundle and Nugent. Newell virtually changed his whole side from their 2-1 weekend win over Peterborough, with star names Howard, McSheffrey, Vine and a host of others all rested.
Starting well, Swansea could have been two goals up within the first two minutes - with Fitzgerald and O'Leary both forcing early saves from Dino Seremet. After just ten minutes of the first half, the home side were awarded a huge advantage when Luton defender Leon Barnett was sent off. The referee had penalised the defender for a foul on Adrian Forbes just outside the Luton penalty area - sending Barnett off for the professional foul.
Despite seeing their opponents reduced to ten men, Swansea could not break down Luton in the first 45 minutes. Their best efforts came from Andy Robinson and Adrian Forbes, who both fired wide of the mark. Luton offered very little in attack, with one wide shot from Calvin Andrew just about all they could muster.
Thankfully, after a dull first half of LDV Vans football, the second half began much brighter, with Adrian Forbes blazing over the bar soon after the restart. Brad Maylett then saw his goal-bound effort saved before Calvin Andrew headed the ball over Willy Gueret's crossbar.
Swansea now began to take the initiative and just moments after Andy Gurney saw his goal-bound header blocked by a Luton defender, visiting goalkeeper Dino Seremet was forced to turn a fantastic 35 yard drive from Andy Robinson around the post.
The home side made their first change after roughly an hour, with Kevin Nugent replacing Scott Fitzgerald - it had been the striker's first start for some considerable time and he was beginning to tire. Swansea continued to push for the evasive opening goal but Luton goalkeeper Seremet was proving hard to beat and held a long range Andy Gurney drive with ease.
Just when the game looked like it was heading into extra time, Assistant Manager Kevin Nugent scored for the second time in four days as he fired home an Andy Robinson cross from within the six yard box. With only seconds of normal time remaining, Luton were dead and buried and the unlikely hero had produced the goods again.
But the fun wasn't over just yet, as moments after the restart, Sam Ricketts raced into the Luton box and curled the ball home from 15 yards. It was a thoroughly deserved 2-0 scoreline that eventually saw the Swans run out comfortable winners.
So Swansea's excellent defensive record continues against high-flying Luton Town. However, with a second-rate side named and playing with 10 men for 80 minutes of the match, Luton were heavily depleted and Swansea mustn't go over the top about this one. Nevertheless, six wins in seven matches speaks for itself and Swansea thoroughly deserved to win this one.
Kenny Jackett made two changes from the side that beat Rushden 1-0 at the weekend, with Brad Maylett and new loan signing Scott Fitzgerald replacing the injured Trundle and Nugent. Newell virtually changed his whole side from their 2-1 weekend win over Peterborough, with star names Howard, McSheffrey, Vine and a host of others all rested.
Starting well, Swansea could have been two goals up within the first two minutes - with Fitzgerald and O'Leary both forcing early saves from Dino Seremet. After just ten minutes of the first half, the home side were awarded a huge advantage when Luton defender Leon Barnett was sent off. The referee had penalised the defender for a foul on Adrian Forbes just outside the Luton penalty area - sending Barnett off for the professional foul.
Despite seeing their opponents reduced to ten men, Swansea could not break down Luton in the first 45 minutes. Their best efforts came from Andy Robinson and Adrian Forbes, who both fired wide of the mark. Luton offered very little in attack, with one wide shot from Calvin Andrew just about all they could muster.
Thankfully, after a dull first half of LDV Vans football, the second half began much brighter, with Adrian Forbes blazing over the bar soon after the restart. Brad Maylett then saw his goal-bound effort saved before Calvin Andrew headed the ball over Willy Gueret's crossbar.
Swansea now began to take the initiative and just moments after Andy Gurney saw his goal-bound header blocked by a Luton defender, visiting goalkeeper Dino Seremet was forced to turn a fantastic 35 yard drive from Andy Robinson around the post.
The home side made their first change after roughly an hour, with Kevin Nugent replacing Scott Fitzgerald - it had been the striker's first start for some considerable time and he was beginning to tire. Swansea continued to push for the evasive opening goal but Luton goalkeeper Seremet was proving hard to beat and held a long range Andy Gurney drive with ease.
Just when the game looked like it was heading into extra time, Assistant Manager Kevin Nugent scored for the second time in four days as he fired home an Andy Robinson cross from within the six yard box. With only seconds of normal time remaining, Luton were dead and buried and the unlikely hero had produced the goods again.
But the fun wasn't over just yet, as moments after the restart, Sam Ricketts raced into the Luton box and curled the ball home from 15 yards. It was a thoroughly deserved 2-0 scoreline that eventually saw the Swans run out comfortable winners.
So Swansea's excellent defensive record continues against high-flying Luton Town. However, with a second-rate side named and playing with 10 men for 80 minutes of the match, Luton were heavily depleted and Swansea mustn't go over the top about this one. Nevertheless, six wins in seven matches speaks for itself and Swansea thoroughly deserved to win this one.