There was late heartbreak for Argyle, as Luton Town won late to knock the Greens out of the Vertu Trophy.
The hosts took the lead early on through dynamic wing back Isaiah Jones, but were pegged back in the second-half by substitute Tegan Finn.
Jordan Clark converted a late penalty to knock the Pilgrims out of the competition, after Mathias Ross brought down Nahki Wells.
Tom Cleverley opted to make two changes to the side that won spectacularly against league leaders Cardiff City on Saturday.
Xavier Amaechi came into the side for Lorent Tolaj, the former making his first start for the Pilgrims since their victory in the previous round of the Vertu Trophy against Bristol Rovers.
There was then a straight swap on the left. Matty Sorinola took the place of Caleb Watts, who moved to the bench.
Two changes soon became three, with Brendan Wiredu coming out of the warm-up injured. Bradley Ibrahim took his place.
This meant that it was Conor Hazard in goal, with an unchanged back four ahead of him containing Joe Edwards, Ross, Alex Mitchell, and Wes Harding, from right to left.
Malachi Boateng partnered Ibrahim in the heart of midfield; they were flanked by Amaechi on the right and Sorinola on the left.
Fresh from scoring a brace three days earlier, Bim Pepple led the line and was supported by Ronan Curtis, who played just off the Canadian.
There was an early chance for the Greens when the ball fell to Amaechi inside the Luton penalty area. The winger took the ball past Gideon Kodua and lofted a strike over James Shea in goal, but it bounced wide of the left post.
Argyle kept up the early chances; crosses from the flanks caused chaos inside the hosts’ penalty area, with it looking as though the Pilgrims could find success using those means of attack.
Luton soon snapped into life; Clark was very handy in midfield for the Hatters, combining well with those around him to pick holes in the Argyle rearguard.
They eventually found an opener, just 15 minutes into proceedings. Jake Richards picked the ball up on the edge of the area and was shepherded wide by the Argyle defence. The Greens expected him to lay it off, so they stood off the playmaker, allowing him space to arrow an excellent cross toward the back post. Jones had evaded both Harding and Sorinola and forced the ball beyond Hazard, who was only able to palm the strike into the side netting.
The goal, along with a few injury stoppages, hampered the momentum that Argyle had built up to that point in the first half. Whilst the contest was still a relatively close one, neither side were able to create much in the way of shooting opportunities.
Despite the referee awarding six minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first period, Argyle were unable to craft anything capable of troubling Shea, a reset at the interval was much needed.
It was not a major shock to see Caleb Watts and Jack MacKenzie brought into the fold at the beginning of the second half; Amaechi and Ibrahim were withdrawn.
These changes saw MacKenzie slot in at left back, Harding move to right back, and Edwards play in Ibrahim’s vacated midfield role.
Clark came close from a clever corner routine; he was allowed space to shoot at the edge of the box. Fortunately, it was blocked by Curtis and then Boateng before Hazard collected it.
The tempo had certainly risen in the second half; both teams were enjoying more success on the ball and beginning to test Shea and Hazard in their respective goals.
Luton nearly found the net again in a very similar fashion to their opening goal. Shayden Morris burst down the right; however, this time, Jones’ strike was too hard, and it flew well over the crossbar.
Next came an Argyle chance; Harding came close to latching onto the end of Mitchell’s flicked header, but was beaten to it by Shea, who was quick off his goalline.
Fresh from scoring four on Saturday for Argyle’s under-18s, Finn was introduced just after the hour mark, Sorinola making way in what was an attacking change for the Pilgrims.
He shortly made it five goals in the space of four days when he levelled the game with time beginning to run out for the Greens.
It came from nowhere really; George Saville’s under-hit backpass caused Shea all sorts of problems. Curtis closed the goalkeeper down, forcing him into a sliding challenge that knocked the ball to Finn, who received it centrally.
The 17-year-old kept his cool and passed the ball into the vacant net. Shea was left helpless, having come off his line in his attempt to clear his lines after Saville’s error in possession.
With just over ten minutes left on the clock, it was all to play for. Argyle seemed buoyed by their equaliser and went in search of a winner.
Pepple had a chance he would have hoped to have done better from; it came after Curtis’ hard work kept the ball alive in the Luton penalty area. The winger was persistent, eventually knocking it to Pepple, who curled an effort over from a difficult angle.
However, it would be Luton who would snatch it. Wells chased a long ball in behind the Argyle defence, and was closely pursued by Ross. In his attempt to get himself back alongside the Luton striker, Ross clipped Wells’ heels, leaving referee Ben Speedie no choice but to award a penalty.
Up stepped Clark, who was never going to miss after the performance he had put in. The midfielder kept his spot kick central, thrashing it past Hazard, who had dived to his right.
Julio Pleguezuelo was soon introduced for Edwards; his first touch was a header from a corner. It sailed straight over the crossbar from close range, a miss the Greens would go on to rue.
To their credit, the hosts did well to manage the game in the remaining minutes, ensuring they emerged victorious and progressed to the semi-final of the Vertu Trophy.
It was not to be for Cleverley’s side on the evening, with full attention now turning to Sky Bet League One, specifically the trip to Rotherham United this coming Saturday.
Luton Town: 1 James Shea, 3 Kal Naismith (capt), 5 Mads Andersen (38 Joe Johnson, 46), 6 Davy van den Berg (54 Kasey Palmer, 65), 15 Teden Mengi (17 Nigel Lonwijk, 33), 18 Jordan Clark, 21 Nahki Wells, 23 George Saville, 25 Isaiah Jones, 27 Jake Richards (32 Emilio Lawrence, 90+5), 30 Gideon Kodua(14 Shayden Morris, 46). Substitutes: 24 Josh Keeley (gk), 44 Harry Fox.
Goals: Jones 16, Clark 89
Argyle: 1 Conor Hazard, 2 Mathias Ross, 8 Joe Edwards (capt) (5 Julio Pleguezuelo, 90), 10 Xavier Amaechi (17 Caleb Watts, 46), 15 Alex Mitchell, 19 Malachi Boateng, 23 Bradley Ibrahim (3 Jack MacKenzie, 46), 27 Bim Pepple, 28 Ronan Curtis, 29 Matty Sorinola (39 Tegan Finn, 65), 45 Wes Harding. Substitutes: 13 Zak Baker (gk), 21 Luca Ashby-Hammond (gk).
Goals: Finn 77
Booked: Edwards 55, Ross 88, Hazard 89
Referee: Ben Speedie
