By james art The U’s turn their attention to Emirates FA Cup action on Sunday, visiting League One leaders Birmingham City at the VBS Community Stadium in the first round.
Last wait
Sutton United bounced back from two home defeats with a narrow win at Cressing Road, with former Braintree Town player Will Davies scoring the only goal in a contested game.
Braintree came out of the blocks early in the first half, with Lewis Annesley having a goal disallowed for a foul on Jack Sims, allowing the U’s to gain a foothold in the game and enjoy the better of the first half, although not managed to test home goalkeeper Lukas Kovolan before the break.
However, the visitors started the second half in fine form and opened the scoring when a wonderful team move saw Ashley Nadesan combine with Josh Kohli to send the latter over the line, his pass met in the middle by Davies who beat Sutton in front to head The U’s to a first win in four outings thanks to some heroic defending from their back line for the rest of the game.
Watch the highlights here.
The opposition
Birmingham City are a side looking to bounce back from a disappointing run of form in recent years, but are on the mend for a poor recent spell.
The former FA Cup winners have spent around half of their history in the top tier of English football and have largely remained in the top two divisions going back to the 1800s, apart from a brief stint in Division 3 in the late 1980s and early 1990s, although they found themselves back in the third tier at the end of last season after years of struggling at the wrong end of the Championship, with relegation confirmed after Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn Rovers all won, to ensure safety on the last day of the season.
However, the change in ownership signals a change in fortunes for the Blues, with American footballer Tom Brady becoming a minority owner in July 2023. The injection of finance looks set to spark a hopeful rise back into the top flight for Birmingham, with a number of high-profile signings in St Andrews in the summer with a new manager in the form of former Brendan Rodgers assistant Chris Davies. Goalkeepers Ryan Allsop and Bailey Peacock-Farrell joined from Hull City and Burnley, while Ligue 1 goalscorer Alfie May along with Jay Stansfield joined from Charlton Athletic and Fulham, the latter arriving for a Ligue 1 record fee of £20m after a successful loan spell at St Andrews the previous season. They were joined up front by Emil Hanson, Ayumu Yokoyama, Lyndon Dykes and Scott Wright, while Willum Tor Willumsson, Mark Leonard and Tomoki Iwata added quality to the midfield, with the latter adding defensive cover in front of defenders Christoph Klarer and Alex Cochrane.
The Blues have subsequently enjoyed a great start to the season in Ligue 1, with nine wins and just one defeat. They won seven in a row before their first loss of the season at Charlton Athletic, but bounced back quickly and are unbeaten in their last three league games.
Recent form
Birmingham City 7-1 Fulham Academy
Mansfield Town 1-1 Birmingham City
Birmingham City 2-0 Bolton Wanderers
Lincoln City 1-3 Birmingham City
Shrewsbury Town 0-4 Birmingham City
Charlton Athletic 1-0 Birmingham City
The manager
Chris Davis
Former Reading and Wales junior Chris Davies arrived at St Andrews in the summer, replacing Tony Mowbray on the hot seat after interim spells from Mark Venus and Gary Root.
The former midfielder began his playing career at Reading when he arrived at the Madejski Stadum in 2001, but was forced to retire in 2004 due to an arthritic foot condition. He subsequently moved into coaching and worked as youth coach at Leicester City before taking on roles in the United States and New Zealand, including a stint as youth coach at Hawke’s Bay United where he worked under Jonathan and Bobby Gould.
He would later work with Brendan Rodgers at Swansea City and contribute to the Swans’ promotion to the Premier League in 2010 and follow the Northern Irishman to Liverpool in 2012, with the Reds narrowly missing out on the Premier League title in his first season . Davies would leave Anfield following the arrival of Jurgen Klopp and return to Reading, where he worked as a first-team coach before reuniting with Rodgers at Celtic, helping them win the domestic treble for just the fourth time in the club’s history. as well as breaking their 100-year-old record for consecutive unbeaten home games (69). They would then win the treble again in Davies’ second season and later follow Rodgers once more at Leicester City, again enjoying much success as the Foxes with two consecutive fifth-place finishes and wins in the 2021 FA Cup and Community Shield.
