Birmingham City thrash Fulham U21s with a comfortable 7-1 win to progress through to EFL Trophy knockout stages.
Jay Stansfield and Ayumu Yokoyama both scored twice, while we also saw goals from Alfie May, Keshi Anderson and Lyndon Dykes, despite Martial Godo initially levelling the scoreline.
Birmingham sit top of their group with 7 points from 3 games played, Walsall are 2nd with 5 points from 2 games, Fulham U21s 3rd with 3 points, and bottom is Shrewsbury with 0 points from 2 games.
“The first one was brilliant, the second even sweeter.” ⚡️
Ladies and Gentlemen, Ayumu Yokoyama. pic.twitter.com/7GtEkrKJ6L
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) October 29, 2024
The way Jay is clapping him. 😂
Enjoy the rest of your evening, Bluenoses. pic.twitter.com/flJaQrPh0V
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) October 30, 2024
Birmingham (4-2-3-1): Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Alfons Sampsted, Christoph Klarer (Captain) (Ben Davies 67), Dion Sanderson, Alex Cochrane (Ethan Laird 67), Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Marc Leonard, Willum Willumsson (Keshi Anderson 60), Ayumu Yokoyama, Alfie May, Jay Stansfield (Lyndon Dykes 60).
Substitutes not used: Ryan Allsop, Tomoki Iwata, Paik Seung-ho.
Booking: Gardner-Hickman 50.
Fulham Under-21s (4-2-3-1): Alex Borto, Oliver Gofford (Bradley de Jesus 78), Eddie Nsasi, Samuel Amissah, Jonathan Esenga, Chris Donnell (captain), Chibby Nwoko (Terrell Works 64), Kristian Sekularac (Lemar Gordon 78), Joshua King, Martial Godo, Callum Osmand (Aaron Loupalo-Bi 64).
Substitutes not used: Alfie McNally, Danon Park, Farhaan Ali Wahid.
Booking: None.
Referee: Dale Baines.
Attendance: 6,900.
Possession – BIR 64%-36% FUL
Shots – BIR 33-4 FUL
Shots On Target – BIR 13-3 FUL
Corners – BIR 4-4 FUL
Fouls – BIR 16-3 FUL
Speaking to BluesTV post-match, Birmingham boss Chris Davies said on 21 year old Ayumu Yokoyama: “He is young, has come from Japan, it is not easy, he hardly knew a word of English when he came, so he has been working at learning that, learning how we play, how we play in England because it is different here. It is so physical and competitive, but he has showed what skills he has. He has high-level technique, is excellent one v one.
“He is working hard for the team and his two goals were a joy. I had a great angle for both of them and they will do his confidence the world of good.”
He continued: “I think you can tell from the response from the fans and from Lyndon that he wanted and needed that goal because he has come on in a lot of games and contributed when we are seeing a game out, or even at the weekend he was a real presence in the game.
“But goalscorers, they thrive off goals, so I was really really happy for all his hard work and that he was able to get a goal.”
Marc Leonard said: “I am sure that everybody in-house knows our goals and it is the same as any other game, we treated this game like a league game as an FA Cup game. Our ambitions and our goals have been made very clear. Hopefully, you can see that from the performance we put on.
“They made it hard in the first-half, played some good stuff and we took a little bit to get going. But in the second-half, we came out and dominated, some moments of quality from the boys in the front line. I was really happy for Ayumu and Lyndon and the boys that scored – it was a good night all round.
“It is frustrating sometimes when you don’t get as many minutes as you would like, but that is football and I understand that the team have been doing really well. For me, it is just about keeping my head down and working hard.
“I love to play football and I love to get shots off, so it means that when I do score it means it is going to be an absolute worldie!”
Here’s how fans reacted after Birmingham thrash Fulham U21s with a 7-1 win to progress through to EFL Trophy knockout stages…
@SimonRobbins19: I’ll say it again we need to take this into the league and finish teams off when we have the chance.
@edward_w97: Things you love to see. An U21 side in the EFL Trophy getting absolutely slapped.
@SussexBluesOSC: Clinical finishing 🔵⚽️
@SwannyHypno: Seven 😂😂😂 fuck these U21s teams shouldn’t be in the tournament
@BcfcPrinceton: Why dont they put bottom end champ teams in this trophy. U21s is obv a big ask of the youngsters. Id rather see us play plymouths, cardiffs, qprs and milwalls and the likes of in that trophy than that sort of pressure on prem kids. U21 clubs dont stand a chance
@jonathanandgill: The ride your on, I can see you guys heading to Wembley, must be a great time being a Blues fan.
@hayley_nails: Fantastic performance especially making seven changes 💙🥳🤗
@TheBlueFallows: 📽 From the makers of A Nightmare On Elm Street, A Mutilation On Bordesley District. Coming to a cinema near you this Halloween. 🗡🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🎃 #BCFC
@_BlueTube_TV: A superb display from blues tonight. We never took our foot off the pedal and witnessed a Chris Davies masterclass in teamwork tonight. Birmingham 7 – Fulham u21 1
@ryankellysays: Magical performance, that. Actually felt sorry for the Fulham kids by the end. Absolutely made up to see Yokoyama and Dykes get their first goals. Thor was a beast. Brilliant. #KRO #BCFC
@HappySnapp37405: Good result for the squad in general. May back scoring, Dykes 1st goal, Yokahama with 2 great finishes, Jay doing the usual, Thor with 3 assists!! and nobody injured. Quality all round. 🙂 #bcfc
@YouBearsssssss: Been going down the Blues for 30 years and I’ve barely missed a game and I have NEVER seen us Score more than 6…. We just Scored 7 and I was NOT there 😭 So typical… (Even if it was only v Fulham Under 21s…) 😭 #BCFC
@almajir: 36 goals in all comps and it’s not even November yet. Not too shabby #bcfc
@Kieranbcfc2: Whilst there’s the obvious caveat, that was sensational from Blues. Just utterly knackered out a young Fulham side and then made them pay with some wonderful moves. There was also a clear desire to go and grab more, that needs to carry over to the league now. Chris Davies ball 😍
@REASONSTOL1VE: a professional performance from the lads especially in the second half and good to see yokoyama and dykes getting their first goals! onto sutton in the fa cup on sunday! 💙
@monkeyH78: Pissing the league. Walloped a prem club 7-1 on the road to Wembley. Prob smash Sutton 5/6-0 Sunday. Stano and May free scoring. Thor getting more assists than LeBron James. Unstoppable. What a side. KRO #bcfc
@mylescoles_: Not forgiving TGH. Should’ve been 8 🤬 #BCFC
@sadiewadey12: I do not give two fucks if that was a cup game! The confidence we can take from that! The players can bring that into the league! Oh yeah we might just go to Wembley 🤣🤣!! #KRO #BCFC
@connor_t94: That will do nicely. Goals for Dykes and Yoko feel big. Yoko needs to be the first name on the team sheet on Sunday. #BCFC
@alanfcrawford1: Jimmy Hill, Hugh Grant, Michael Jackson, Uri Geller – your boys took a hell of a beating!!! #BCFC
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