Birmingham beat former boss Steve Bruce’s Blackpool to reach FA Cup third round

Birmingham came back to haunt former manager Steve Bruce in the FA Cup as they overcame Blackpool 2-1 at Bloomfield Road.

The Blues battered their hosts in the first half, scoring twice through Lyndon Dykes and Lukas Jutkiewicz, and a second-half strike from Jordan Rhodes for Blackpool failed to force extra time.

Birmingham’s obvious desire for a strong start paid off when Dykes smashed home after a scramble from a corner in the seventh minute.

Fan favourite Jutkiewicz then poked home a rebound to extend Birmingham’s lead afer 24 minutes.

Blackpool boss Bruce, who played for Birmingham before managing the club between 2001-2007, made four changes at the break and the hosts came out fighting in the second half.

They pulled a goal back through one of those changes as Rhodes fired home in the 56th minute.

Somehow, the Blues did not restore their two-goal lead 10 minutes later, when substitute Paik Seung-ho missed from a yard after Dykes had headed across the face of goal from a corner.

But that did not prove costly as the hosts never really created a clear-cut chance to end the tie to extra time as City eased into the third-round draw.