Luton Town 3-2 Arsenal - 1988 Littlewoods Cup Final - YouTube [22] Arsenal and Luton had only played each other once in the League Cup; George Graham the present-day manager of Arsenal, scored the decider in a third-round tie on 6 October 1970. [6] A fortnight later, midfielder David Rocastle scored the only goal in the second leg to give Arsenal a 4–0 aggregate scoreline win. The 1988 final regarded as one of the best in the competition's history and most exciting at Wembley, and has been likened to the "five-minute" FA Cup Final of 1979. Team News. [33] Minutes later, Luton had their first chance of the match from a long free kick, taken by Tim Breacker. [32], Luton kicked off the final, and both sides enjoyed early spells of possession, moving the ball about briskly. Event occurs around the 16th-minute mark; live coverage between 14:45pm and 14:47pm. Edit. The 1988 Football League Cup Final (also known as the Littlewoods Challenge Cup Final for sponsorship reasons) was an association football match between Luton Town and Arsenal on 24 April 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London. A mistake by Bradford goalkeeper Paul Tomlinson handed Luton the lead four minutes before the hour, when he gave away a free kick for placing the ball down before picking it up again. The 1988 final was Luton's first major cup victory; their manager Ray Harford later described it as the greatest win in his time at the club. A revitalised Luton staged a late comeback; Caesar's failed clearance led to Danny Wilson equalising, and in the 90th minute, Brian Stein scored the winner after poor defending from Arsenal. Squad Luton Town This page displays a detailed overview of the club's current squad. Without several senior players because of ineligibility and injury, Luton scored early through Brian Stein's strike, and then produced a solid defensive performance, reliant on goalkeeper Les Sealey to earn a place in the quarter-finals. The ball reached the Arsenal penalty area, and goalkeeper John Lukic failed to collect it; Harford got his head to the ball, but it just went over the crossbar. [26] Harford identified David Rocastle as Arsenal's biggest threat and felt they had few weaknesses in the side other than the ability to finish chances. Luton's disciplined approach, coupled with a strong performance by Dibble, contained Arsenal to few chances throughout the game. During the 1988–89 English football season, Luton Town F.C. Relive the glory of arguably the Hatters' greatest day. Luton Town FC Squad, 1988-89. Leeds missed a … [38] Harford, who had been a long figure up front for Luton, still managed to trouble the Arsenal defence with little service; near the end of the first half, he collected a pass from the left, bypassed his marker Adams and aimed his shot at goal, which went wide of the right-hand post. Event occurs around the 44th-minute mark; live coverage between 15:13pm and 15:15pm. Moore, Pleat (1988). [16] Luton hosted Bradford City in the fifth round of the competition on 19 January 1988. [9] In his match report for The Times, Stuart Jones assessed: "Having experienced northing but victory since the end of August, Arsenal are walking around with almost too much belief", and felt complacency was the only issue preventing the club from reaching the quarter-finals. [4], Arsenal entered the competition in the second round, as one of the 22 teams from the Football League First Division. Smith extended their lead and in the second half, Kevin Richardson scored Arsenal's third, profiting from a mix-up between the Bournemouth defenders.