Hatters youngster enjoys League Two play-off final win with Notts County

Luton midfielder Jayden Luker won promotion to League One with Notts County on Monday as the Magpies beat Salford City 3-0 in the League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

With more than 20,000 fans making their way from Nottingham to the home of English football, where they easily outnumbered their opponents’ supporters, Luker, who had missed a large part of the season through injury, started in an attacking role, just behind striker Alassana Jatta. After a quiet start, former Coventry player Jodi Jones, who went on to have a starring role, set up the first goal, his pass forward sending Jatta on his way through to beat Ammies keeper Matt Young with a cool side-footed finish after 32 minutes.

It was then 2-0 on the stroke of half time, when Jones’ flighted free kick was knocked high into the danger area by Rod McDonald for Lucas Ness to rise above his markers and power a header into the net. Salford should have pulled one back immediately after the break when Kallum Cesay was sent clear, only for County keeper James Belshaw to smother his attempt.

Luker was then replaced by Conor Grant with 20 minutes left, as Jones capped a wonderful display moments later, reacting quickest to fire Conor Grant’s cross past Young to make it 3-0. Speaking to the Nottingham Post, boss Martin Paterson said: “It's hard to describe in words now because it's too soon. Relief is the word. When you have a final against an opposition that carry lots of threats and are a decent team in Salford, Chesterfield were a decent team and hard to play against in the semi-final, it's a relief.

"It's a relief for a 24-hour period that we've achieved what I came here to do. Supporters today, I don't think you need me to say about the support today - phenomenal, but when I used the word 'phenomenal', I thought my boys were phenomenal. I'm absolutely delighted for the football club and owners. There's a little bit that I'm absolutely delighted for my players, for what I think was the most complete performance they've put together this year. In all facets of the game, they were excellent."

The 21-year-old ends a loan stint at Meadow Lane where he had 17 outings, scoring four goals, including the winner against Chesterfield in the play-off semi-final, also getting three assists too, all of those in the same game against Crawley Town. Luker, who is yet to feature for the Hatters’ first team, will now return to Kenilworth Road where it remains to be seen if he will get the chance to try and force his way into Jack Wilshere’s side for next season’s attempts to reach the Championship.