📝 Match Preview: Luton Town (H)

All you need to know ahead of Tuesday's match

26 September 2023

Tuesday night has the big game feel as the Grecians compete in the third round of the Carabao Cup for the first time since 1989!

City face Premier League side Luton Town in a 7:45pm kick-off, under the lights at a SOLD OUT St James Park.

The Grecians made it through to the third round by beating Crawley Town 2-1 in round one, followed by a penalty shootout win over Stevenage after a 1-1 draw.

The Grecians and Luton Town are no strangers, having met 56 times in the League and Cup but have not met since 2018's clash at Kenilworth Road were City fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat.

The visitors have had an impressive rise since 2018 and have been promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history.

Gary Caldwell's thoughts

Gary Caldwell has given his thoughts as City prepare for a Carabao Cup crunch clash with Luton Town at St James Park.

City have the opportunity to match their memorable run from 1989/90, but must defeat a top tier side for the first time since toppling Leicester City in the 1980/81 FA Cup.

To do that, the Grecians must improve on a disappointing week which saw defeats in the EFL Trophy and league, and Caldwell has full confidence in his side.

"I was frustrated after Oxford and the players were too - we played well in parts but not so well in other - but it is a good thing to have such a big game straight away," he said.

"I think there is always pressure at this football club because we set ourselves high standards and we believe we can win every game. We are definitely underdogs because we are playing a Premier League team and we have to put pressure on ourselves to perform and be the best we can be. Tuesday will be no different.

"The main thing is we focus on ourselves."

Hear more from Gary ⬇️

Match Tickets

Tickets are SOLD OUT for the match in advance - thank you for your support Grecians!

How to Follow

If you can't join us at SJP, you can follow all the action by listening LIVE on iFollow. Purchase an audio match pass for just £2.50 in the UK and you'll get access to the stream which includes BBC Radio Devon commentary.

Please note there is NO live video streaming in the UK or Overseas due to the competition rules.

We will be proving live coverage on our Twitter and Facebook pages and will have reaction from Gary Caldwell and a player after the match.

Exeter City on social media

Matchday Family Fun

Going to the football with your family is the perfect way to make memories you treasure, and at St James Park there is plenty on offer pre-match to keep the whole family entertained, and ensure a special day out.

For full details of all the activities happening at SJP on Tuesday, click here.

Key Timings

5:45pm: Players start to arrive and are happy to sign autographs or pose for selfies with you. Why not tweet your picture #SemperFidelis or on our other social media platforms.
6pm: Hospitality areas are in full flow.
6pm: Junior Grecian Zone available to all families (and everyone at half-time to catch the results or use the kiosk).
From 7pm: Watch out for engagement opportunities with your players in the Shop/Fan Zone!

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Sticker book reduced!

The official Exeter City Sticker Album is just £2 this weekend, so no better time to grab a copy from the club shop!

Collect 184 different stickers, ranging from current and past players, club legends, magic moments and more! Buy from the club shop from Saturday. The album includes the first eight stickers!

Each matchday league programme this season will have 8 stickers to collect to fill your book!

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Centre Spot Bar

The Centre Spot Bar will be open from 5pm. After the match, draft pints of Tribute, Carlsberg and Thatchers are on offer for just £3.75 a pint.

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The Centre Spot is also home to The Famous Exeter City Real Ale and Cider Emporium, offering a great selection of real ales and ciders.

Junior Grecians Zone

The Junior Grecians Zone is open to all from 6pm with plenty of activities for all our young Grecian supporters.

In the Fan Zone, the bar and Kenniford Farm's van will also be open for refreshments and hot food.

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Club Shop

The club shop is open all day on matchdays and is stocked with all three of City's kits for the 22/24 season as well as a range of training gear and pocket money items.

Don't forget, Supporters' Trust members, Junior Grecians and season ticket holders save 10% on full prices purchases!

Jungle Path Kiosk

The kiosk on the Jungle Path will be selling pints of Thatchers Big Apple, cans of Thatchers Gold and bottle of Carlsberg, as well as all the usual half time snacks including pies, pasties and beverages.

Food and Drink

One of the most important part of any match day! We have a wide range of hot and cold drinks and snacks available at the kiosk for away fans. CONTACTLESS CARD PAYMENT NOW AVAILABLE!

Kiosk Menu

Kenniford Farm will also be in the Fan Zone with their wide range of local produce including hog roast rolls and chips.

Match Day Programme

The matchday programme the Grecian has a new look for this season, with designers Curtis Sports giving it a refresh!

This Tuesday's issue is a 32 page edition at £2 and can be purchased in the club shop or around the ground from one of our sellers.

Previous Encounter

Luton Town 1 Exeter City 0 | Feb 3, 2018 | EFL Sky Bet League Two

Exeter City slipped to a narrow defeat away from home to league leaders Luton Town in Sky Bet League Two. The Grecians, who spent much of the match without the ball against a strong Luton team, defended well for much of the game but weren't able to hold out.

