Luton Town 3-1 Stockport County: FLW reports as Jack Wilshere's Hatters win Vertu Trophy | OneFootball

FLW reports from the final of the EFL Trophy, as Luton Town and Stockport County locked horns under the Wembley arch.

Luton Town won the 2026 Vertu Trophy final, beating League One play-off rivals Stockport County 3-1 under the Wembley arch.

Stockport took the lead just after ten minutes thanks to winter signing Adama Sidibeh. A long ball over the top from Odin Bailey sent the striker clean through on goal, and he made no mistake with the finish, lifting over James Shea.

County's lead was short-lived though as Luton levelled 11 minutes later. Manchester City loanee Emilio Lawrence with an excellent finish through Corey Addai's legs after Dave Challinor's men conceded possession cheaply inside their own half.

The match was turned on its head five minutes before halftime via a special strike from Luton's Nahki Wells. A diagonal pass from Kal Naismith found the Bermudian inside the box, who turned beautifully before drilling his strike past Addai.

Wells broke Stockport hearts with his second of the afternoon as the clock struck 90, wrapping up what was an incredible afternoon under the Wembley arch for the Bedfordshire Hatters.

Luton Town 3-1 Stockport County

Luton had a penalty shout inside two minutes waved away by referee Martin Coy. Isaiah Jones was claimed he was clipped from behind by Josh Stokes as he darted into the box, but the man in the middle sided with the latter.

The opening ten minutes set the tone for a high-octane contest. Town gave away possession cheaply in the midfield, which allowed Kyle Wootton to launch a ball over the top to Sidibeh, who was eventually charged down by Hakeem Odoffin.

Two minutes after his first sniff at goal, Sidibeh found the net with his second. Another long ball over the top, this time from Bailey, set the Gambian one-on-one with Shea, who was beaten by a bouncing effort.

Luton came within inches of a quick response in the 18th minute when Naismith's curling cross evaded everyone before kissing Addai's far post. Ethan Pye had to take evasive action as he arrived on the scene to avoid turning it into his own net.

The Bedfordshire side would get their equaliser four minutes after hitting the post though, as Stockport were caught napping inside their own half, which saw Clark find Lawrence on the left flank, and the latter calmly slotted through Addai's legs.

All the chances were coming Luton's way after a strong Stockport start. Naismith was millimeters away from giving Jack Wilshere's Hatters the lead when Liam Walsh's free-kick was headed into his path by Odoffin, narrowly evading the number three's outstretched leg.

With five minutes left in the half, Luton would get their noses in front. Another cheap turnover conceded by Stockport saw Naismith's diagonal pass find Wells, who turned beautifully before burying with an adept finish.

Jones then had a golden opportunity to add a third for Luton when he dispossessed Ben Osborn on the halfway line, leaving him one-on-one with Addai. Somehow, the County defender recovered and put in a goal-saving challenge before the wide-man could unleash a shot.

After five minutes of stoppage time, Coy brought an action-packed first half to a close. Whilst Stockport started the game brightly and were rewarded with an early goal, it had been all one-way traffic against them since then, and Luton looked good value for their lead.

Wilshere's men carried their momentum from the end of the first half into the start of the second. A neat interchange between Lawrence and Kasey Palmer opened up space for Clark to have a crack from distance, but he narrowly curled his effort wide.

Challinor was forced to drop their top goalscorer Wootton into centre-back for the final 25 minutes, after Joseph Olowu was forced off with an injury and County had no central defenders named on the bench.

This unorthodox change put a spring in Stockport's step, as they fashioned an opening moments after Tanto Olaofe and Malik Mothersille were introduced. The ball fell kindly to Ollie Norwood at the edge of the box, whose shot was deflected over by Odoffin.

Josh Stokes then failed to captialise on a fortunate deflection that freed him inside the Luton box with 15 minutes left. The Bristol City loanee had all the time in the world to direct a shot on target, but he drilled his effort just wide of the far post.

Shea produced a moment of magic in the 82nd minute to preserve his side's lead. A Norwood free-kick was directed towards goal by a Stokes header, and the experienced keeper produced an acrobatic save to tip the ball onto his own bar.

As the clock struck 90 minutes, Luton wrapped up their victory with a second from Wells. A brilliant run down the right wing from substitute Shaydon Morris allowed him to find the forward in the box, who found the net at the second bite of the cherry.

Addai was forced into a strong save by substitute Gideon Kodua in the sixth minute of stoppage time, denying the former West Ham starlet what would've been an exceptional solo goal to put the icing on the cake.

As the clock ticked over 100 minutes, Coy brought the game to a close, signalling the start of party time for Wilshere and his Hatters, who managed to get their hands on some silverware in what's been a rollercoaster ride of a season.

Luton Town player ratings

Stockport County player ratings

C. Addai - 3

T. Edun - 3

J. Olowu - 5 (M. Mothersille 65'(5))

E. Pye - 5

B. Osborn - 5

O. Norwoord - 6

J. Stokes - 6 (L. Bate 85'(5))

O. Bailey - 7 (L. Barry 85'(5))

J. Diamond - 4 (O. Dodgson 92'(5))

K. Wootton - 6

A. Sidibeh - 7 (T. Oloafe 65'(5))

Unused substitutes: B. Hinchliffe, C. Gardner

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Match attendance

There was a total of 49,517 fans at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.