It may have taken longer than anyone initially expected, but Bristol City managed to pick up a first home win at Ashton Gate since September when they faced Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon.
The Robins were on top from minute one as they spurned several good opportunities in the first half before putting Argyle to the sword in the second period to win 4-0 in front of a lively Ashton Gate crowd.
While some will question the quality of the opposition, Liam Manning’s side could only beat what was in front of them and in the end, they dispatched the Pligrims like they were a lower-league side.
Here’s our take on who had a good and bad day in BS3 and a few moments the cameras would have missed.
Good day: Anis Mehmeti
This may well be the most obvious pick of the bunch. Having showcased just how good he could be at his best against Norwich City before the international break, Anis Mehmeti was bright but frustratingly ineffective in City’s defeats to both Burnley and Watford.
While similar was true in the first half against Wayne Rooney’s side, the winger came alive in the second period as he scored twice to take his tally for the season to six goals and could have even had a hattrick had Scott Twine not diverted his goalbound effort past Daniel Grimshaw.
Although Mehmeti still needs to add some consistency to his game to reach the next level, the 23-year-old is one of the first names on the City teamsheet currently as he is in red-hot form in the final third.
Good day: Jason Knight
We were perhaps guilty of undermarking the Reds captain in our player ratings as he ran the show both with and without the ball from the middle of the park. Perhaps the moment that summed up his performance best was when he sprinted what felt like the length of the pitch in the 89th minute to put a foot in and kill a rare Plymouth attack.
It is easy for the Ireland international to go under the radar in high-scoring games where the attacking players steal the spotlight, but Manning’s side wouldn’t have been able to play the way did in the final third without Knight pulling the strings behind them.
Most importantly of all, the former Derby County man appears to have discovered a level of consistency that a player well beyond his years would be striving for week in and week out.
Bad day: Wayne Rooney
Nobody was expecting Argyle to arrive at Ashton Gate and run riot given their struggles on the road so far this term, but it was yet another difficult afternoon for Wayne Rooney as he watched his team concede their 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th goal away from home this season.
As is the case at most grounds up and down the country, the Greens boss was the subject of plenty of chants from both sets of supporters and cut a truly exhausted figure in his technical area as his side capitulated in front of his eyes.
The former England international remained confident in his post-match press conference that he could turn things around at Home Park, but a feeling of inevitability is already beginning to seep in this season.
Bad day: Harry Cornick
This is a bit of a stretch but it is hard to suggest anyone in City colours truly had a bad day at Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon. Manning admitted in the week that he and Cornick had held discussions around his future during the summer, however, the Reds boss insisted he remained an option for the remainder of the campaign.
With the Reds cruising to a win in the second half, it could have been the perfect chance for the 29-year-old to get his first Championship run out of the season with the pressure off but he remained rooted to the bench as the Reds only made three of their five available changes.
It would certainly be a surprise if Cornick made another appearance in City colours before the January transfer window opens unless the Robins suffer a major injury crisis at the top end of the pitch.
Moments missed
Fally Mayulu was forced to apologise to some supporters in the South Stand as he nearly took their heads off with a wayward effort in the warm-up. Luckily, the Frenchman’s shot appeared to miss those in place ahead of kick-off.
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Marcus McGuane was spotted walking rather gingerly to his seat behind the Robins’ dugout ahead of kick-off. The midfielder had been ruled out with a back spasm and looked as though he was struggling to put one foot in front of the other so he would have had no chance of playing.
With just 50 seconds on the clock, the Plymouth supporters in the Ateyo Stand were already chanting about how bad City must have been for Rooney’s side to be drawing away from home.
As Sam Bell began to warm-up in front of the Lansdown Stand early in the first half, the forward was greeted with a huge round of applause which was then repeated when he made his first appearance following injury.
During the Thatcher’s Apple Roll at half-time, one of the two contests ended up in a heap on the Ashton Gate turf having lost his footing early on in the race to ultimately gift his opponent the lead.
Later in the interval, Peter Crouch and Chris Stark made a surprise appearance on the big screen at Ashton Gate to set one City supporter a crossbar challenge, over a decade after his initial attempt. Unfortunately, he once again missed.
Nahki Wells was visibly frustrated to be replaced in the second half but appeared to be calmed down as he was embraced by Sinclair Armstrong before he took to the field.
The fourth official appeared to have lost his board as none of the substitutions made in the second half were shown to the crowd leading to some confusion about when and how changes were made in the second half.