Birmingham City opened their season with a battling 1-0 victory over Swansea City in the first round of the EFL Cup, with August Priske scoring the decisive goal.
Priske struck just before half-time, converting Carlos Vicente's ball across goal after Swansea failed to properly deal with Alex Cochrane's lofted free-kick.
The goal came against the run of play, with Swansea having created the better opportunities during the opening period.
Debutant Joseph Opoku almost made an immediate impact when he found Adam Idah, but the striker's effort was comfortably dealt with by Birmingham goalkeeper James Beadle.
Fellow new arrival Eli Just also had chances to put the hosts ahead.
He fired narrowly wide after finding space inside the penalty area before wasting another opportunity following a clever run.
Birmingham offered little attacking threat from open play but looked dangerous from set-pieces, and that eventually proved decisive.
Priske's finish was only his second goal for the club since joining in January.
Neither team managed to establish much rhythm after the break, with the contest becoming increasingly scrappy as Birmingham focused on protecting their narrow advantage.
Swansea's best opportunity to equalise arrived when substitute Zan Vipotnik flicked on a corner towards Ben Cabango, whose effort was pushed away by Beadle.
The Blues successfully saw out the closing stages to secure their place in the second round and will be encouraged by beginning the campaign with an away victory after struggling on the road in the Championship last season.
Swansea, meanwhile, were left to rue their missed opportunities and the defensive lapse that ultimately decided the tie.
