Birmingham boss Chris Davies saluted Jay Stansfield after his winner against Sheffield United, saying that there is more to come from his £15million striker.
The England Under-21 international found a route to goal three minutes from time to secure the Blues a 2-1 win and progress to the second round of the Carabao Cup.
Davies said: “Jay is full of energy, enthusiasm. He’s growing as a player – and he keeps delivering.
“People forget how young he actually is. He came here with a big price tag and with a lot of expectation.
“But I can see him growing and getting better, season by season. He’s such a humble lad, professional. He concentrates, listens.
“And he’s so dangerous. He can score off both feet. To read it the way he did in a big moment – there was a real coolness about it.”
Gus Hamer’s spectacular effort from the halfway line cancelled out Kyogo Furuhashi’s fifth-minute opener.
But Sheffield United boss Ruben Selles acknowledged making 10 changes from the side that was defeated 4-1 by Bristol City on Saturday had made life difficult.
Selles said: “The game was difficult for us. We managed to come in one down at half-time and then we scored but we didn’t have the game management to keep the game as it was.
“We gave opportunities to young players – sometimes mistakes happen. But we need to prepare some young players for the future.
“But they had more situations than us.”
Selles hailed Hamer’s strike, which took the visitors to within three minutes of forcing a penalty shoot-out.
“We know his quality. When we have him on the pitch we have more control,” he added. “He is a player that can change games – and he did that tonight.”
