Tony Philliskirk and the youth team qualified for the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup with a 3-0 victory against Luton Town at the County Ground in Leyland.

Goals from Will Hugill and George Walters put the young Clarets in a strong position at the interval, with an own goal in the second half sealing a comfortable passage into the next round of the competition for the young Clarets.

In testing conditions, Captain Dan Sassi went close early on with a headed effort and though that went narrowly wide, the defender did have a big role in the opening goal of the contest from teammate Hugill on the half-hour mark.

After Luton’s Ed McJannet had rattled the crossbar from distance, Burnley went ahead from a set piece as Sassi met Dane McCullough’s floated corner and flicked on to teammate Jack Leckie.

As Leckie looped the ball over his head and back across the face of the goal, midfielder Hugill was there to convert with his head from a matter of yards out.

Keelan Williams then tried his luck from a long way out, firing a shot over the bar, but Philliskirk’s side would double their advantage before the half-time whistle.

With virtually the last kick of the first half deep into two minutes of time added on, forward Walters showed a poacher’s instinct to react quickest and convert the rebound when Sean Etaluku’s initial shot at goal had been saved by Luton goalkeeper Jacob Cowler.

Luton – two divisions below the young Clarets – enjoyed a period in the ascendancy after the restart and forced Burnley shot stopper Sam Waller into some smart saves, the most notable a point-blank header from Town’s Adam Wedd which Waller reacted to quickly to keep out.

At the opposite end, Kade Ratchford went close to adding a third for Burnley after meeting Etaluku’s low cross and though Cower saved that effort, he couldn’t keep out another attempt soon after.

Etaluku – a livewire throughout the evening – whipped a cross into the box with Hatters’ defender Wedd deflecting the ball into the back of his own net, sealing the result for good.

Philliskirk was able to rotate his side in the closing stages with qualification now secured, bringing both Will Couch and Trevon Bryan off the bench to see the game out.

Burnley will now face either Liverpool or Fleetwood Town away from home in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup with those two sides playing out their third-round tie on Saturday, December 11.

Coincidentally, next up for the young Clarets is a home game against the Reds. They will welcome Liverpool to Gawthorpe in the U18 Northern Premier League on Saturday, December 18 with an 11am kick-off scheduled.

Burnley: Waller, Williams, Leckie, Sassi, McCullough, Etaluku, Bauress, Hugill, Ratchford (Couch 74’), Coppack, Walters (Bryan 77’)

Subs: Casper, James, Westley, Behan, Grant

Luton Town: Cowler, Pinnington, Bateson, Wedd, Heron, Corbit, Burger, Newton, McJannet, Allen, Lynch

Subs: Bentley, Nelson, Moffatt, Martucci, Hemlin, Matthews, Odell