Harry Cornick's shot in the first half took a wicked deflection off the impressive Jordan Storey and ended up in the back of the net as the Hatters claimed the win.

Match Reports

📝 Match Report: City 1 Luton Town 0

26 September 2023

Demetri Mitchell smashed Exeter City into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup as the Grecians defeated top tier opposition for the first time since 1980.

City’s first appearance in the third round since 1989 welcomed Premier League side Luton Town to a packed-out St James Park for a Tuesday night clash under the lights and it was Mitchell's 83rd minute strike that secured victory.

Manager Gary Caldwell named five changes from Saturday’s league game at Oxford with Jack Fitzwater, Vincent Harper, Kyle Taylor, Caleb Watts and James Scott coming into the starting XI.

Despite Luton seeing the majority of the ball in the opening minutes, it was City who had the first real chance thanks to Harper’s footwork on the left-hand side of the pitch, teasing a low ball across the Luton box. Luckily for veteran keeper Tim Krul, there were no red and white shirts at his back-post to tap home.

Luton were not messing around, forcing City to sure up their defence. A strong tackle from Fitzwater saw off the first attack of the barrage, before Vil Sinisalo pulled out the heroics to deny Luke Berry’s long-range effort. Sinisalo’s near-post then came to the rescue to deny Cauley Woodrow from close range and put an end to Luton’s opening onslaught.

Scott hit a curling effort as hairs raised and stomachs dropped around SJP. Starting its journey from 30-yards out, the ball sailed through the air before finding its way inches from the top-left stanchion. This moment inspired a phase of City attacks, both of which coming from a bit of Demetri Mitchell magic on the left-wing. The first effort was a low venomous cross, which Krul was able to claim. Mitchell then decided to go himself for the second effort, again curled, this time towards the back-post but Krul managed to smother once more.

Luton then came back and piled on the pressure at the Big Bank end, coming close several times. Elijah Adebayo’s close-range header went just wide and minutes later Alex Hartridge’s sliding challenge denied Luton in City’s box, resulting in a corner. This corner then led to pandemonium in the six-yard box, a game of pinball ensued with every Luton effort being blocked by a strong red and white shirt until Adebayo struck from 8-yards out and Sinisalo was able to parry the ball to safety.

Having narrowly escaped, City attacked. Some beautiful link-up play between Carroll, Scott, and Watts ended with the latter firing from outside the box and onto St James Road. Then, Luton claimed the first yellow of the game as former Man United man, Teden Mengi couldn’t keep up with Harper on the left-wing, resorting to lazily clipping his heels.

City momentarily went down to 10 men as Watts went down injured, leaving them exposed at the back. Thankfully, Harper stepped up and pulled off a crucial tackle in his own box to deny Luton from capitalising. Watts then came back on the pitch and in his last moments before being subbed off for Reece Cole, he helped City to win a free kick in Cole territory. Cole’s unfruitful delivery into the Luton box was the last action of the first-half.

Early into the second-half, a wild miscue from Joe Johnson as he tried to pass back to Krul gave City a corner. Said corner was floated around the box via headers from both attack and defence before being cleared to the feet of Cole on the right-hand side of the pitch. Cole then found Mitchell who span a dark blue shirt and found space on the edge of the box to fire one over the bar and into the Big Bank.

A medley of opportunities for both teams followed in the next twenty minutes: notably, Mitchell being set loose on the right-wing and darting to the byline before firing the ball at Johnson, who couldn’t have known much about it. Johnson’s block fell kindly at the feet of Taylor who had time and space to strike the ball from the edge of the box, just wide of Krul’s right-post.

Luton then made a quadruple change, which sparked the beginning of an uncomfortable period of the game for City supporters. Luton berated the City defence again and again but to no prevail, a mix of valiant City defending and misfortune for the Luton attackers meant the game remained level going into the final ten minutes.

In the 83rd minute, some would say against the run of play, City substitute Yanic Wildschut found Mitchell on the edge of the six-yard box, who pounced: smashing past Krul and home in front of the Big Bank. St James Park exploded as Mitchell put City 1-0 up in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Exeter continued to pile on the pressure, creating a couple near chances met by roars from the Grecian support. Mitchell received a second yellow in the midst of the chaotic end but he might have just scored the winner to send City through... They couldn’t, could they?

They could. Exeter City held off Luton Town’s last-ditch efforts to equalize, beating top-flight competition for the first time since 1980 and sending themselves through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup!

The fourth-round draw will take place on Wednesday, September 27.

Exeter City: Sinisalo, Jules, Aimson, Hartridge, Carroll, Mitchell, Scott (Wildschut), Watts (Cole), Taylor (Cox), Fitzwater (Sweeney), Harper (Kite).

Unused subs: Woods, Beardmore, Borges, Richards

Luton Town: Krul, Andersen, Berry, Woodrow (Brown), Adebayo (Morris), Chong (Ogbene), Mengi, Mpanzu, Giles, Johnson (Bell), Doughty (Kabore)

Unused subs: Shea (GK), Burke, Burger, Luker

Referee: James Bell

Attendance: 7360 (708)