Sun Jan 15, 2017 4:57 pm
Bristol City 2 Cardiff City 3: Five things we learned as pressure mounts on Johnson after derby loss
By a_stockhausen | Posted: January 15, 2017
For the second time in the space of two weeks, Bristol City squandered the lead at Ashton Gate and contrived to lose a game they really ought to have won.
Leading 2-1 with eight minutes of the Severnside derby remaining, the Robins ended up losing 3-2 as two goals in the space of three minutes from Kadeem Harris and Anthony Pilkington served to turn the tables in a dramatic finale.
City have now lost a club-record-equalling seven successive matches in the Championship and questions are being asked of head coach Lee Johnson and his players.
Here are five things we learned from this latest setback for the Robins.
1: This City side is mentally fragile whenever the pressure is on
Robins head coach Lee Johnson has recruited physically-imposing players in the January transfer window in an attempt to address a lack of height and power within his squad. Having purchased Bailey Wright, Jens Hegeler and Milan Djuric to bolster the spine, City now have an urgent requirement for players who are mentally strong.
Once again, Johnson's charges were found wanting when the time came to dig in, demonstrate resilience and see the game out from a winning situation. Just as they did in the latter stages of recent games against Preston, Wolves, Ipswich and Reading, the Robins revealed a soft centre, succumbing to blind panic and caving in when Cardiff applied late pressure in search of an equaliser.
From the moment the visitors restored parity for a second time, it was evident that they fancied their chances of going on to secure all three points against a side that resembled startled rabbits in car headlamps.
City really ought to have seen this game out and the return of old stager Gary O'Neil cannot come quickly enough for a side that is dire need of reassurance.
2: City only had themselves to blame for rank bad defending
City's inability to protect a lead or keep clean sheets is fast becoming a recurring theme in this increasingly challenging Championship campaign. Resolute and solid for 70 minutes, the home side dealt with everything that Cardiff could throw at them.
But once the pressure came on during the final quarter, cracks began to show and Cardiff were gifted three incredibly soft goals. The rot started when Mark Little needlessly challenged Joe Ralls, who was heading away from goal, and handed the Bluebirds a gift-wrapped opportunity to get back into the game.
Anthony Pilkington scored the subsequent penalty and, in doing so, undid so much of City's good work earlier in the game. Impressive when going forward, Joe Bryan's defending was exposed when he switched off for a second or two and allowed Kadeem Harris to run between Marlon Pack and Bailey Wright to head the visitors level in the 85th minute. And defensive frailties were also to blame when, moments later, Pilkington was afforded time and space in which to unleash a sweetly-struck drive from 25 yards out to win the contest in spectacular fashion.
No matter how good his strike, he should have been closed down by Josh Brownhill, while goalkeeper Frank Fielding would have expected to have got at least a hand to a shot from so far out.
3: It is easy to see why Lee Johnson wanted to sign Milan Djuric
Recruited from Italian second-tier club Cesena for £1.5m earlier this month, burly centre forward Milan Djuric was brought to Ashton Gate to provide support for top-scorer Tammy Abraham.
And there were clear signs amid the heat of battle in an uncompromising Severnside derby that the pair are beginning to forge a potentially productive understanding.
Aided and abetted by the presence of a 6ft 5in battering ram alongside him, teenager Abraham revelled in the space allowed him by central defenders who were fully occupied by the big Bosnian. The two combined to score a goal from arguably the most fluent and incisive move of the entire game after 82 minutes.
Bryan surged to the line and sent over a cross to the back post, where Djuric rose high to nod the ball into the path of Abraham. The Chelsea loan star summoned a characteristically neat finish to register his 18th goal in 31 appearances since joining City on loan in the summer.
Djuric also had a hand in City's first goal, nodding the ball into the path of Bryan, whose ferocious drive came off the underside of the cross bar and hit Bluebirds keeper Brian Murphy on the back before crossing the line.
4: There were some fine individual performances and Jens Hegeler stood out
Playing only his second game since moving to England from Hertha Berlin, Jens Hegeler gave a masterclass in decision-making. While those around him succumbed to panic, took wrong options and gave the ball away, the big German was the picture of calmness under pressure.
His experience and ability to read the game and understand what was required of him in any given instance meant he was better able than any other City player to manage the game. Had the Robins had more players in the Hegeler mould on the pitch, they would very likely have seen the game out and taken all three points.
The former Germany under-21 international did the simple things well and was prepared to carry the attack to the opposition, advancing up-field to support the forwards and take shots at goal himself on numerous occasions. He may only have made two appearances for the Robins, but the 28-year-old certainly appears to be the real deal.
5: Referee Craig Pawson kept control of a feisty encounter that threatened to boil over
Much-maligned by football managers and journalists when they get it wrong, referees deserve credit when they have a good game. Yorkshire-based official Craig Pawson did exactly that, controlling a potentially heated encounter with calm assurance throughout.
He managed to keep a lid on things in a first half that was notable for the relish with which players on both sides clattered into one another, conceding free kicks at a rate that rendered fluent football the exception rather than the rule.
He missed very little indeed, issued yellow cards when absolutely necessary and got the big decisions right. Mr Pawson's decision to award a penalty against Mark Little was the correct one, while his refusal to acquiesce in Cardiff's claims for a spot kick for hand ball or City's calls for a penalty when Callum O'Dowda went to ground under challenge from Lee Peltier were also spot on. All in all, he had a very good game.