Olé

They say you learn more in defeat than victory and that was never truer than in Nigel Pearson’s highly anticipated return to Leicester. Facing the clear Championship favourites, a side loaded with Premier League talent and inarguably top flight in all but status, City’s manager got his game plan spot on, sitting in resolutely to frustrate the hosts football for an hour and fashioning brief spells of threat that might have created a smash and grab headline. Losing instead to a penalty kick was no disgrace and confirmed that the competitive visitors are in safe hands.

Spilling out of the terraced streets around the ground, travelling fans converged on one corner of the King Power Stadium under blue skies and against a sea of blue replica shirts weaving excitedly towards their turnstiles ahead of kick off. In the eleven years since City’s last trip to the stadium the Foxes have won the Premier League and FA Cup and played in the Champions League - and with street sellers hawking scarves and flags, the venue resembled every bit of the top flight Match of the Day style location montage - a rarity for Bristol City supporters.

Yet it was that small Westcountry corner of the stadium that laid down a clear marker from the start - 3,400 fans determined to be the 12th man with a continuous, lung busting cacophony of noise. Pearson’s men responded in kind, almost always on the back foot but running tirelessly to close down passing lanes, and in full backs Cam Pring and George Tanner endlessly dealing with Foxes wingers Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu. It took Wilfred Ndidi’s needless tumble over Kal Naismith’s outstretched boot and Jamie Vardy’s penalty to separate the teams.

In truth it was largely one way traffic in the first half although City shielded their box well and Max O’Leary was rarely threatened. Winger Fatawu sent a spinning volley from outside the box just wide from a corner, and the on-loan Sporting Lisbon star also forced City’s keeper to parry with a dipping shot on the run. Defender Callum Doyle also saw two headers easily dealt with, and in response the deep lying visitors struggled, Nahki Wells unable to hold up the ball, and in particular midfielder Joe Williams guilty of some poor decision making and careless passes.

But remarkably the first half closed with Pearson’s men suddenly threatening an unlikely opener. Winning a series of free kicks on the break on both flanks offered a welcome respite and a chance to get bodies forward. On the stroke of half time from one such set piece Mark Sykes brilliantly threaded Williams in behind on the right and his low driven cross seemed destined for Wells or Sam Bell to turn home with Leicester unable to scramble it clear of the six yard box, but without a shooting angle, Pring laid it back for Naismith whose lashed shot was blocked.

With the sun still shining down on the King Power Stadium and its heavily watered playing surface, City were out first for the second half and still clearly committed to their task. On the run Vardy was edged out by Rob Dicke trying to flash a near post header across the face of goal after Ndidi got in behind, and Tanner did brilliantly to prevent Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s follow up. Next the wingers combined for Mavididi to blaze over from the left, before O’Leary produced a sensational stop of Dewsbury-Hall’s point blank header from Fatawu on the other wing.

The Foxes brand of football is about releasing their electric wingers quickly into space behind on both flanks and City had to be at their very best to track the relentless attacking football. A clever dummy by Ndidi gave Fatawu another chance from the right and again he combined with his opposite number Mavididi, lifting it across to the far post where the left winger had just keeper to beat, O’Leary spreading himself quickly to block the shot. Some have questioned City’s home grown keeper but twice in as many minutes he kept the visitors in the fixture.

And just as in the crazy final minutes of the first half, City had a chance to turn the game on its head against the run of play. Pearson threw on three arguably attacking substitutions at the hour mark - Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Andi Weimann and 17 year old Ephraim Yeboah - and almost immediately the young striker might have put City in front. Twice Wells drew a defender to give Yeboah room outside him in the box from the right. First the youngster chose a square return ball that was just behind Wells, at the second of asking his driven shot was well blocked.

With the raucous away corner roaring their ever louder approval, it was perhaps ironic that the moment the game seemed to finally open up for the stubborn away side was also the period that decided it. Leicester built patiently and Ricardo Pereira threaded Ndidi into the box. City had bodies covering but Ndidi turned Naismith twice, spotting the defenders planted standing foot he took the easy option to tumble over for an obvious penalty. Vardy stepped up and despite a crescendo of abuse from the away end, sent his spot kick unerringly into the top corner.

