Grimsby Town 3-0 Luton Town: League Two side shock Championship high-fliers in replay

Grimsby Town stunned Championship high-fliers Luton to reach the FA Cup fifth round for the first time since 1996.

Harry Clifton, whose equaliser at Kenilworth Road earned the replay, gave the League Two side an early lead with a powerful strike.

Danilo Orsi's half-volley doubled the lead before a Danny Amos free-kick put the Mariners 3-0 up at half-time.

Goalkeeper Max Crocombe then made a string of saves to secure a trip to Southampton on Wednesday, 1 March.

• Relive Tuesday's FA Cup action

Despite 60 places separating the sides, the Mariners had already knocked out League One sides in this season's cup run, including a 5-1 demolition of promotion-chasing Plymouth Argyle.

Grimsby are currently 16th in League Two, nine points off both the drop zone and the play-off places, but will line up in the last 16 against Premier League opposition as the lowest-ranked team.

Luton boss Rob Edwards made six changes from the starting XI which beat Stoke to go fourth in the Championship on Saturday, but five of that side were named on the bench.

They looked in need of a rescue act after just nine minutes, however, when Orsi burst into the box and teed up Clifton whose left-footed strike beat Hatters goalkeeper Ethan Horvath.

Grimsby Town last reached the fifth round in 1996 when they lost to Chelsea after a replay

Clifton then turned provider, flicking on a throw-in to Orsi whose half-volley found the bottom corner, and an upset looked odds-on when Amos whipped a left-footed free-kick in off the post.

It capped a nightmare first half for the visitors who were firmly second-best and created just one decent chance, at 2-0, when Elijah Adebayo's header, following Gabriel Osho's run, was kept out by Crocombe's fine save.

After a double-change from Luton at half-time, Crocombe somehow kept out Cauley Woodrow's point-blank header early in the second half, and Edwards made two more attacking substitutions before the hour in an attempt to spark a comeback.

Crocombe got down well to his left to stop Luke Berry's drilled shot and then denied Carlton Morris as substitute Alfie Doughty and Woodrow caused problems.

But the resilient Mariners managed the game well, and as the visitors' threat began to fizzle out, Bryn Morris almost made it 4-0, putting his back-post effort inches wide.

Grimsby Town boss Paul Hurst told BBC Radio 5 Live:

"You wonder if your opportunity is gone after the first game even though we were at home today, but a fantastic effort from the players made it a special night for the football club as a whole.

"I genuinely didn't feel confident until the 89th minute, and then I thought surely we can't throw this away. I was happy when I saw three minutes going up.

"We knew a goal could have changed the complex of the game and the feeling in the stadium because they have some fantastic players, they are having a great season.

"It's important that we go there (Southampton) as players, as a club to enjoy the day, but also we have to give a good account of ourselves while we're doing that and try to be as competitive for as long as we can."

Luton Town manager Rob Edwards told BBC Three Counties Radio:

"It was three very disappointing goals, two from a throw-in and a free-kick, areas that we spoke about in the first game and we certainly prepared for.

"They were very ruthless in front of goal from those moments - four shots on target and they scored three. Credit to them they deserved it and we didn't on the night.

"We knew what was coming and that was the most disappointing and infuriating thing.

"We spoke about competing, the basics, running the duels, that's what we always talk about before games, and they did that better than us in those moments."