Luton made the most of their second chance in the Vertu Trophy as they beat Plymouth Argyle 2-1 at Kenilworth Road to reach the semi-finals.
They were reinstated in the competition after Swindon Town were found guilty of fielding two ineligible players in their last 16 tie, which The Robins had won 2-1.
And Jordan Clark’s late penalty secured a home game against Northampton Town next week, with a place at Wembley at stake.
Both managers opted for strong line-ups, although Argyle had to make a late change when Brendan Wiredu had to drop out of their already-named starting XI, with Bradley Ibrahim taking his place.
The visitors had the first opportunity when Xavier Amaechi was played in one on one, but keeper James Shea was out quickly to deflect his finish away for a corner.
Luton went in front on their first clear sight of goal as Jake Richards’ cross eluded everyone except Isaiah Jones, lurking beyond the far post, and Conor Hazard could not prevent his angled shot from crossing the line.
The home side lost defender Teden Mengi to injury after he went down near the touchline, but Hazard remained the busier keeper, saving well from George Saville – playing the 500th club game of his career – and Jordan Clark after the break.
And Plymouth, who have won their last three league games, were gifted an equaliser when Shea slid out of his box to clear but only found Tegan Finn, who calmly sidefooted into an empty net from 30 yards.
With time running out, though, Mathias Ross brought down Nahki Wells in the box and Clark made no mistake from the spot to send Luton into the last four.
Julio Pleguezuelo was just too high with a header as Plymouth tried to level again, but that was as close as they came with Kasey Palmer forcing another save from Hazard at the other end as Jack Wilshere’s team held on for victory.
The second semi-final will see Doncaster Rovers at home to Stockport County.
