As the 90-minute mark drew closer in Bristol City’s win over Stoke City on Wednesday night, Ashton Gate was almost unrecognisable from the weekend’s clash with Swansea. Having been a bowl of frustration on Sunday lunchtime, Liam Manning’s side had transformed BS3 into a party-like atmosphere.
Anis Mehmeti’s brace had given the Robins a 2-0 lead, which the Potters never looked like coming back from and the home support enjoyed one of their most routine wins of the campaign. It didn’t take long for Section 82 to get all three home stands bouncing around after the second goal and that was quickly followed by chants of ‘up the Football League we go’.
While most suggested the defeat to Luke Williams’ side had all but ended City’s top-six hopes just a matter of days ago, the chaotic nature of the Championship means that one win has well and truly thrust the Reds right back into the mix.
Fans, while always sceptical in this part of the world, have the right to be a little bit excited. Their manager on the other hand is remaining measured. When he was told his side were only two points outside the top six in his post-match press conference, he simply replied: “Ok.”
Of course, there is an awful lot of football to be played and the general consensus is that the Robins will still have to improve to secure a place in the play-offs this term. But at least the travelling support will be heading across the Severn Bridge on Saturday morning full of hope and optimism.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves and turn our attention to the weekend, here are the main talking points from City’s 2-0 win over Stoke…
Anis Mehmeti finds his step again
It is safe to say there are plenty of Bristol City supporters who wouldn’t have been opposed to seeing Anis Mehmeti drop to the bench on Wednesday evening. The Albanian international hasn’t quite been at his best in recent weeks and before his brace against Stoke City, hadn’t scored since New Year’s Day’s draw with Plymouth Argyle.
However, the former Wycombe Wanderers man remains one of the Reds’ most dangerous attacking threats from open play. Yes, he can frustrate supporters and his head coach alike, but he is also capable of a moment of magic. The 24-year-old’s second goal was superb but what was perhaps more pleasing was the poacher’s instinct to get ahead of his man and tap in Mark Sykes’ cross for his second.
“It’s funny, I was talking to [Chris] Hoggy the other day and you don’t see many goals like that,” Liam Manning said after the full-time whistle. “People tapping things in from three, four or five yards. You’ve got to get bodies in the box, that’s the biggest bit, get numbers in there.
“The reverse from [Scott] Twiney, the run and the ball from [Mark] Syksey and then the quality from Anis, in the position he’s in to make it happen. It takes a lot of focus and a lot of concentration. It was top.”
Mehmeti may not be a centre-forward, but his opener on Wednesday evening showed a striker’s instinct. With his brace against the Potters, he has now scored 11 Championship goals this term. That’s more than either Antoine Semenyo, Tommy Conway or Nahki Wells have managed in a season for the Reds.
Of course, they could do with a 20-goal-a-season number nine. If they had that alongside the Albanian’s goals they would be romping to a play-off place. But if he can maintain this recent rich vein of form, he could well end the season with 15 or more goals to his name, a tally only bettered by Andi Weimann in recent years.
Risk evaded but new headache may emerge
Following Sunday’s defeat to Swansea City, I was quick to point out that Bristol City’s decision to allow both Kal Naismith and Rob Atkinson to depart Ashton Gate on loan in January would be tested after Luke McNally was forced off with an injury.
When news broke ahead of kick-off on Wednesday evening that the defender’s season had ended early after an ACL injury, a lot of fans will have been thinking the same. With Zak Vyner and Rob Dickie the only fit senior centre-backs available, did Liam Manning have the players at his disposal to continue with a back three? Would he switch to a back four?
In the end, the City boss did both. Haydon Roberts slotted into the defensive line in the first half and looked much more at home there than he has done at left wing-back. He was aggressive in the air, kept things simple in possession and displayed his recovery pace off of the ball.
When the 60-minute mark rolled around, Manning made a triple change and switched to a back four, a formation that hasn’t been used in the time I have been covering the club. With Roberts and Ross McCrorie at left and right-back respectively, the Robins looked balanced with and without the ball for the final half an hour of action.
