Luton Town vs Aston Villa. Carabao Cup First Round.
Kenilworth RoadAttendance7,412.
Thursday 11 August 2016 08:26, UK
Aston Villa crashed out of the EFL Cup first round as Luton Town came from behind to secure a superb 3-1 win.
Jordan Ayew put Villa in front early on, but the Sky Bet League Two side struck back through Jake Gray before half-time.
Cameron McGeehan then put Luton ahead just after the break before Jores Okore's disastrous own goal sealed their passage into the next round.
The result was Roberto Di Matteo's second defeat in as many games as Villa boss after they lost 1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday in their Sky Bet Championship opener on Sunday.
Di Matteo made seven changes from the side that were beaten at the weekend in an attempt to freshen up his side, and it showed in the early stages as they rattled the woodwork twice.
First, Luton defender Glen Rea turned Jordan Amavi's fierce, low cross onto his own bar after eight minutes, and then again four minutes later when Jack Grealish thundered a shot against the inside of the near post from the edge of the area.
Almost immediately, Villa's pressure told as Ayew fired Villa in front. The striker found himself with the ball at his feet following a corner, and he did superbly to hold off a few Luton bodies before squeezing the ball into the bottom corner from a tight angle.
Villa continued to dominate at Kenilworth Road, but couldn't take advantage and eventually saw their lead cancelled out following Luton's first real attack of the game after 35 minutes.
The home side got forward well down the left, before a few good passes across the box saw Gray slipped into the area down the right, and he made no mistake in finishing past Mark Bunn on his first start for the club.
Di Matteo made two changes at the start of the second half, but they had little impact for Villa as they fell behind just eight minutes after the break.
Luton countered well and forced two fine saves from Bunn, but his second stop eventually ricocheted its way to McGeehan, who had a virtually empty net to tuck the ball into from close range.
The goal rattled Aston Villa as their frailties from last season became apparent again, and after 66 minutes it was game over thanks to Okore's own goal.
The Villa defender had looked uncomfortable all night, and should have done so much better than turn the ball into his own net from a low cross when he seemed to have plenty of time.
Di Matteo's side still had a quarter of the game to respond, but looked bereft of ideas and failed to really trouble Luton, who eventually cruised to a famous win.
