Leeds United edged past Championship side Birmingham City in an FA Cup fourth-round thriller, winning 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at St Andrew's. The Premier League outfit secured their place in the fifth round, keeping alive hopes of a first quarter-final appearance since 2002-03.
Birmingham had the better of the first half, with Jay Stansfield hitting the post and Kanya Fujimoto missing a rebound. Leeds manager Daniel Farke admitted his side were outplayed initially, saying, 'No question Birmingham were the better side in the first half.' He brought on Ethan Ampadu at half-time to add physicality, and within four minutes of the restart, Lukas Nmecha capitalised on a defensive slip to score the opener.
The hosts refused to fade, and with a minute of normal time remaining, Patrick Roberts equalised with a left-footed strike from 25 yards that deflected off James Justin. Extra time yielded no further goals, setting up a penalty shootout. Lucas Perri saved Tommy Doyle's spot-kick, while Roberts blazed over. Sean Longstaff converted the decisive penalty to seal Leeds' victory.
Both teams rotated heavily, making six changes from their previous league outings. Birmingham wore a special retro kit replicating the blue-and-white stripe design from the 1971-72 season, and the passionate crowd created a formidable atmosphere. Despite the defeat, Birmingham manager Chris Davies expressed pride, saying, 'I thought we were deserved winners. We had all the grit, effort and determination but the quality to match.'
Leeds, now unbeaten in seven games except for a loss to Arsenal, showed character to recover from a poor first half. Farke praised his team's resilience, though he described the performance as 'far from champagne football.' The tie was played without VAR, which will be introduced from the next round.