Harry Cornick replaced Wells up top for City who by now were pressing Leicester relentlessly around the Foxes own box hoping to recover something from the fixture. Knight seized on a desperate half clearance to flash a fierce rising shot just over with the goal gaping, Knight turned provider but his heavy ball inside to Weimann was miscued high and wide, before the impressive Gardner-Hickman went on a mazy run before combining with Pring whose curling shot forced a save but left Weimann clear beyond the far post to see a drilled shot blocked.

Short on possession throughout, City were nothing if not energetic and committed and in these final moments there was still always the possibility of finding an unlikely leveller in front of their massed ranks of expectant fans - even as the match headed into injury time. Amazingly the noisy visiting supporters were still in it right until the very end, Yeboah winning a free kick right on the edge of the Foxes box deep into time added on, but with everyone holding their breath, Gardner-Hickman’s free kick through the wall was straight into the keeper’s grateful hands.

And that was it - City may have lost the match but in running the league leading promotion favourites so close on their own ground, will take away only positives for the rest of the campaign. Exhausted players lapped up the deserved positive reaction at full time from the travelling support, and manager Pearson - a hero to so many around the stadium - enjoyed warm applause from all four corners of the ground. He executed an effective game plan in difficult circumstances and surely now is overdue the recognition of a new contract from his own employers.

O’Leary 9

Tanner 8

Pring 8

Dickie 8

Naismith 8

James 7

Williams 5

Knight 7

Sykes 6

Bell 5

Wells 6

Gardner-Hickman 7

Weimann 6

Yeboah 6

Cornick 6

Mehmeti 5

A collective siege mentality is something that both Alex Ferguson and José Mourinho used to great effect to galvanise their teams and after a quiet transfer deadline week where their own supporters wrote them off, followed by 45 minutes where malicious and very deliberate refereeing from Oliver Langford did everything to give struggling hosts Swansea the advantage, City showed their resilience to dig deep and let their quality count, dominating for 90 minutes and scoring the goals that counted in front of their massed away fans.

With the UK heading into a late summer heatwave, Swansea Bay was bathed in sun - azure blue skies shimmering around the white expanse of the Swansea City stadium heading up the valley from the centre of the Welsh town with a capacity travelling support. All the talk had been of City’s failure to strengthen after selling superstar Andy Scott, but that talk quickly turned to referee Langford. Bad officials are normally chaotic, but the Blackpool based official was much more measured in very obviously treating City differently to their hosts.

A calculated lack of consistency between whistling every time the Swans felt minimal contact and tumbled cheaply, while waving away fouls every time City players were chopped down on the break, had already drawn cries of “cheat” from the away end. Three first half goals disallowed, a clear last-man red card call bottled, and even a simple back pass overlooked, had only added to the sense that even the officials were against City, but Nigel Pearson’s side kept their composure for Mark Sykes to setup a comfortable second half win.

The early kick off had not deterred the travelling support who started the match with the sweltering midday sun angling down into their packed end. Struggling Swansea opened with purpose and referee Langford - a Wolves fan with previous history of giving all his decisions against City - indulged a series of minor shoulder to shoulder brushes for soft free kicks, only to ignore an identical infringement as Joe Williams was barged off the ball in midfield and Charlie Patino threaded Liam Cullen clear to finish easily under keeper Max O’Leary.

In truth Pearson’s men had started a little shakily - Cam Pring giving it away around his own box just before the opener and Kal Naismith having to cut out the threat brilliantly. But the feature of the half was Langford, who continued to indulge a limited Swansea side, including awarding them yet another curious midfield free kick when their own player appeared to have swatted the ball away with their own arm. By this point all action midfielder Jason Knight had headed just wide - as he had at Hull - from a Taylor Gardner-Hickman corner.