This preceded a spell as assistant manager to Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur before taking up his first managerial role at Birmingham City.
One to watch
Alfie May
Alfie May has set League One alight since arriving at Birmingham City and is their top scorer with five goals so far this season.
A Millwall academy player, May was released aged 14 and subsequently joined Corinthians before spells at Billericay Town, Chatham Town, Bromley and VCD Athletic followed. He later joined Erith & Belvedere where he scored 38 goals in 45 appearances and later enjoyed similar form at Hythe Town with 37 goals in 45 appearances which was followed by a loan spell at Farnborough.
His non-league form sparked interest from Football League clubs and he would turn professional with a move to Doncaster Rovers, scoring his first professional goal in a 1–1 draw with Luton Town. May ended a three-year spell in Yorkshire with ten goals in 92 games, joining Cheltenham Town in 2020, where he would become the Robins’ top scorer in the EFL and leave the club with 67 goals in 165 games.
He would later make a name for himself during one season at Charlton Athletic, winning the PFA League One Player of the Year and EFL Player of the Year awards and being named in the PFA League One Team of the Year and the EFL League One Team of the season, while also winning the Ligue 1 Golden Boot with 23 goals.
Played for both
Charlie Lakin
Solihull-born midfielder Charlie Lakin began his career in Birmingham City’s academy, joining from Walsall in 2008, where he rose through the ranks. After featuring frequently for the Under-18s, Lakin would finish the season with two goals from 13 appearances for the Under-23s and signed his first professional contract at the end of the 2016/17 season.
His involvement in the Blues’ first team was soon to increase and he was named among the reserves for the FA Cup fourth round away trip to Premier League side Huddersfield Town, before making his senior debut in the replay ten days later . Lakin would later make his EFL debut at the start of the 2018/19 season and would become a regular in the squad for the start of the year before losing his place due to injury.
Loan spells at Stevenage and Ross County preceded a final exit from St Andrews in 2021 when he joined Burton Albion, with the last of three spells in 2023/24 coming at the VBS Community Stadium. Lakin would go on to enjoy a great few months at Sutton, scoring eight goals in 21 league games and winning both the supporters’ and players’ Player of the Season award.
Team news
Jaden Harris and Finley Barbrook are back from suspension and available for the away trip to Birmingham City after missing the win at Braintree Town last week.
Hayden Muller has begun his transition back to full training and could soon be available to race after recovering from a thigh injury sustained in early September.
Harry Ransom, Ryan Jackson, Edwin Agbaje and Louis Simper remain absent.
You can watch Steve Morrison’s full pre-match interview here.
Officials
Ben Atkinson is the man in the middle on Sunday. In his second season as an EFL referee, Atkinson makes his first officiating visit to the VBS Community Stadium. He was in charge at Swindon Town last season and his only previous FA Cup tie in the competition was the first round tie between Slough Town and Grimsby Town last season.
How to follow
video
This match is broadcast live on ITV1.
At the VBS Community Stadium
We still have tickets available for Sunday’s Emirates FA Cup tie at home to Birmingham City. Tickets must be purchased online and there will NOT be any tickets available for personal sale on the ground on the day, but subject to availability will remain on sale until kick-off on Sunday. Click HERE to purchase.
Ticket prices:
Adult: £21
Discount: £15
Junior (14-18): £7
Under 14s: £1
Seats, whether in the Ideal Medical Solutions Family Stand or the Main Stand, cost £25, £19, £11 and £4 respectively.
Tickets are required for entry; season tickets are NOT valid for this match.
Sutton supporters should gain access via gates A or C as usual, but note that the covered terrace behind the Gander Green Lane end gate is reserved for Birmingham supporters on Sunday.
Remember, there are no replays in the FA Cup competition this season, so Sunday’s game will go to extra time and penalties if necessary.
There are no trains through West Sutton station on Sunday due to engineering works. Trains from Victoria to Sutton are running as normal.
Clock set
The U’s will wear their amber home kit. You can buy a replica version here.