Cumbrian star Dean Henderson impressed with a clean sheet on his Manchester United debut.

The goalkeeper, from Whitehaven, earned praise for a superb second-half save in the Red Devils' 3-0 Carabao Cup victory at Luton Town.

The 23-year-old former Carlisle United academy player denied the home side's Tom Lockyer with an excellent reflex stop.

The 80th-minute save helped Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side remain in front at Kenilworth Road after Juan Mata's first-half penalty. Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood later scored to seal a 3-0 victory.

Henderson's stop was described as "brilliant" by former Republic of Ireland striker Clinton Morrison, who was summarising on BBC Five Live.

"He's shown his quality there," Morrison said. "He hasn't had much to do, but when he had to, he made that save."

"When you don't have a lot to do as a goalkeeper, that's when your mental strength has to come in, and you can switch off," Morrison added.

"But it was a really good save, with a strong hand.

"I thought he was good with his feet [as well]. He was brilliant. It was a really good debut - and he will put pressure on David De Gea."

It meant a successful start to first-team life on a landmark night for Henderson, who was otherwise seldom tested by Championship side Luton.

The keeper later admitted it had been a dream come true to make his first start.

"I dreamt about this my whole life!" he tweeted. "Unbelievable feeling to make my debut for the club I love!! Clean sheet and a win to top it off!!"

He was given the nod with Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solksjaer resting first-choice No1 De Gea for the cup clash.

It was Henderson's first chance to impress Solskjaer in front line action, following a series of impressive loan spells, most recently at Sheffield United.

The Cumbrian is hoping eventually to unseat De Gea for the regular No1 slot, as well as pushing for a first England cap.

His debut came nine years after Henderson was snapped up by the Old Trafford club from Carlisle, Henderson then aged 14.

Solskjaer, speaking ahead of the game through Man Utd's official channels, said: “He’s been waiting patiently for so long…well, I can’t say patiently, because he’s very driven, he’s had a great desire to be playing for Manchester United, and finally he gets his first competitive game for us.”

It was a proud day for Whitehaven, with Henderson having grown up in the Hillcrest area and gone to St Benedict’s School.

The keeper's promotion to the first team at Man Utd may also be good news for Carlisle.

The Blues stand to benefit from certain clauses in the deal which took the young keeper to Old Trafford in 2011.

Carlisle have not disclosed any of the details of the agreement but suggested some rumours circulating about potential windfalls connected to a first-team debut for Henderson were inaccurate.

A Blues spokesman told the News & Star yesterday: “This deal was done in 2011, when Dean was a 14-year-old.

“We understand that while Carlisle United do get some add-ons, some of the speculation as to what they are is wide of the mark.”

One of Henderson's legendary predecessors wished him well ahead of his debut.

Alex Stepney, who kept goal for Man Utd from 1966-78 and won the European Cup and League title with the club, tweeted: "Very best wishes to Dean Henderson tonight on his Utd debut."