But before even the quarter hour mark the pattern of the game was set - and it was literally all City. The relentless Nahki Wells stole the ball off a defender before laying off for Knight whose long range dipping shot flashed just over the top corner. Mounting pressure from a throw in saw Sykes cut inside and drill a low shot that keeper Carl Rushworth had to hold. Sam Bell seized on a back pass and forced a corner, while a collision outside the City box gave Wells room to break Bell clear down left but the Bermudan couldn’t turn in the return.

Knight and Williams both had shots blocked from another Bell break, but Langford was now comically one-eyed, City twice clearly fouled on halfway with nothing given, players showing their frustrations on sun-bathed turf where minutes earlier Swansea had been awarded a series of soft free kicks. Wells curled over wildly from range, before the visitors had their first goal disallowed, Naismith combatively winning the ball at the second attempt and driving the ball into the box to where Bell fired home but was adjudged to be offside.

Langford’s best attempts to thwart City’s dominance included more wildly inconsistent fouls awarded for the stuttering hosts despite having ignored similar when committed against City, a clear passback not given - even the keeper initially feigned to kick it - and then most conspicuously last man Kyle Naughton getting away with a yellow card after sending Wells tumbling to the ground as the striker roared clear on goal. For good measure City twice more in quick succession had goals ruled out including Knight for the softest of contact.

So at half time in the baking hot South Wales stadium all the talk was of a massive injustice being administered by referee Langford, so it was refreshing that City - already bruised by all the talk of a lack of deadline reinforcements - simply showed the pre-existing class and composure in their side by returning to the field with the same relentless attacking threat they started away at Hull a week ago, but this time making it count - racing quickly from 1-0 down into a 2-1 lead, the first coming barely as fans had time to return to their seats.

Williams did brilliantly to latch onto a loose ball in midfield before sweeping it out to Sykes in the right channel who raced into the box and executed a delightful drop of the shoulder and turn inside his marker before stroking the ball neatly into the far corner - away fans racing down to the front of the stand to celebrate with him. It was literally all City, Sykes clean through again after more good work by Williams but bundled over with Langford still disinterested, while Pring’s lung-busting run to the byline and last-gasp cross saw Wells’ finish deflected over.

Sykes was again pushed over on the run in the box and again Langford invoked his “but it’s Bristol City” rule to wave away the type of contact he loved to indulge for the hosts - the Irishman throwing his arms in the air in palpable frustration at the now endless stream of injustice - but the goalscorer would make amends almost immediately, a sensational spin taking him away from four midfielders and into the space between the lines through the right channel, before squaring past Wells to Bell far post who finished bottom corner. Pandemonium.

An injustice righted, a comprehensive performance rewarded, and one of our own completing the turn around, and all in front of the massed away fans, Bell standing arms aloft to lap up the adulation. A day after signing his new contract, Zak Vyner nearly put the icing on the cake as his looping header went just over from a Gardner-Hickman corner. Despite being hugely one sided City were almost caught ball watching from a corner as Harry Darling headed back at the far post and Ben Cabango nodded down past O’Leary and onto the post.

Pearson decided to dig in, George Tanner on for debutant Gardner-Hickman, then energetic Harry Cornick on for Wells. This allowed City to maintain their control and pressure although by now with little end product. With 10 minutes left former City man Jamie Paterson - off the bench - spun but fired well wide, while at the other end it opened up for Cornick on the edge of the box whose feet got in a tangle but he knocked it wide for the onrushing Pring who lasered an absolute barnstormer towards the top corner which flashed narrowly over.

O’Leary saved down low from a Darling far post header as the game headed into time added on, but in truth this was one of the poorest Swansea sides that City have faced in a long time and the visitors finished the game in total control, moving the ball as they wanted and winning free kicks from a chastened Langford as time ran out. Temperatures were now reaching 23 degrees as the final whistle went, but Pearson’s side - supposedly weaker after the transfer window  - had easily overcome the heat, their opponents, and the match official.

