Luton manager Nathan Jones called his side “naive” after they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup with a 3-2 first-round loss to League Two Newport.
Despite leading twice through Carlos Mendes Gomes and Tom Lockyer, Luton watched the Exiles hit back thanks to goals from Lewis Collins and Chanka Zimba before James Waite struck the winner with 15 minutes remaining.
Jones said: “It’s disappointing because I thought we’d had enough. We had enough chances in the first half, the (first) goal is a clear foul, then just defend, we’re very good at defence.
“We’re one of the best non-possession teams in the league, that’s who we are and that’s what I said.
“I think one or two of them today were very naive, very naive about certain aspects of their game that allowed Newport to win the game.”
It was Mendes Gomes who lit the tie in the half-hour, firing into the top corner from 35 yards, but County equalized six minutes later when Collins stuck home.
After the break, Lockyer also finished impressively after five minutes, but Zimba restored the level two minutes later.
Waite later won it after Matt Macey botched Zimba’s effort and Newport assistant boss Carl Serrant said: “We’re absolutely thrilled, the trophy is a disruption to the club, I’ve only been here a short time but we’ve got that tradition carry on.
“We’re overjoyed, we made the change, showed how strong our squad is and scored great goals.
“In the first half we struggled a bit to get used to the level playing against a team that was in the championship playoffs last season. They’ve made changes but it’s still that stature of the club.
“We have a squad of players that we believe in and they’ve given James (Rowberry, manager) a real headache now for the upcoming games in choosing a team.”
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