In the end I was happy with 1-1 as it had been looking like a very miserable defeat. We had plenty of chances, especially in the first-half, to win the game but our finishing was poor and Bristol City defended in depth. Burnley also drew so it could have been worse...
BEFORE
Our tails are up after Saturday's long-awaited win and many are expecting another three points this evening. Mepham will return after suspension and I think he's always a real asset while Cirkin will no doubt play some part as he eases himself back into full fitness. O’Nien is a bit of a doubt at the moment so we’ll have to wait and see if he makes it. Bristol City are currently in twelfth position but have had a distinct wobble of late with three defeats in the last four and they’ve conceded twenty-four goals so far. If we score early on, I think we might well get a few more but I reckon we’ll win anyway. Leeds are at home to Boro tonight and I’m hoping for a draw there and also for Derby to get something away to Burnley. I’ll be watching our game with other members of the London Branch and my match prediction is 3-0 to us.
I got to the venue just after 7.00 and, after getting a beer in, the manager introduced me to a new member of staff. I was delighted to see that it was a very friendly black cat and of course I took this as a good omen. Anyway, as regards team-news, Mepham was in for O’Nien while Mayenda was starting in place of Roberts, who was on the bench along with Cirkin. A few alarm-bells went off when I saw Mehmeti’s name among the Bristol City starters.
THE MATCH
The sound was on the telly, which was a bit posh, and I had a seat right at the front so things were shaping up ominously well as we kicked off. We won the first corner in the third minute but as usual nothing came of it. A few minutes later Bristol won their first and it finally resulted in a low shot from Bird that Patto got down to cover. Next thing a long chip from Watson found Mayenda but he nodded it on a bit too strongly and it went for a goal-kick. We had a good burst of attacking, coming mainly down our left, but nobody could get a final touch in front of goal. We won our second corner and the onrunning Alese at the far post couldn’t quite connect with it. Just after that Isidor took a long pass down beautifully and slid it along their box but Mayenda and Rigg got in each other’s way a bit and the resultant shot was blocked. A good header from Isidor was well blocked by O’Leary in goal and I could feel that first goal coming. After a penalty shout when Isidor went down in their box Bristol were up the other end winning another corner. We were back attacking at once and it was like ping-pong in their box as several attempts were blocked by outstretched legs.
Watson was down injured for a short while and after a minute or so off the pitch he came back on but couldn’t continue. Roberts came on to replace him and I bet he was well fired up to give them hell. A Jobe attempt in the thirty-second was deflected for a corner and we soon had another but it resulted in O’Leary comfortably collecting the ball. Five minutes later we were awarded a free-kick near the left angle of their box and Vyner was given the first yellow of the game. Needless to say the free-kick went nowhere. We were denied what looked like a solid penalty in the fortieth when Alese was knocked over. There were three minutes of added-time but it remained goalless as the half-whistle went. It had been a frustrating half with us having so many chances but failing to convert one. We’d lost our rhythm to some extent after Watson had to go off. I revised my match prediction to a 1-0 win. Elsewhere the Burnley match was 0-0 and Leeds were 1-0 up against Boro but they’d started at 8.00.
Bristol had made two changes as we kicked off again and one of the newcomers was called Earthy, which sounded ominous. They’d gone for three centre-halves so they were going to dig in even more. To be honest I’d temporarily forgotten about Connolly but I thought we should bring him on for Isidor before too long. We survived a Bristol free-kick at the left angle of our box in the fiftieth and then resumed our pressure up the other end. Time was slipping away all too quickly and I started to dread the thought of another draw. We won another corner in the fifty-ninth but… Around the hour-mark Bristol were pressing forward more and I thought it was time for us to freshen things up. Next thing we were 1-0 down when after a combination of scrambles and ricochets in our box McNally coolly lobbed it into the roof of our net. We promptly brought on Cirkin for Alese. Rigg was booked in the sixty-eighth and luckily his previous bookings had been cancelled.
Twenty minutes to go and the mood was gloomy so we needed a few new faces on the pitch as Bristol were dealing far too comfortably with our attacks. We then had a good period but the lack of an in-form striker was all too evident. Elsewhere Boro had equalized against Leeds and the Burnley match remained goalless. In the seventy-eighth Rigg skied a good chance and very soon he was replaced along with Isidor by Aouchiche and Connolly. Bristol were piling up the yellow cards and one of their recipients, Mehmeti, was subbed in the eighty-fourth. He hadn’t done much anyway despite my forebodings. A draw was looking like a good result but given our earlier ineptitude in front of goal I wasn’t feeling confident that we could manage that. Three minutes to go and I could hear our fans still roaring. Five minutes of added-time were announced just after I’d seen that Leeds were 2-1 up. Next thing we were level after a good run down towards the left of their box from Aouchiche led to a pass to Roberts and he lashed it into the net. Things weren’t quite over as a Ballard header went just over the bar. It ended 1-1 and for a short while at least I’m going to feel happy.
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