Liam Manning has admitted he has been pushing Zak Vyner to add more goals to his game, after the defender’s “long overdue” strike in Bristol City’s win over Millwall at The Den.
The Robins registered back-to-back wins for only the second time this season and won their first game away from Ashton Gate since November, as goals from Vyner and Harry Cornick in the second half ensured they left South East London with all three points having beaten the Lions 2-0.
Although City had been on top for the majority of the first half, Vyner didn’t break the deadlock until eight minutes after the break. The defender turned Cam Pring’s pass into an empty net at the back post, having remained in the Millwall penalty area following a corner, before leaping into the air to celebrate in front of the travelling support behind the goal.
Despite making his Robins debut over nine years ago, the 27-year-old had only managed to find the net on three previous occasions in City colours, the last of which came all the way back in April 2023. Vyner, then still under the management of Nigel Pearson, headed the Reds level against Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium before Anis Mehmeti secured all three points with a late winner.
Having not seen the defender find the net in his 17 months at Ashton Gate, Manning was relieved to finally see Vyner open his account for the campaign against The Lions. However, the City boss was also keen to praise the development of the defensive side of his game.
“I’ve been on him for quite a while,” the head coach told Bristol Live after the full-time whistle at The Den. “It’s been quite a while since his last goal and when you look at his qualities, when you look at him technically, he’s improving in their air massively as well, he’s got to carry that threat.
“It’s long overdue but I am delighted he’s got it.”
While the two sides headed into the break on Tuesday evening level, the City supporters in the North Stand would have felt the Reds had done enough to pull ahead in the opening 45 minutes. Sinclair Armstrong’s pace had caused the home side plenty of problems, Scott Twine had stung the palms of Lukas Jensen, George Earthy had forced the Millwall stopper into a smart save and he denied Mark Sykes what looked to be a simple tap-in when Pring whipped a ball towards the back post.
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The fans behind Max O’Leary’s goal would have been forgiven for thinking this was set to be another game where the Robins would be unable to turn their dominance into a lead. Though those fears were lifted in the second half courtesy of Vyner and Cornick, but Manning felt his side’s work in the first half provided the foundations from which City thrived after the break.
“I thought the lads, in what we know is such a difficult place to come and against such a difficult side, I thought we started the game well,” explained the head coach. “I thought we managed the first 35 to make it look like how we wanted it to.
“I thought Millwall got on top in the last 10 minutes of the first half and we spoke about that at half-time. The second half, the goal comes at a really good time for us. I thought we showed a real grit, a real resilience, a real togetherness to get through and to take the win.”
Having cut the gap to sixth-placed West Brom to just goal difference with their win at The Den, City’s next test sees them welcome Hull City to Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon. Depending on results elsewhere, three points against Ruben Selles’ Tigers could be enough to lift the Reds back into the play-off places.