Bristol City rounded off 2024 with a commanding 3-0 win over Portsmouth at Ashton Gate thanks to a brace from Anis Mehmeti and a first-half goal from Rob Dickie.
The Robins, who were yet to claim back-to-back wins in the league heading into Sunday afternoon’s game, managed to build pick up where they left off after their win over Luton Town last time out.
Mehmeti scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season early in the first half, twice calmly slotting into the bottom corner of the Pompey net before Dickie put the result beyond doubt with a tap-in in the 35th minute.
Sunday’s win moves Liam Manning’s side up to 10th in the Championship table and just four points away from the top six and the play-off positions. With the busy festive schedule, the Reds can close that gap further when they face Plymouth Argyle at Home Park on New Year’s Day.
Manning made two changes to the side that secured a much-needed Boxing Day win over Luton Town, as Mehmeti and Nahki Wells returned to the fold with Yu Hirakawa and Fally Mayulu the two players to drop to the bench.
The first genuine chance of the game fell to Mehmeti. Wells had done well to control Ross McCrorie’s cross into the bath of the Albanian winger and while he connected well with his half-volley, it drifted narrowly wide of Nicolas Schmid’s post.
But moments later, the 23-year-old made amends for his earlier error as he calmly tucked a right-footed effort past Schmid after a defence-splitting pass from Max Bird to hand Manning’s side an early lead over the reigning League One champions.
The Robins thought they had doubled their tally midway through the second half when Wells interchanged brilliantly with Scott Twine before trying his luck from just inside the box. Though the 34-year-old’s effort was struck well, it didn’t have quite enough on it to beat the strong right hand of the Portsmouth ‘keeper.
Bristol City didn’t have to wait too long before securing their second, however. Mehmeti doubled his tally with 15 minutes left to play in the second half. The winger interchanged with Wells before turning home his cross with a beautifully timed left-footed strike.
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Just over a minute later Dickie sent the home crowd into delirium as he notched the Reds’ third. The centre-back tapped home into an empty net for his first goal of the season after Luke McNally forced a save from Schmid with a deflected effort to send Manning’s side into the break with a commanding three-goal lead.
While City didn’t start the second half in quite the same manner, they continued to carry an attacking threat. Substitute Sam Bell looked to have scored his first of the season with just over an hour on the clock, but Schmid got down well to turn it around the post. Moments after, Mehmeti had a golden chance to secure his hat trick as he volleyed over the bar from close range.
John Mousinho’s side struggled to truly test O’Leary between the Robins’ posts, but they did threaten a couple of times in possession. On the whole, the Reds’ backline managed to keep Portsmouth’s attack at arm’s length for much of the second half.
With the win already secured, City had the chance to extend their lead further when substitute George Earthy tried his luck from the corner of the penalty area. The West Ham loanee seemingly had Schmid beaten, but a deflection took his right-footed shot wide of the post and ensured the Robins had to settle for a 3-0 win.