It is amazing just how different two 1-1 draws that were played a matter of days apart can feel. While Bristol City supporters will have left Ashton Gate deflated after the points were shared with Hull, they will have bounced their way back down the M42 and M5 on Tuesday evening after Mark Sykes’ late leveller against Sheffield United.
Not for the first time this season, Liam Manning’s Robins stood up to go toe to toe with one of the best sides in the Championship and unlike their meeting with the Blades in BS3 in November, they were rightfully rewarded for their efforts. Of course, it wouldn’t be a City game if the Reds didn’t make hard work of it, with some late drama ensuring this wasn’t your normal 1-1 and that Manning lost his voice for the second game running.
Most would have expected Chris Wilder’s side, who moved top of the table with their point, to set out their stool early on and dominate proceedings but that wasn’t the case. Instead, it was the Robins who set the tone as Yu Hirakawa posed a constant threat on the right flank, Sinclair Armstrong had plenty of joy running beyond the Blades’ backline, all while Joe Williams, Jason Knight and Max Bird interchanged well. Of course, the home side had their moments and looked dangerous on the break, but it was City who headed into the interval in the ascendency.
Unfortunately, in all too predictable fashion, it was United who then broke the deadlock on the hour mark as Tyrese Campbell calmly finished past Max O’Leary. Most in the away end would have been preparing to file this one under the ‘could’ve, should’ve, would’ve’ category but on the stroke of 90 minutes, Sykes gave the Sky Sports cameras a treat as he smashed in after a smart pass from George Earthy.
Of course, for all their hard work the Reds have travelled back to the West Country with just an extra point to their name but Tuesday night felt like more than that. It felt like an evening where City showed they’re genuine contenders and while it is a results business, that shouldn’t be forgotten.
As was the case after the 2-0 win over Millwall, I’m sure most supporters will already be looking ahead towards Friday evening’s meeting with Norwich City but before we turn our attention to the Canaries, here are the main talking points from City’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield United…
Character and belief on show
Both you reading this and I writing this will have likely questioned Bristol City and Liam Manning’s character and belief in the last few weeks. Such is the footballing world that the workmanlike away win over Millwall was almost immediately forgotten when points were dropped in a frustrating fashion against Hull a matter of days later. Having put themselves in a position to impose themselves in the top-six race, the Reds didn’t appear to have the belief or conviction to get the better of the Tigers, something Chris Hogg echoed post-match.
That will have likely concerned fans. If they don’t have the belief now, when will they? However, Tuesday night’s showing at Bramall Lane showed that not only does this team back themselves right up until the full-time whistle but that they’re more than willing to dig in when needed. It would have been easy for heads to drop after Tyrese Campbell’s opener as the Robins had been the dominant side up until that point. Instead, City kept doing exactly what had served them well so far, piling on the pressure to the point that Chris Wilder never felt his team were truly in control.
“Our midfield players sat too deep and their box caused us problems,” Wilder said post-match. “They controlled the game even though we had the best chances.”
To leave the manager of the team currently at the top of the Championship feeling as though his side were consistently on the back foot is by no means an easy feat. While the City players deserve plenty of credit so do Manning and his coaching team. Fans were quick to criticise the Reds boss for not throwing caution to the wind with his changes against Hull and while that is perhaps a reasonable complaint, he deserves credit for getting his changes spot on against the Blades.
Of course, Mark Sykes scored the winner but it was the ball through from fellow substitute George Earthy that caught the eye. While Anis Mehmeti, Cam Pring and Nahki Wells may not have had the same impact, they helped pile on the pressure and then see out the game in the final few minutes.
Of course, Tuesday night’s point would have been even sweeter off the back of three at the weekend, however, it showed that the Reds can mix it with the Championship’s big boys away from Ashton Gate. With away games against both Burnley and Leeds United to come after the international break Manning and his side should be heading to Turf Moor and Elland Road full of belief and with no fear.
Williams the asset
Somehow, Tuesday night’s draw with Sheffield United was only Joe Williams’ 13th Championship start of the season. You’d have been forgiven for not realising that as the Bristol City midfielder ran the show. Both in and out of possession, the former Wigan man was superb as he sprayed passes all over the Bramall Lane turf, got stuck in with a couple of meaty, but fair, tackles and directed traffic with his loud scouse voice. No player on either side created more than his four scoring chances, no player completed more passes over the 90 minutes and no player won more tackles.
It was a complete midfield showing and one that his manager certainly enjoyed. Liam Manning could be spotted applauding Williams time after time on the touchline, particularly after he sprayed a cross-field pass into the path of Haydon Roberts who in turn set up a scoring chance for Scott Twine.
