Swindon Town were dealt a late gut punch as a last-second own goal saw them exit the Vertu Trophy with a 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City.

Swindon showed themselves to be up to the task of downing the League One leaders for the second straight cup tie in the first half as they kept them at well beyond arm’s length.

Ayumu Yokoyama gave the visitors the lead before Harry Smith headed Town level before getting the unfortunate final touch on the corner.

Defeat sees Swindon’s longest run in the Vertu Trophy come to an end since the introduction of a group stage.

Ian Holloway made five changes from the weekend’s line-up and amidst the backdrop of defensive absentees, handing a second professional start to Ant McCormick. Jake Cain, Joel Cotterill, Kabongo Tshimanga, and Danny Butterworth all came back in from the start.

Birmingham were always going to arrive and assert their heavy possession game against Swindon and they did just that from the off, stroking the ball around confidently among their defenders. But they were also happy to get their attacking riches going, with McCormick, Will Wright, and Jack Bycroft all making early defensive interventions.

The Blues were slick as they dinked and dunked their way up the pitch and Marc Leonard seemed to have been hand-picked by Tom Brady with how he struck deep balls in behind from the pocket.

But Swindon were giving nothing away for free with how aggressive they were in winning the ball back. They were also able to knock the ball around nicely themselves when presented with the opportunity.

The first moment when the switch was flicked by the visitors came after 17 minutes when Luke Harris exchanged passes with Lyndon Dykes and fired at goal from the edge of the box but Bycroft beat the ball away with his palms.

Swindon had some quality of their own and from a deep free kick, Butterworth and Cain conspired to get the former Blackburn Rovers man in down the left side of the box. He slammed a ball into the near post where it struck Tshimanga but it bounced kindly for Birmingham and they could clear.

Ayumu Yokoyama was the livewire for Birmingham and he was picked out down the right and found the space to play a teasing ball through the six-yard box. That illuded Alfie May but Billy Kirkman accidentally flicked the ball against his own crossbar before stabbing it behind.

Birmingham eventually managed to tamper down the resistance from Swindon after about 35 minutes as they nudged them backwards. Yokoyama and Ethan Laird were both creating space for themselves down the sides but Swindon were organised enough in the middle to prevent them from causing any major trouble.

Wright galloped through the left half-space after he and Aaron Drinan won the ball and cut the ball back towards Joel Cotterill. Birmingham frantically hacked that to the edge of the box before Tshimanga smashed the ball against a defender and it deflected behind.

At the break, Town would have been delighted with how the game was going. Despite the territorial and possession dominance of the League One side, the quality and quantity of chances had not been much different.

But just four minutes into the second half Town were punished after McCormick was caught on the ball by May. He slipped Yokoyama clean through and he finished confidently to give Birmingham the lead.

This saw Swindon push up and Tunmise Sobowale’s cross was spooned behind with Drinan lurking behind him.

In a game which had largely been toe-to-toe, Yokoyama was the clear sign of quality and he again jinked his way into room for a cross which found Laird at the far post but Bycroft came up big.

Far from charging on to try and get a second and run away with things, Birmingham were largely looking to slow the pace of the game down and Swindon were getting their attacks in even if Peacock-Farrell had not been the busiest man in Wiltshire.

As they hung in there, it was only ever going to take a moment and it arrived when Wright received a throw-in and hung a cross up the back post. Smith got above his marker and headed back across goal and into the net.

Both teams were duelling for the winner, with Birmingham threatening from out wide but Swindon had danger of their own on the counter.

But with the game seeming destined for penalties Birmingham won a corner. Alexander Cochrane curled it into the near post and with 18 players inside the six-yard box it struck off Smith and into the back of the net.

Town’s surprising cup journey came to an abrupt end having given so much and matched Birmingham for the duration but just coming up short in heartbreaking fashion.

STFC starting XI: Bycroft, Sobowale, Wright, Cotterill, Cain, Kilkenny, Tshimanga, Butterworth, Drinan, Kirkman, McCormick.

STFC substitutes: Barden, Ofoborh, Glatzel, Smith, Chard, Ameen, Alston.

BCFC starting XI: Peacock-Farrell, Laird, May, Leonard, Dykes, Gardner-Hickman, Cochrane, Sampsted, Davies, Harris, Yokoyama.

BCFC substitutes: Allsop, Klarer, Jutkiewicz, Wright, Pendleton, Betteka, Home.