Need to keep the keeper without fail I honestly thought we would get nothing from today so it’s a bonus as I see it Watch them turn over Wolves next Sat
Can’t argue with the result on the balance of play but not sure they would have scored without the penalty, they were having a mare in front of goal. Penalty looked really soft from the stand, particularly when the ref allowed them to rugby tackle Ned who was retrieving the ball from the net afterwards without even a yellow. Good game tho.
Back now, fed and watered. First half we played very well after the initial 5 minutes when BC looked like they would overrun us. Gradually though, we got on top in midfield with our 5 against their 4 and played what I would imagine was some of our best stuff of the season. The only problem was having virtually nothing up front although Bright tried hard and Sylla was................well Sylla!! Went in at half time ahead, deservedly imo. At the half time get to together I did say that I didn't think BC would be as poor in the 2nd half, even though I agreed that we stopped them playing very well. 2nd half was, apart from a 10 minute period when we played really well and could have got a second, was like The Alamo and my lad and I both agreed that it was only a matter of time before they scored. Smithies was brilliant but it was inevitable. I was too far away to know whether it was a penalty or not. The biggest problem for me were Ollie's substitutions. Swapping the two forwards made no difference, although I suppose it was handy having Smith to defend set pieces. No, the biggest mistake of all was removing our best player, Freeman and putting on Hall to sit in and try to hang on. We were already getting deeper and deeper and this decision made it far worse. Hall looked slow, lethargic and a million miles away from match fitness. Freeman was the only player driving us forward, as well as working his nuts off all over the pitch. When he was withdrawn we completely surrendered the middle of the park. Within minutes they had equalised. Take off a forward or a wing back and stick Hall in there if you want Ollie, but don't take off our most influential player you idiot!! It was a fair result as City were all over us for most of the 2nd half, but we maybe could have won it with better game management. Overall I would have taken 4 points from the last 2 games, but I fear we will be flirting with the bottom three for a while yet.
Agree about them not scoring. It was heading to be 'one of those days' for them.until.the penalty. Pity. BBC London after spoke about us being ok and simply consolidating. Hope that's true!
Quite a bad tempered match, I thought. We are a different team without Freeman who seems a league ahead of everyone else bar Smithies. I think Washington has had long enough to prove his worth, we need a replacement striker. But for the referee, we would have nicked it today, but overall probably a fair result. We did better than Man U !!!
Much as I saw it. Each of Holloway's substitutions made us worse. We were controlling the game for an hour, but very nearly came away with nothing. Get a second goal to kill the game rather than surrendering possession and hoping to hold out. I didn't see their game against Man Utd, but I was sorely unimpressed with what I saw from them today. Stoke under Pulis - Land of the Giants and long throws into the box from near the half-way line. We played much better football than they did and would have won had Holloway not bottled it.
They played some good passing football against United. Didn't see todays game. Did we stop them playing their game?
Disagree we were losing control before substitutions....Ollie was trying to wrest back control. First one was Conor for Bright Samuel. Like for like but with Conors well known harrying...Very sensible substitution... The second Smith for Sylla....was a ploy to change the forwards and has worked before... It was only the last one you can query....and then got to ask...if you bring on a defender who else can you take off but Freeman. After saying that...it was not a penalty...and I am not sure they would have scored without it. Yesterdays performance by QPR was from a team too good to be relegated.. If they can build on that we will stay above the water line...
Alright, I'll give you the Washington substitution, but Smith for Sylla (who was having the best game I've seen him have) undoubtedly made us weaker and taking off Freeman meant we had stopped trying to score a goal. We could easily have lost a game that we been dominating. I couldn't say if it was a penalty, because I have no idea what it was given for. The referee was appalling.
Agree not a good penalty. As ever, there's only one opinion that counts and rhat was given yesterday. Bidwell landing from a jump put his hand out to steady himself and Wily Coyote Flint does a Tim Daley. It looked winnable. Smith had a chance at the death.
I don't think I'd berate Ollie for taking off a creative player for a more defensive player when trying to hold a lead. Particularly if as it sounds they were well on top of us. It's not an unusual move. Such is life for a manager though.
But NOT Freeman, who was our best player and the only one trying to drive us forward whilst getting pinned deeper and deeper. Take off a forward or wing back, but NOT HIM!
Highlights (if fair) show that Bristol City had the best of the chances. We seemed to have few enough chances.
He had taken off both forwards, so that option was out....so it left the wing backs (Wzoleck and Bidwell) So in retrospect perhaps Wzoleck was the one to take off, and although he had a good game, he was beginning to fade and he is not a strong defensively as Bidwell So I am changing my mind, I agree Col it should have been Wszoleck.... But seen it again this morning, and that is still no penalty....and in fact if you look at highlights, we should have had a penalty (or possibly a free kick just outside the area) for hand ball at the other end. That the referee chose to ignore. Has Ollie had three letters of apology for three bad refree decisions already (Villa, Barnsley and Bolton)???
Yet again our inability to counter attack meant that when the inevitable pressure came from City midway through the second half we had little option other than to just soak it up. Smithies performed miracles and in the end they needed a dubious penalty to get something from the game but this problem is not going to go away. City themselves seemed very average to me and had a very similar style to us with a lot of lobbed balls toward the corners. It just goes to show how little difference there is between top and bottom of this league.
Clive's report on the game......... https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/footb...nally-beaten-by-nonsense-late-penalty--report Definitely right about the ref, but I think he gives City too much credit. They were worth a draw, but pretty ugly I thought.