Max O’Leary 7

Gardner-Hickman 7

Cam Pring 7

Zak Vyner 7

Kal Naismith 8

Matty James 7

Joe Williams 9

Jason Knight 8

Mark Sykes 9

Sam Bell 8

Nahki Wells 7

George Tanner 6

Harry Cornick 7

Rob Dicke 6

The clap of thunder suggested a downpour was coming around a cool but muggy MKM stadium. Friday night and a solid start to the season had created a buzz around Hull that has been rare on away trips here for years. On the walkway that bridges the town to the East side of the ground home fans chatted excitedly about what they would do and had convinced themselves City would roll over. A roar around the stadium from what looked a packed ground signalled intent from kick off.

The match started to form - City with lots of possession but laboured in creativity, Hull far far better moving the ball with pace and to feet, drawing fouls around the box. It was a game where defenders needed to be on it to block chances, but like last Saturday Zak Vyner looked rusty and was beaten by Liam Delap on City's left, sweeping the ball quick into the middle where Ozan Tufan arrived in the six yard box to slam home from close in. Now the home fans were really rocking.

City were always in it - but lacked the same quality of final ball, though Nahki Wells got an injury time equaliser at half time, turning in Jason Knight's deflected shot, only for it to be ruled out for a marginal offside which required an inordinate wait. The second half was end to end and City's methodical build up eventually resulted in Wells close range equaliser off Mark Sykes drilled ball in, more than deserved. Max O'Leary had to keep City in it, but they could have won it late on.

The threat of a downpour subsided at kick off, the thunder had stopped echoing round Humberside and no lightning had arrived. In it's place City started slowly although had a chance to open the scoring from man of the match Knight's header at the far post from a Matty James free kick, but straight at the keeper. But Hull were more direct and in 20 minutes went ahead. Vyner got caught out of position, Delap skipped past him - and Tufan was one of several in space to finish.

The hosts were comfortably on top and City had to work hard without the ball, without a forward threat until the midway point of the half when Sam Bell cut across to run at Hull before curling a long range shot into the far post where Wells combined to setup Sykes volley over. Now the home side were quickly throwing themselves in front of anything to protect their lead, Wells with a shot blocked and Joe Williams volleying over after Wells dangerous ball in was half bundled away.

City's burst of pressure culminated in a wild spell where George Tanner and an all action Knight (twice) forced Hull to block a series of attempts from around the box - although they should have been level on the stroke of halftime as Knight again roared into the box but this time the block spun his shot right to an unmarked Wells who with a Hull defender level tapped home, turning to look to the line and with no flag, wheeling away to celebrate, only for the flag to inexplicabley appear later. 

After half time City were out first and clearly in the mood to do even more to be level. The irrepressible Knight should have equalised with a glancing header at the near post off Kal Naismith's right wing corner, but by the hour mark it was all square as Knight again poured forward and fed Sykes who lasered a low ball across the face of goal to where a quick thinking Wells peeled off his marker at the far post to tap in - silencing a boisterous home crowd in front of the away support.

Now it was City on top and largely in control and Hull playing on the break. Wells saw an amazing overhead kick somehow clawed off the line from Naismith's corner - although at the other end Aaron Connolly somehow ran clean through to force a brilliant low block from O'Leary, who also did well to keep out Scott Twine's close range free kick after the hosts had not for the first time got upfield to throw themselves to ground cheaply as they had in a controversial penalty a year earlier.

A brief cameo from Andi Weimann as City looked to turn the screw saw an unfortunate reoccurrence of his heel injury - going back off after just 3 minutes - but it did not stop the visitors search for a winner, albeit sub Óscar Estupiñán had a couple of sighters at the other end. In injury time late introduction Harry Cornick jinked easily past his marker and into the box from the left and almost forced home with a curling effort at the near post that needed Hull to desperately clear.

Indeed the match finished with an almighty rearguard action from the Tigers as with a carbon copy of their finish at Millwall, City rallied in front of their away section from a series of Cornick long throws. Knight, Vyner and even new man Taylor Gardner-Hickman forced a series of last gasp blocks with well struck shots, the last miraculousy deflected over - it could have gone anywhere - as the match finished with a corner for resurgent City who had looked most likely to win it.

