Well, that’s not how we’re used to it panning out. Not only did Bristol City beat Preston North End 2-1 on Wednesday night, they did it courtesy of a last-minute winner while Rob Atkinson mirrored the heroics of Birmingham City’s Auston Trusty by scoring twice from defence.
The frustrations of Saturday vanished across three sides of Ashton Gate, other than the dugout occupied by Nigel Pearson it would appear, as the former Oxford United centre-back went airborne at the back post to secure the three points for City.
It wasn’t just an important three points for City, their first in six matches, but also ended what had been an unbeaten start on the road for Preston. Ryan Lowe’s side have taken some big scalps away from home including Norwich City and Luton Town.
By no means is the corner completely turned for the Robins, Pearson himself was keen to stress that the real test of whether City had rediscovered their early season confidence would be how they performed against Millwall this coming Saturday.
But for now, let’s enjoy what was a very welcome three points under the Ashton Gate lights and take a look at the moments missed on Wednesday night.
Stroud remains a crowd-pleaser
Few referees have been popular at Ashton Gate this campaign, but Leigh Doughty faced the brunt of the criticism after Nigel Pearson spoke about “quitting football” over the standard of refereeing.
Understandably, there was a feeling of irritation when Doughty was named as the referee for Wednesday’s game but somehow the mood turned even more sour when the replacement official was announced to be Keith Stroud.
The referee has never been a popular figure in South Bristol, with a reputation of giving very little the way of the Robins. As Ian Downs read out the officials name ahead of kick-off it felt as though every City fan in attendance collectively booed and that set a trend for the evening.
In the first half, Stroud booked Jay Dasilva for a challenge where he appeared to win the ball that led to a huge outcry from both the fans and the City coaching staff. Even in the press box other journalists could be heard stating their discontent with the decision.
If he was aiming to even things up, the 53-year-old did little to ease relations when he inadvertently intercepted Alex Scott’s pass to yet another chorus of boos.
Late in the contest he then failed to book Greg Cunningham for what looked like a late and heavy tackle on Scott. It even brought a bit of animation to the usually poker-faced Pearson as he kicked a load of water bottles in the technical area.
O’Leary vocal while Scotty plays goalkeeper
There was plenty of surprise all around Ashton Gate when team news landed at 6:45 and instead of Dan Bentley occupying the City goalmouth, Max O’Leary had been preferred by Pearson.
Alongside the two City regulars, new kid on the block Stefan Bajic was involved in the warm-up as has become customary over the last few weeks. But rather than working with Pat Mountain, the Frenchman was having some fun with Scott Murray.
The City kitman was rolling back the years as he exchanged passes from the half-way line and it’s safe to say he hasn’t lost his touch. As Bajic cannoned a pass into the Scotsman, he killed the ball dead with a first touch that would’ve made Alex Scott blush.
With Bajic waiting in the wings and very highly thought of by Pearson and his coaching team, it was important that O’Leary impress in what could have been his only opportunity this campaign. His save to deny Emil Riis Jakobsen in the second half would’ve been impressive had it been any of the City keeping trio, the number one shirt must be O’Leary’s for at least Saturday.
It was interesting how vocal the Bath-born stopper seemed throughout the 90 minutes on Wednesday, perhaps aided by the quieter first-half atmosphere inside the Gate. He may not be an ever-present between the posts, but he can certainly lead a backline.
Williams gets feisty at half-time
Joe Williams certainly likes to get stuck in and that’s evident from his recent suspension having picked up five yellow cards already this campaign.
He, like many others, was agitated by the succession of poor decisions from Stroud towards the end of the first half and having already offered his opinions to the fourth official, he was keen to continue these discussions after the half had ended.
As the players flocked down the tunnel Williams was shouting something in the direction of some of the Preston players, only for Curtis Fleming and Matty James to hold the 25-year-old back and attempt to calm him down.
Williams certainly channelled that intensity in the second half and played some of his best football in a City shirt this season, between him and Scott City repeatedly won the ball high up the pitch before finding their front players with an excellent range of passing.
Carey provides the balance on Robins TV
In recent weeks the club streaming service has had the difficult situation of trying to provide a positive outlook on some incredibly negative results, but with Louis Carey on Robins TV on Wednesday he provided some genuine balance.
When discussing City’s delivery into the area during the first-half Carey offered some constructive criticism which shows why he’s ultimately found a home in the world of coaching. “It’s sort of just laced in there with a little bit of loft, a little bit floaty and it’s going to suit the goalkeeper all day long,” he remarked.
There was no sugar-coating some loose passages and when Williams played a pass forwards only to see Antoine Semenyo and Tommy Conway losing out to the Preston backline Carey quickly criticised, “they’re just stood up there, the front two.”
Fans who were unable to get to the game on Wednesday were quick to commend the genuine insight and punditry offered by City’s record appearance holder that added an extra dimension to the club’s broadcast. A return to the Robins TV studio would certainly be welcomed in the future.
Naismith still very close to the squad
We’ve already seen this season that when players aren’t available Pearson often opts to keep them close to the matchday squad, for example when Mark Sykes was suspended, he still travelled to Wycombe Wanderers and carried out the post-match cool down.
It’s well known that Kal Naismith is one of Pearson’s leaders on the pitch and he was part of every moment of City’s dramatic win on Wednesday, from travelling and stepping off the team coach ahead of kick-off to soaking up the win after the whistle.
With the team having the opportunity to savour the appreciation from the relieved Robins fans, compared to being forced to address the fans only a few days ago at St Andrew’s having been humiliated.
Naismith may not have walked over to Section 82 with the rest of the players (bar Chris Martin who seemed to shoot quickly down the tunnel having been a late substitute), but on the club’s media channels he can be seen with a huge grin plastered across his face as he hugged Scott and Conway.
Even those not quite making the matchday 18 are so involved and as Pearson said in his post-match press-conference, “we’re a team, so even when players don’t have a good day they can contribute.”
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