MATCH PREVIEW: LUTON TOWN
 

What you need to know ahead of Saturday’s rearranged Group D clash…

 

The Match

The U’s host Luton Town in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy at the JobServe Community Stadium this Saturday, 3rd October, with kick-off at 3pm.

 

The fixture was originally scheduled for Tuesday 6th October but has been brought forward to Saturday, following the postponement of Colchester’s League Two fixture against Port Vale due to international call-ups, with the new date agreed between the two clubs.

 

Colchester United and Luton Town have met once before in this competition: a 2008 quarter-final (then the Football League Trophy) which Luton won 1-0 at Kenilworth Road en route to lifting the trophy. In league football, the sides have met four times since 2016, all in League Two, with Colchester winning three of those meetings – most recently a 2-1 win at home on 30 March 2018, with Luton’s win in that run coming 3-0 at Kenilworth Road in August 2017.

 

The Opponents

Luton Town arrive at the JobServe Community Stadium as the reigning Jersey Mike’s Trophy holders, having beaten Stockport County 3-1 in last season’s final at Wembley.

 

Jack Wilshere’s side began the defence of their trophy in style, thrashing Ipswich Town’s Under-21s 6-0 at Kenilworth Road in their Group D opener on Tuesday 22nd September, with Jordan Clark scoring the first hat-trick of his professional career.

 

Colchester’s own Group D campaign began on the same evening, with a heavily rotated U’s side beaten 3-1 away at Peterborough United. Ronnie Harvey scored a brilliant late consolation for the U’s against a Posh side without a permanent manager.

 

Luton head into the weekend with seven players away on international duty during the opening window of the season. Kasey Palmer, Nahki Wells and Izzy Jones have joined up with Jamaica, Bermuda and Guyana respectively for CONCACAF Nations League fixtures, while Jamie Donley and Callum Marshall are with Northern Ireland for UEFA Nations League matches, and Zach Ioannides and Emilio Lawrence are away with the Cyprus and Scotland Under-21 sides for Euro qualifiers.

 

The call-ups have already forced the postponement of Luton’s Sky Bet League One fixtures against Huddersfield Town and Doncaster Rovers, though their Jersey Mike’s Trophy fixtures – including Saturday’s trip to Essex – are unaffected and will go ahead as scheduled.

 

The Matchday

Please note the change of date for this fixture – originally due to be played on Tuesday 6th October, this match has been brought forward to Saturday 3rd October, kicking off at 3pm. Tickets and parking passes already purchased for the original date remain valid for the new date.

 

As a reminder, this fixture is not included within Season Ticket matchday allocations and parking for this game is not included within season ticket parking permits. Tickets and parking for this match must be purchased separately via our ticketing platform.

 

After full-time, we will be keeping the Fanzone, Legends Bar, and Big Screen open for the 5pm UEFA Nations League clash between Croatia and England. This will be open to both match-going supporters and members of the public from 4pm – so stick around, or come down even if you’re not at the match, for even more football at the JobServe Community Stadium!

 

The Ticket Bot will be available for you to purchase tickets for our upcoming home and away fixtures this October and the Ticket Office will be open pre-match for any ticket enquiries.