Carabao Cup: Luton Town 3-2 Gillingham - Hatters reach third round in Kenilworth Road return

Jacob Brown opened the scoring after just 96 seconds at Kenilworth Road

Luton marked their first game at Kenilworth Road this season with victory over League Two Gillingham in the Carabao Cup second round.

Jacob Brown opened the scoring after just 96 seconds before Alfie Doughty's magnificent free-kick doubled the Hatters' lead before half-time.

Jayden Clarke gave the Gills hope after the break, only for Cauley Woodrow to restore Luton's two-goal advantage.

Tom Nichols made it 3-2 but the hosts held on.

Luton chief executive Gary Sweet had described Tuesday evening's game as a "significant landmark" for the Hatters, who had to postpone their opening Premier League match at Kenilworth Road in order to complete a £10m renovation of the Bobbers Stand to meet top-flight standards.

The home side rose to the occasion with a fantastic start, Brown rifling Luke Berry's knock-down into the far corner to the delight of the Hatters fans.

Gillingham, who were in the same division as their hosts as recently as 2019, responded well to falling behind but there was little they could do about Luton's second from Doughty, who played a short one-two with Berry before curling the ball past Gills keeper Glenn Morris from 25 yards.

The visitors reduced the arrears ten minutes into the second half, when Clarke raced down the left flank before cutting inside and calmly lifting the ball over the onrushing Tim Krul.

Clarke's smart finish appeared to spark the Gills into life and they spurned two good opportunities to restore parity, Krul blocking Ashley Nadesan's goal-bound shot with his right leg before Macauley Bonne blazed over the crossbar from a corner.

Those misses ended up proving costly, as Woodrow latched on to Shadrach Ogie's poor clearance and finished magnificently from inside the penalty area to put Luton 3-1 ahead.

Second-half substitute Nichols glanced a header past Krul with two minutes remaining to set up a nervous finish, but the Hatters held on to claim their first victory of the campaign.

Luton welcome West Ham to Kenilworth Road in the Premier League on Friday, while Gillingham - currently second in League Two - visit Grimsby on Saturday.