As they say, one swallow doesn’t make a summer. The win over Stoke doesn’t mean that it is going to be plain-sailing without McNally over the coming months, but the early signs suggest City’s versatile players are capable of performing in a back three and that Manning is willing to mix up the formation when it is necessary.
The head coach deserves credit for that adaptability as he has been criticised for being too tactically stubborn in games. However, he likely has a new headache to contend with as it is by no means obvious which system he should start with against Cardiff City on Saturday.
Midfield duo catch the eye
As he made his way into the Ashton Gate press conference room, Stoke City boss Mark Robins was understandably rather frustrated with his side’s performance. When asked for his take on the Potters’ display, the first word that came out of his mouth was simply, “poor”.
Few opposition managers have had quite as many looks at Bristol City this season than the 55-year-old. He twice took Coventry City to the West Country in the opening weeks of the campaign, winning in the Carabao Cup and drawing in the Championship. Six months later has made it a hat-trick of Ashton Gate appearances.
Although he was adamant, and rightly so, that his side hadn’t done enough to truly test the Reds on Wednesday evening, he was keen to heap praise on the Robins’ midfield pairing after the full-time whistle.
“I like [Jason] Knight and [Max] Bird in the middle of the park,” admitted the Stoke boss. “They defend and play with the ball really well and without the ball really well. They’re combative, they’ll fight.
“They obviously know each other really well from Derby County as well and they’re just two good players. They’ve played well tonight, but we’ve not really done enough to ask questions of them.”
It perhaps goes under the radar, particularly in games where the attacking players in Liam Manning’s ranks thrive, just how good Bird and Knight can be alongside one another. As Robins suggested, between the two of them, they can do it all and the Stoke City boss knows a thing or two about building play-off-ready teams.
The former Derby County teammates make City tick. Yes, they could still be more impactful in the final third to truly take their game to the next level, but their work in the middle of the park allows the likes of Scott Twine, Anis Mehmeti and Mark Sykes to strut their stuff at the top end of the pitch. Plenty of Championship clubs would spend big money to poach the Reds’ midfield.
Quality clear to see, consistency must be next
After Sunday’s defeat to Swansea City at Ashton Gate, Liam Manning was quick to suggest it wasn’t a lack of desire, attitude or will that cost the Robins but a lack of quality. When the Reds did get in the final third, they lacked that moment of excellence needed to carve open Luke Williams’ side.
That same criticism certainly couldn’t be levelled at City on Wednesday evening. Both goals against the Potters were outstanding moments of both individual and team quality. Scott Twine’s through ball to Mark Sykes was perfectly measured in the first half, the Ireland international’s cross to Anis Mehmeti was perfect and he showed a poacher’s instinct to stab it home. You don’t need me to tell you what made the second goal so special, even if Manning was quick to claim Mehmeti “shinned it” into the top corner.
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“The lads deserve the plaudits for that,” Manning explained post-match. “We had a chat with a few of the lads, we put a lot of crosses in at the weekend, but they were a little bit too wide and when the opposition backline was set, it was quite easy to defend. Whereas when you look at the first goal, it’s how do you work it a little bit harder to increase the chances of scoring, rather than just slinging it in there.
“I really enjoyed the first goal, I thought it was a moment of top quality that deserved to put us ahead.”
City supporters know this team is capable of showing this sort of ability in the final third. They have displayed a clinical edge on a number of occasions such as their 4-0 win over Plymouth Argyle, their 3-0 win over Portsmouth as well as away wins against both Preston North End and Norwich City. What they haven’t always demonstrated is a consistent ability to show that quality week in and week out.
“I think it’s about everybody turning up every day and fighting for the shirt as hard as you can,” Manning said after the defeat to Swansea. “Do that, and then you need a bit of quality and consistency with it as well.”
The Robins have shown the quality but if they want to make a run for the play-off places between now and the end of the season, they’re going to have to start to string a run of results together. Wednesday night’s win will matter very little if it isn’t followed up by another three points against Cardiff City on Saturday lunchtime. A win over the Reds’ Severnside rivals would give the team, and the supporters, a real sense of belief heading into the final 14 games of the campaign.