At full time and with the thunder and drizzle long since departed, City's 400 fans in the North East corner of the ground filtered out to join their counterparts onto the overhead walkway back into the town. Excited chatter had turned into disgruntled moaning - not unlike the average day at Ashton Gate - as expectant, previously in form hosts found a typically topsy turvy Championship encounter leave them feeling second best, starting well but ground down by relentless City. 

O'Leary 8

Tanner 7

Pring 6

Vyner 6

Naismith 6

Williams 7

James 7

Knight 9 

Bell 7

Sykes 7

Wells 8

Cornick 7

Weimann 5

Gardner-Hickman 6

Roberts 6

Mehmeti 6

7 hours ago, 1960maaan said:

One bit I found interesting was how Johnson controlled everything, then when things went wrong there was no one on the pitch to stand up. I seem to remember one of the first things he mentioned was getting players to take responsibility on the pitch.
I find Pearson a breath of fresh air compared to LJ. 

That was the part of the comparison I probably recognised and enjoyed the most too - because it’s painfully true. 

This isn’t an LJ bashing session because I always gave him his dues for some amazing performances, especially away, but there were lots of reasons we never built a team, culture or identity under him and Foxpunter has absolutely nailed it.

I remember saying season in season out under LJ we had a real defecit in leaders, and that LJ appeared to be terrified of having anyone that spoke back or had an opinion - precisely the sort of "taking responsibility" Pearson encourages.

As Foxpunter has perfectly encapsulated, as the complex tactician and innovator, LJ wanted malleable young robots who should do whatever he told them, form no plan of their own, and (my view) get blamed or humiliated when they didn't.

Which meant whenever it went wrong, they were completely emasculated, just pieces on a board that either through fear or sheer neutralisation would look to LJ for what to do next, or more commonly need subbing off and throwing away. 

It's such a clear transition to NPs constant "take responsibility" and "players finding solutions" and culture of leadership. The great irony being NP wrongly has a rep as a bully yet it's LJ's approach to players that far far more exhibits that.

After a desperately long wait for a celebratory pint, having peeled off from the police escort and sneaked into the Spoons at Surrey Quays, we overheard a couple of very old Millwall boys disecting the game in the queue for the bar. I was pleased to hear the first surmise “Didn’t deserve anything, they ran the game” but more interested as his mate responded “Fack off you’re joking, both teams were shite, they had the ball a lot but there was nothing in it for 70 minutes, they had one shot we had one shot, big deal. The substitutions were the difference.”

Refreshingly (like the pint itself) they both had a point. City were absolutely in control of the game throughout and deserved winners, but not without the reality check that they created very little threat from their dominance and if not for Matty James’ 94th minute bicycle kick, might be rueing a lot of wasted effort. They were also right that subs - something Nigel Pearson gets criticism for - were decisive. Millwall badly needed an injection of pace and it came too little and too late. Energetic City needed only a top up and had long since introduced theirs.

So with the hosts only finding direct running in the final 10 minutes - Max O’Leary making a crucial save from a free kick - City were already ably executing their second wave of pressure via subs Hayden Roberts, Anis Mehmeti, Kal Naismith and the relentless Harry Cornick, crucial strength in depth for a side that in prior years would have run out of steam. Further enhanced by chucking in 17 year old Ephraim Yeboah for exhausted Sam Bell as a final gamble on a winner. The teenager drew defenders from Cornick’s long throw and James was unmarked to oblige.

On a cloudy, muggy day in in South East London the atmosphere pre kick off was tense to say the least. The sell out home crowd for the memorial of sadly departed chairman John Berylson was boisterous but stoic in equal measures. This coupled with train strikes forcing away fans to converge at the Den from all directions - where an endless convoy of police vans and small army of glum faced coppers watched on nervously - gave the day something of an edge. Happily fans on all sides impeccably celebrated the memory of the much loved Millwall owner.