The 28-year-old has found regular football hard to come by at times this season, partly because of injury and partly because of suspension, but primarily because of just how good Jason Knight and Max Bird have been in the middle of the park. The ex-Derby County duo have become almost undroppable such has been their level of consistency over the course of the campaign, however, Tuesday night served as a reminder that City have a third option at their disposal who can be just as effective, in a completely different way.
Manning and Chris Hogg are always reluctant to pigeonhole players into certain positions or roles, with the latter typically keen to emphasise the entirety of his squad are footballers first and foremost. That is a reasonable approach to take in the modern game and one that managers up and down the country will adopt, but it is undeniable that Williams is more of a genuine six than Bird or Knight. He may not play the defence-cutting pass as often, yet he is much more likely to pick up the ball off the back three to kickstart an attack or come sliding into pinch the ball off of an on-rushing attacker.
Keeping him fit will of course be the biggest challenge for the final nine games of the season, as has often been the case in the 28-year-old’s time at Ashton Gate but it can only be a good thing to have a relatively fresh Williams at City’s disposal. Knight and Bird have played a combined 6183 minutes of Championship football this term, while the ex-Everton prospect has only clocked up 1040. If he can stay injury-free between now and May, he could be a real asset and difference-maker.
‘Ruthless’ next step
It would be wrong to suggest that Tuesday night’s trip to the Steel City was anything but positive from a Bristol City perspective. As Liam Manning often says, there are three types of draws in football and while the points were shared at Bramall Lane, it felt more like a win for the away fans tucked away behind Michael Cooper’s goal in the second half.
But, if you allow me to play devil’s advocate for just a matter of paragraphs, I can’t help but wonder if the Robins could have been heading back to the West Country with more than just a point to their name given how they dominated the ball. The Blades arguably had the majority of the better chances, but the best opportunity of the game landed at the head of Sinclair Armstrong in the first half.
The ex-QPR man was again excellent as he ran the United backline ragged and though Cooper produced an excellent save to deny him at the back post, he shouldn’t have given the former Argyle stopper a chance with his header.
“Again it’s another moment where we’ve got to be a little bit more ruthless for the group to get to where we want to get to,” Chris Hogg said. “Those chances and multiple other chances in games lately and not just today, we’ve got to do a better job at putting them in the back of the net.”
Although the point earned against the Blades is a much more positive one than the one gained against Hull, the same slight concerns around the Reds’ ability to transform possession into goals remained. Manning’s side had 60 per cent of possession and 23 shots, but only hit the target with four of those attempts. When you’re the underdogs, as the Robins were last night, that’s more than acceptable but fans won’t be as understanding if it is a trend that continues week in and week out between now and the end of May.
Hopefully, it is just a result of the stretched squad and the run of 23 games since the last international break. On a more positive note, you would have to imagine that Manning and his coaching staff would much rather City be creating scoring chances and not scoring them than posing little to no threat going forward, as was the case at times last season.
Huge Friday night
It will be interesting to see just how many times I write this sort of sentence between now and the end of the season but there is no understating just how important Friday night’s clash with Norwich City will be in Bristol City’s season. Having kept the gap to the play-offs places at just two points with their late draw on Tuesday evening, they now have the chance to put the pressure back on the likes of Coventry City, West Brom and Middlesbrough in the race for the play-offs.
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All three top-six hopefuls were in action yesterday and all-but Micahel Carrick’s side dropped points. West Brom drew 1-1 with Burnley at Turf Moor, Coventry City’s impressive winning run came to an end with a 2-0 defeat against Derby County while Boro beat QPR to make it three wins from their last four games. With nine matches left to play just five points seperate Sheffield Wednesday in 10th and West Brom in fifth. It couldn’t be much tighter.
While March is probably a little bit too early to start labelling fixtures as six-pointers, Friday’s meeting with the Canaries isn’t a million miles away. Of course, three points against Norwich would be massive for City’s play-off hopes but a win would give Johannes Hoff Thorup’s side a mountain to climb to secure their place in the top six. The Canaries are already seven points adrift of sixth-placed Coventry and that gap could be stretched to 10 points if results don’t go in their favour.
At this stage of the campaign, denying your rivals points is almost just as important as picking up your own. Liam Manning’s side have been in this position already this season and delivered, namely when they welcomed Middlesbrough to Ashton Gate. While they were made to work hard for it, the Robins came from behind to get the better of Carrick’s side, secure all three points and climb into the play-off places for just a matter of hours. Now the task is simple, repeat that this weekend.
The Reds should be heading to Ashton Gate on Friday evening full of belief. They’ve got the better of Norwich already this season, they’re unbeaten in their last six matches and their fate is in their hands. Win and you could spend the next two weeks sat in the play-offs over the international break.
What better incentive is there for every single player in that City changing room than that?