Who saw that late winner coming then? Did anyone think it was inevitable? Who could sense it in the air? You couldn’t write it could you? To be honest, you probably could write it. Any Bristol City fan young or old could’ve written that ending.
The amount of imagination needed would’ve have been almost none whatsoever. You wouldn’t need a team of scriptwriters to come up with the plot, a big Hollywood budget is not necessary. Imagine going to a local production company and saying we’ve got an idea for a Bristol City match: They play reasonably well at the start, falter for various reasons during the game and then fall at the final hurdle.
We’re all familiar with the experience, the plot would win no awards for originality. Think back to the countless losses this season, how many of them have started in a good manner? How many of them have looked like games we might be able to hold on in?
I imagine the majority of us have lost count of the number of losses we’ve managed to rack up this season. Astonishingly only two teams have lost more games this year than Bristol City in the entire football league. We’ve racked up 27 losses, only Doncaster and Bristol Rovers, both with 29, have managed more. Even when we’re the third worst team in the football league, Bristol Rovers have managed to do worse. Mind the gap and all that.
This Game Felt Different and So Did the Reaction
Now you’d think after yet another late loss, the fans inside Ashton Gate would’ve reacted with fury. The majority of the anger however was directed at the referee. Many fans bemoaning the fact that it’s hard for 10 men to beat 11, yet alone 12.
Despite the result, I think the majority of our fans at full-time were left feeling reasonably pleased. The lingering applause from the stands as the players left the pitch was a tad reassuring. I was thankful that I wasn’t the only one left feeling positive. The effort put in for 90 minutes was impressive. Against a team that often outclasses opponents, that is capable of scoring loads of goals. I thought our team really tried hard.
We created a load of chances against a very good side, we made their normally excellent passing ability look ordinary. We harassed and harried them. We put in countless crunching challenges. There were enough positives all over the pitch for the loss to be considered a good game.
Vyner looked imperious at centre back until the injury to Tanner. O’Leary was a more than capable stand-in for Dan Bentley. If the rumours are true that our captain is on the way out soon, Max is a worthy replacement. Pring and O’Dowda look a solid partnership down the left hand side. One we saw do well at Peterborough but haven’t seen much of since.
King and James are a more than solid midfield pairing, once Williams is back we will have a solid core to pick from. The pace in our front four made the match a really enjoyable spectacle, fans have been crying out for Martin to be given a rest and their requests were vindicated. The pace and power really gave our attack another dimension.
Lastly, let’s finish the year on Alex Scott. He was part of the 46% of yesterday’s squad that came through the academy. He’s ended the year brilliantly, he can clearly do it all. It’s nice to see him playing centrally too. Along with Benarous, Semenyo, Vyner and O’Leary he is a brilliant reason to look forward to 2022. Let’s hope they can all kick on and improve like they have over the course of this year!