Liam Manning was a surprise absentee from the press conference room after the full-time whistle at Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon. Chris Hogg explained that the Bristol City boss had lost his voice in the first half of the Robins’ draw with Hull City having shouted instructions to drive his players up the field, something which every supporter of a red persuasion could relate to.
For the first time in a couple of weeks, it felt as if the Reds had left something out on the playing turf. After the highs of wins against both Millwall and Middlesbrough, a 1-1 draw with the Tigers felt much more like a defeat.
A slow start left City trailing after just 13 minutes, with Joao Pedro the man to break the deadlock for the away side. The 32-year-old did well to bring the ball down and leave Rob Dickie in his dust before calmly finishing past Max O’Leary. But within a minute, the forward who had put Manning’s side on the back foot handed them a leg up as he was given his marching orders following a rash challenge on George Tanner.
What followed was potentially one of the most one-sided 76 minutes of Championship football this season. For the remainder of the game, the Robins had their opponents propped up against the ropes and even though Anis Mehmeti’s penalty pulled them level, they were unable to deliver the knockout blow.
All the statistics in the world would suggest that not only should City have won this game but it should have been comfortable. Unfortunately, football, and the Championship in particular, is very rarely that predictable. In a strange way, it is hard to explain what more the Reds could have done to win that game, but the overriding feeling was that something, somewhere was missing.
The quick schedule means Manning, his squad and you, the supporters, won’t have too long to fester on your frustration. However, before you turn your attention to Tuesday’s clash with Sheffield United, here are the main talking points from City’s 1-1 draw with Hull City…
Different display, familiar outcome
Bristol City’s trip to the MKM Stadium on the opening day of the campaign feels an awful long time ago now. On that sunny Saturday afternoon in August, the Robins were seemingly cruising to a 1-0 away win over Hull City after Fally Mayulu’s special debut strike in the second half. That was until a rash challenge from Joe Williams allowed Oscar Eustpinan to level from the penalty spot in stoppage time to ensure the points were shared between the two sides.
That 1-1 draw was certainly filed under the should have been a win category. The Reds had done all the hard work to get themselves into the lead before a single moment of madness meant they left two points on Humberside. Unfortunately, the feeling that the full-time whistle brought at the end of this weekend’s clash was all too similar to that experienced all the way back in August, even if the route taken couldn’t have been much more different.
Rather than attempting to hold on to a lead, the Robins were chasing a result for all but 13 minutes of Saturday afternoon’s meeting with the Tigers. From the moment Joao Pedro was given his marching orders just seconds after his opener, it was like watching an attack vs defence training session. Liam Manning’s side had 79 per cent of the ball, 26 shots to Hull’s five, 644 passes to their 130, 14 corners to their one and yet, come the 90-minute mark, there was nothing to separate the two teams.
Undoubtedly, the Hull side that travelled to Ashton Gate are a much better outfit than the one that welcomed the Reds to the MKM Stadium at the start of the campaign. It cannot be forgotten that Ruben Selles’ team have beaten both Sunderland and Sheffield United in recent weeks so they are by no means a poor side. Even with that in mind, the Tigers don’t feel like the sort of team City should be surrendering four points to especially when you take into account how poor they were under Tim Walter at the start of the season and that they had 10 men for much of Saturday’s game.
The fact that at this moment in time, the Reds’ season has been bookended by two meetings with Hull that, for very different reasons, Manning’s side should have won, only adds to the frustration in and around the City fanbase. Had they shown a bit more maturity and nouse in the North East and shown a bit more conviction in the final third this weekend, the Robins would be four points better off and comfortably fifth in the Championship currently.
As Chris Hogg said himself at full-time, “could have, should have, would have, it’s all irrelevant really.” While the assistant head coach is bang-on with his assessment, it won’t stop fans thinking the two meetings with the Tigers should have been much more fruitful.
Goals make the world go round
That brings us nicely to the subject that makes the footballing world go round: Goals. Not for the first time this season, Bristol City didn’t do anywhere near enough in the final third to win the game, even if they did keep Ivor Pandur busy in the Hull net.
The Robins’ xG of 2.41 against the Tigers was their fourth-highest registered in the Championship this season. The only times Liam Manning’s side have bettered that this term were in their home wins over Millwall, Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth, where they scored four, four and three goals respectively.