City fielded two changes from the side which drew 1-1 with Preston, Joe Williams replacing the injured Andi Weimann in midfield and Mark Sykes replacing Cornick out wide. The pattern of the match was obvious almost immediately as Millwall in a 5-3-2 looked to release wingbacks Joe Bryan and Danny McNamara down both touchlines but got little change from an organised City back four that consistently blocked their lanes or ran them out of play. Conversely in the middle City had complete control and looked a yard sharper and faster than their hosts.

Zak Vyner’s diving block to deny Duncan Watmore’s rate sighter of goal was typical of the resolute defending while at the other end Sykes and Nahki Wells were agonisingly close to rifling home at close range from a James corner. City had two passable calls for a penalty, once as a defender blocked Wells touch and the ball ricocheted up into his outstretched arm, then later as Bell, in one of his characteristic surging diagonal runs from out wide, appeared to be bundled over chasing through into the box off the left flank. Keith Stroud was not interested.

For all their dominance City had nothing to show for it at half time - and there was always a fear they may rue the failure to convert possession into advantage. The conversation at half time was that Millwall surely couldn’t be as poor in the second half. Thankfully, they were. The Lions continued to labour out wide, while City continued to build slickly through the middle, although breaking the lines against the hosts back 5 meant chances in and around the box were at a premium, and the game began to develop an attritional feel with several robust challenges.

But it was the substitutes who breathed new life into the match for City after the hour where otherwise they may have fizzled out. Pearson’s men appeared re-energised and more incisive with Cornick and Mehmeti running from wide against back-pedalling defenders. First James ran from the channel and curled a low fizzing shot from outside the box that roared wide. Next typically blood and thunder work from Pring allowed it to open up for Mehmeti’s run and from a similar position in the left channel he slammed a drilled effort inches past the same post.

Smart thinking from Tanner from a tame Naismith right wing corner recycled the opportunity as he headed a half clearance back into the box and over the entire defence where Bell turned his head to instinctively glance the ball onward at the near post but just the wrong side of the woodwork. As he had done on Wednesday, sub Roberts appeared to introduce another level of precision and thought in attacking situations, as City turned the screw, Jason Knight stealing the ball away in midfield and striding upfield to play in Cornick, whose shot was blocked.

A tired looking Bell had two further chances, but Millwall were also capitalising on space afforded by City’s confident attacking, with Bryan firing wildly over following a counter attack. Indeed the unthinkable started to occur to City’s massed ranks as the home side belatedly added pace up front in the final 10 - they couldn’t produce a smash and grab win from a match they were comfortably second best in? That seemed possible when sub Romain Esse was felled by Vyner and George Saville’s low free kick required a brilliant O’Leary double save in the final minute.

Even the draw was flattering Millwall so an unlikely win would have been surreal. But instead it was neither thanks to James’ bit of magic deep in injury time. Cornick, grinning at the two tiers of away fans to his right as they encouraged his long throw, launched the ball into the box. Late sub Yeboah and Dickie converged short for the flick on, drawing defenders as they did. Bryan threw himself to the ground hoping for a foul, the ball carried to the back of the box where City’s captain was unmarked and swivelled to catapult his dipping volley into the bottom corner.

It’s an overused word but pandemonium in the stand behind the goal as fans cart wheeled towards the front of the terracing in rapture, while away players mobbed their skipper. Sometimes games deserve goals, and this was the goal this game deserved. Pearson’s side had played with an energy, confidence and self-belief that was the better of their fancied opponents, but all of that endeavour had amounted to zero advantage for 90 minutes. So back in a Surrey Quays pub garden one elderly Lions fan had a point - but happily in the end City had all three.

O’Leary 7

Tanner 8

Pring 8

Vyner 8

Dickie 8

Williams 7

Knight 8

James 7

Sykes 6

Bell 7

Wells 6

Naismith 6

Mehmeti 7

Cornick 8

Roberts 7

Yeboah 6