Birmingham City 2-1 Sheffield United: Stansfield’s Late Strike Cancels Out Wonder Goal From Hamer | OneFootball

Sheffield United were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Birmingham City as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at St Andrews on Wednesday evening.

The game barely settled down when Dovydas Sasnauskas played a poor back-pass to the goalkeeper which saw Kyogo Furuhashi pounce. The Blades equalised through a world class strike from Gustavo Hamer on the halfway line. However, Jay Stansfield had the last laugh when his shot from the edge of the box took multiple deflections on its way past Adam Davies.

Ruben Selles made 10 changes from the opening game defeat to Bristol City as he handed a debut to Djibril Soumare in the middle of the park.

Lineups

Birmingham: Beadle, Laird (Osayi-Samuel 67), Klarer, Doyle (Paik 67), Furuhashi (Stansfield 55), Gray (Anderson 45), Leonard (Dykes 76), Willumsson, Cochrane, Iwata, Cashin.

Unused: Allsop, Neumann, Gardner-Hickman, Fujimoto.

Blades: A. Davies, McCallum, Cannon, O’Hare (Peck 45), Soumaré (Hamer 55), Robinson (Bindon 55), Ukaki (Brooks 82), Oné (Campbell 55), Curtis, Marsh, Sasnauskas.

Unused: Cooper, Barry, Norrington-Davies, Seriki.

First Half

The hosts were gifted an opener inside five minutes when youngster Dovydas Sasnauskas sold goalkeeper Adam Davies short with a back-pass. Demarai Gray pounced, squaring for Kyogo Furuhashi to slot home from close range into an empty net.

Looking for an instant reply, Marsh showed both his defensive and attacking work rate before Ukaki fired a left-footed shot agonisingly over the bar. Furuhashi then passed up two gilt-edged opportunities to extend the lead before the interval, with the best one following a Sasnauskas error.

The Blades carved out chances of their own as the half wore on. A high press saw Oné curl towards goal, only for home skipper Klarer to head over. Then, right on the stroke of half-time, Tom Cannon turned smartly and struck the outside of the post from 20 yards.

Second Half

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – AUGUST 13: Gustavo Hamer of Sheffield United celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Carabao Cup first round match between Birmingham City and Sheffield United at St Andrew’s at Knighthead Park on August 13, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

United made changes at the break, with Sydie Peck replacing Callum O’Hare. Bindon, Hamer and Campbell were also introduced on 55 minutes as Soumaré exited the field following a promising debut. Moments later, Ukaki headed over from an excellent Sam McCallum cross.

Controversy struck when Ethan Laird thought he had doubled the hosts’ lead, powering in a header from a corner at the near post. However, referee Gavin Ward had already blown for an infringement inside the box after the set-piece had been taken.

The Blues’ sense of injustice deepened when United equalised in bizarre circumstances. The ball appeared to strike referee Ward before breaking kindly for Gustavo Hamer, who unleashed a stunning strike from the halfway line that completely deceived the back-tracking James Beadle.

But the hosts were not to be denied. After bringing the ball down at the back post, Dykes laid it off to Jay Stansfield on the edge of the area, and he Cruyff turned a sliding Sydie Peck before unleashing a left-footed low driven shot which took a deflection, wrong-footing Davies and restoring the advantage with just a few minutes remaining.

Sheffield United’s losing start to the season continues, and they will look to turn things around when they travel to Swansea City on Saturday afternoon.