While that would suggest poor finishing let City down on Saturday afternoon, it is hard to recall too many clear-cut chances the Reds missed. Yes, Sinclair Armstrong will feel he should have done better with his two first-half headers but those were the only two opportunities he had in the game. Six of the home side’s nine shots on target came from Scott Twine, five of which were taken outside the box and were by no means clear-cut chances.
Of course, Hull deserve credit as they made it incredibly hard for City to navigate their low block. However, not for the first time this season, Manning’s side lacked the conviction needed to break it down, something that has happened on more than one occasion this term.
Naturally, people will point to January and suggest the Reds should have added another attacker to their ranks. I have put my thoughts on that matter to paper plenty of times already this season so I won’t repeat them here, but it would be naive to assume any forward available to City this winter would have solved their problems single-handedly.
What will be a boost, however, is the imminent return of Nahki Wells. The 34-year-old remains the best finisher in City’s ranks and he was the sort of man the Robins needed on the end of one of their chances against the Tigers.
For all that Armstrong offers, and boy is it an awful lot, he hasn’t yet found his touch in front of goal. It will come sooner rather than later, but with no other out-and-out striker in the squad to shoulder the scoring burden currently, there is an awful lot of pressure on the 21-year-old’s shoulders. Hopefully Wells will lighten that load again between now and the end of the campaign.
Isn’t this what we signed up for?
If you can cast your mind back to August and the eve of the new Championship season, you will remember exactly just how mixed Bristol City supporters’ expectations were for what they could achieve this season.
Long before I took over the reins of covering the Robins, Bristol Live compiled their usual fans’ preview of the campaign. You can read that piece in full here but the section I’m focusing on in particular is the final question: “What would constitute, in your eyes, as success for City this season?”
Of course, opinions change throughout the campaign but the general consensus among the 10 fans questioned was that a top-10 finish would be acceptable with a play-off push not entirely out of the equation. Around seven months later, that’s exactly where the Reds find themselves.
Yes, a win here or an extra couple of points there could have made a huge difference. Saturday’s draw has rightly left a lot of people, including Chris Hogg and undoubtedly Liam Manning, frustrated but this team are still progressing and while doing so, are matching the majority of supporters’ expectations. They aren’t yet the finished article and while I’m sure that drives you all in the Ashton Gate stands mad, it could prove to be a positive.
As Manning said himself after Tuesday night’s win at Millwall: “When you look at it, the group, if they keep reflecting on the experiences we have, they can’t not get better with the way they work, with their attitude to learn and improve and their honesty.”
The draw with Hull was a bump in the road, but it was a bump that was always likely, and expected to, arrive at some stage. Having manoeuvred that bump and picked up a point in the process, it is now down to City to show they are here to exceed, rather than match, expectations.
Somehow it remains all to play for
There is no doubt Saturday’s meeting with Hull City was an opportunity for Bristol City to make yet another statement of intent in the race for the top six. Their wins over Middlesbrough and Millwall served as a message to the teams around them that they are serious contenders this season, even if Liam Manning and his squad have played down talks of the play-offs this term.
As it was, Coventry City’s win over Stoke City in the early kick-off and West Brom’s win over QPR meant that unless City had run riot at Ashton Gate, they were never going to end the weekend in the top six. However, a win of any margin would have seen them remain level on points with the Baggies and therefore the play-off places.
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Because of that, many supporters will view a frustrating draw against a 10-man Hull side that is struggling at the foot of the table as a missed opportunity. Those of that school of thought could be proven correct come the end of the campaign but at the moment, it is somehow still all to play for.
With 10 games left of the season, the Robins are in the mix. Manning’s side are only two points adrift of Albion and with 30 points up for grabs between now and May, that gap could be bridged very quickly. They may not be in the driving seat, like Frank Lampard and Coventry, but they are very much in the conversation.
Of course, the margin for error has now been reduced. It does feel as if City are going to have to cause an upset or two in their final set of games to book their place in the top six, as on paper, this is one of the matches they would have been targeting maximum points in.
If Saturday proved anything though, it was that you can never predict what will happen in the Championship. This is the division of upsets and it would be naive to assume the Robins can’t cause a few of their own between now and the end of the campaign. Hopefully, the first of those can occur against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Tuesday evening.