George Hirst’s 51st-minute header saw Town to a 1-0 victory over Champions League qualifiers RB Leipzig in the opening 60-minute match at the Innsbruck Cup at the Tivoli Stadion. Hirst nodded home off the underside of the bar as the Blues impressed against last season’s third-placed Bundesliga finishers.
Town named a side which is likely to prove a mix of first-team starters and fringe players
Vaclav Hladky was in goal with Dom Ball again at right-back and Leif Davis on the left and Luke Woolfenden and Elkan Baggott at the centre of the defence.
Skipper Sam Morsy was joined in central midfield by Marcus Harness with Kayden Jackson wide on the right with Conor Chaplin and Omari Hutchinson to his left behind striker George Hirst.
Leipzig, who have been at a training camp in north-eastern Italy, named a strong side including Manchester City target Josko Gvardiol, on-loan Liverpool forward Fabio Carvalho and Denmark international Yussuf Poulsen but there was no place for skipper and Hungarian international keeper Peter Gulacsi and German international Lukas Klostermann defender, who are on their way back from injury, or German international former Chelsea striker Timo Werner.
Town started brightly in their orange away kit but the Bundesliga were first to threaten in the seventh minute Amadu Haidara playing a ball through for Benjamin Sesko, having won the ball and beaten a couple of men but Hladky was off his line to claim on the edge of his area.
Slovenian international Sesko, a recent signing from RB Salzburg, probably should have put his side in front a minute later when Woolfenden’s header only half-cleared a corner. The ball was nodded back in and Sesko looped a header towards goal but Hladky got across to his right to save.
On 10, Davis picked up a loose pass on the Town left and played a pass in for Hirst, who appeared to be caught on the edge of the box as he looked to turn but referee Olcay Bingol showed no interest.
There minutes later, there was a big scare for keeper Hladky when he allowed a gentle Woolfenden back pass to roll under his foot and only just wide. From the corner, Poulsen looped a header over when he should have done better.
Despite those moments of danger, the Blues were preventing the Germans from creating opportunities, playing more conservatively than they would against teams from their own level against top class opposition controlling possession.
In the 20th minute, a ball was floated from the right over Woolfenden but it struck Sesko’s shin and bounced harmlessly wide.
A couple of loose passes from Davis put Town under threat as the half moved into its final five minutes but his teammates in the backline, and Baggott in particular, helped him out.
The half ended 0-0 with the Blues having given a decent account of themselves in a game which followed an unusual pattern for a Town match with the opposition seeing most of the the ball and Kieran McKenna’s men forced to sit in and keep things tight in the manner many teams did against them last season.
The only real chances were Sesko’s header which Hladky saved and the Czech keeper’s slip which almost led to an embarrassing Bryan Gunn-style own goal. At the other end, Town were yet to threaten Leipzig keeper Leopold Zingerle.
Leipzig made two changes ahead of the second half with Christoph Baumgartner and Lenny Hennig replacing Poulsen and Mo Simakan.
The Blues started the half positively, Hirst attempting to backheel towards Jackson from Hutchinson’s through ball but a Leipzig defender intercepted.
On 37, Sesko brought the ball in from the left but ran into trouble, however, Harness’s backheeled attempted clearance fell to Emil Forsberg, whose shot was well-saved to his right by Hladky.
RB were less in control in the second half, perhaps a result of being a week behind the Blues in pre-season. On 45, Jackson sent a ball across from the right but with no Town player in the centre to meet it.
A minute later, the German side might have gone in front, Carvalho playing in Forsberg to his left but the Sweden international’s shot was blocked by the sliding Conor Chaplin.
In the 50th minute, Hirst did well to feed in Hutchinson on the edge of the area, but the on-loan Chelsea man’s touch let him down and the danger was gone.
A minute later, the Blues took the lead. Davis looped over a cross from the left and Hirst rose between two defenders to power a header into the net off the underside of the bar.
As Leipzig looked to get back on terms, Morsy was booked for a foul on Haidara, but the free-kick came to nothing.
In the penultimate minute, Town should have made it 2-0. Hutchinson was sent away and held off his man and burst through on goal. However, the youngster took too many touches and was forced wide and his effort from a tight angle was eventually saved by Zingerle.
But the Blues didn’t need the cushion of a second goal, referee Bingol’s whistle confirming their victory moments later.
Town boss McKenna will be delighted not just with a win against a Champions League side but probably more with the manner of the performance.
For long spells, particularly in the first half, the Blues were forced to play more the way teams facing them approached games last season, keeping it tight while not seeing too much of the ball, which they managed well, limiting RB’s chances.
In the second, with Leipzig less firmly in control, Town worked their way towards the opposition penalty area on more occasions and Hirst brilliantly took his opportunity when it came, his third goal in four pre-season matches.
The Blues take on Werder Bremen in their second game of the day at 4pm with McKenna fielding a different team. In between the two Town matches, which are both being shown live on TownTV, the two German sides will face one another.
One man who won’t be involved in the second match is keeper Christian Walton, who is being left out as a precaution due to a minor foot problem.
Town: Hladky, Ball, Woolfenden, Baggott, Jackson, Morsy (c), Harness, Davis, Hutchinson, Chaplin, Hirst. Subs: Slicker, Carr, Bradshaw, Ayinde.
RB Leipzig: Zingerle, Simakin (Hennig 31), Haidara, Poulsen (Baumgartner 31), Forsberg, Carvahlo, Moriba, Sesko, Gvardiol, Novoa, Kampl. Unused: Blaswich, Koehler.