Che Adams was the star of the show after he scored a hat trick in Birmingham City’s 5-1 win over Crawley Town in the First Round of the Carabao Cup.
After a summer full of hype, Birmingham were brought back down to Earth on Saturday after losing 1-0 to Ipswich Town. Crawley also suffered disappointment on the first day of the season when they lost 3-1 to Port Vale.
And for Crawley, their trip to the West Midlands never seemed liked it was going to be a good one. Che Adams and David Davis fooled the defence with a one-two which gave Adams the space to finish with an impressive shot from 20-yards out. Davis would get a goal of his own as well when he scored a stunner after beating several players before smashing the ball home to make it 2-0. The game was pretty much over before the end of the first half when Adams got his second when a Jonathan Grounds effort landed at his feet, giving him the perfect opportunity to score.
In the second half, things didn’t really change. David Cotterill was able to put in a good cross and Robert Tesche was able to head in to make it 4-0. Adams then capped off his man of the match performance when he used his pace to get free in the box before placing the ball into the back of the net, getting him a hat trick.
Crawley did have some life to them though and did get a consolation. New signing Panutche Camara was allowed to turn at the edge of the box and was able to hit the ball into the corner. It may not mean much in the big scheme of things, but a goal for Camara here will give him confidence for the rest of the season.
Birmingham will now progress into the Second Round of the Carabao Cup, though all their attention will be on Saturday’s match against Bristol City. Crawley wills still be looking for their first game of the season when they face Cheltenham Town on Saturday.