Bristol City 2-1 Middlesbrough

A resurgent Bristol City side overcame their recent poor form to beat Gareth Southgate’s Middlesbrough at Ashton Gate today.

The 2-1 victory ends what was a difficult week for Gary Johnson and his team, after poor performances against Cardiff in the league and Carlisle in the Carling Cup.

Quietly, City fans may have been expecting another defeat, and Middlesbrough did threaten on a couple of occassions during the first half. Mark Yeates, signed under Bristol City’s noses during the Summer recess, broke through after half an hour, but his tame shot was easily gathered by Dean Gerken.

Former Bristol City striker Leroy Lita, now Middlesbrough’s number 9, also threatened, but was unable to breach the City defences.

After entering the half time break 0-0, Bristol City turned on the pressure in the second half. Their persistence payed off when Nicky Maynard curled the ball into the top corner with 62 minutes gone.

This sent the home fans into jubilant celebrations, but they didn’t last for too long as Boro were awarded a penalty in the 79th minute. Adam Johnson put the ball away following Louis Carey’s handball in the area, to make it 1-1.

It looked as if the game would end that way, until stoppage time, when Maynard latched onto a Paul Hartley cross to make it 2-1.

The Personal Verdict: City were much better today. Although Middlesbrough looked dangerous on the counter attack during the first 45 minutes, City fully deserved their win after a very good performance.

City MOTM: Nicky Maynard – Great finishes for both goals. Well on his way toward achieving his season target of 20 goals.

Boro MOTM: Probably Mark Yeates. Always lively and had a couple of chances which could have made it a different game.