Hatters boss Kevin Blackwell was a delighted manager despite seeing his side slip to a narrow Carling Cup defeat over Everton.

After matching Everton through 120 minutes of football, the Premiership side edged their way into the next round after Tim Cahill's strike in the first half of extra time.

But Blackwell was still more than happy with his player's performance and felt they were more than a match for David Moyes' side.

"We kept in there right until the end. It just wouldn't pop in for us. You have to give the lads a lot of credit. After going behind to a Premier League side, it didn't effect them, they just kept going.

"I thought it was a fantastic finish from start to finish from the boys so it's pure credit to the players.

"David Moyes has come in after the game and even he has said that you couldn't tell the difference between the status. I think you couldn't tell who had the money and who hadn't.

"I thought both teams had a real go and they have had to put on their big boys at the end and rescue a situation, which I'm sure Moyes felt should have been away from him.

"The boys kept going and when you look at losing Furls after 20 minutes, someone who has been our talisman all season, it left us with a very young strike force.

"However, we got stronger as the game went on and stretched Everton all the way. "