Gnakpa strike sinks Colchester

Luton pulled off a shock 1-0 win over Colchester to earn a place in the Southern Area final of the JP Trophy.

Luton advance to Southern Area final

The Football League's bottom club Luton pulled off a shock 1-0 win over League One Colchester to earn a place in the Southern Area final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. Claude Gnakpa's 29th-minute goal was enough to see the Hatters - still stuck on minus six points at the bottom of League Two - dispose of their higher league opponents. After a quiet opening period it was the hosts who had the first chance when Wayne Andrews cut in from the left in the 24th minute and unleashed a 25-yard effort that was tipped aside by Dean Gerken. Five minutes later Luton were ahead when Rossi Jarvis cut the ball back from the left byline for Andrews to strike a 16-yard effort that was deflected in by Gnakpa from six yards. Colchester responded and almost drew level five minutes before the break when Scott Vernon's thunderous 15-yard volley came back off the underside of the crossbar from Johnnie Jackson's corner. Luton then had another lucky escape five minutes after the interval when Jackson ran into the penalty area past Ian Roper and Jake Howells only to see his 14-yard effort hit the inside of the post and fly across the goalmouth to safety. A rare second-half chance for Luton saw Jarvis curl an 18-yard free-kick just past the post in the 55th minute, but Colchester piled on the pressure late on and substitute Steven Gillespie was guilty of a glaring miss nine minutes from time when he side-footed wide from eight yards with the goal at his mercy. Then, deep into injury-time, Conrad Logan pulled off a stunning save from Anthony Wordsworth's close-range effort to ensure Luton went through.