Jack Wilshere said his Luton Town side used a dominant EFL Trophy win to vent their recent frustrations. The Hatters thrashed Ipswich Town’s under-21 side 6-0 in the Jersey Mike’s Subs Trophy group stage on Tuesday night, with Jordan Clark scoring a first senior hat-trick.
Wilshere made six changes to his starting line-up. Kal Naismith and Joe Johnson returned after being out of the side, while Devante Cole made his first start of the season. The manager was pleased with the reaction after home defeats to Stevenage and Bradford City, which form part of a run that has seen the team pick up just eight points from their first seven League One games, leaving them 16th in the standings.
“I thought the boys were really good,” Wilshere said. “I thought their attitude and mentality to the game, how they applied themselves, I spoke about it yesterday, there was a lot of frustration in the room for a number of different reasons.”
Clark opened the scoring after 18 minutes and completed his treble shortly after half-time. Cole, Johnson and substitute Dawid Gawel also netted their first goals for the club in a comprehensive victory. The result provides a welcome boost ahead of a return to League One action, where Luton will look to improve on a recent form line that shows just one win in their last five league matches. The squad's full stats for the season reflect the need for this attacking spark.
Wilshere highlighted his team’s intensity against a young Ipswich side that tried to play. “They executed everything, I thought their intensity, against teams like Ipswich and under 21 teams, you have to be really switched on because they’re really brave, and they want to play,” he added.
The win moves Luton into a strong position in their Trophy group. Attention now turns to a league fixture against Doncaster Rovers at Kenilworth Road on Saturday, October 3rd, a key match in their upcoming fixtures. The squad will hope the confidence from this result carries into that match as they look to climb the table.
Read the full report at lutontoday.co.uk
