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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Sport
Richard Forrester

Bristol City verdict: A new leader in the pack, a nod to the academy and the first of many

Bristol City don't do penalties.

As the snow started to fall in Swansea, Sam Bell made sure the wait for the spot-kicks would enter its 438th day when he took matters into his own hands to fire the Robins into the fourth round. Talk about the magic of the FA Cup.

It was The Wurzels coming out of the speaker as Bristol City strolled into the away dressing room on their arrival to the Liberty Stadium and Robbie Williams blaring out amidst the full-time celebrations as we waited for a proud Nigel Pearson to make his way for the post-match interview.

The celebrations told the full story when the ball rippled the back of the net in extra-time. The entire bench were off their feet, the players mobbed the young striker and the away section was just a wave of limbs.

That moment felt like an outpouring of emotion from all concerned following months of increasing frustration and pressure. Although City rode their luck at times, that victory felt deserved given the sheer determination and grit of the group.

A rather dour first half sprung to life in the second period when Mark Sykes grabbed his third in two games after latching onto Bell's beautifully weighted pass. That lead lasted just 11 minutes before Oliver Cooper equalised with his first touch.

As extra-time reached the dying embers, it was time for Bell to produce a moment of magic to set up a home tie with West Brom at the end of the month. Here's the verdict following a memorable evening in Wales.

Another nod to the academy

There were eight players in the City squad last night who had come through the academy. Max O'Leary, Zak Vyner, Cam Pring, Alex Scott, Antoine Semenyo, Sam Bell, Omar Taylor-Clarke and Dylan Kadji all made the trip to Swansea with seven of those earning minutes.

We'll come onto Bell shortly but Brian Tinnion, Ali Hines and the rest of the academy staff must have been full of pride when Taylor-Clarke was introduced onto the pitch during extra-time for his senior debut. The 19-year-old came on for Matty James in the 102nd minute for his tenacity and wasted little time in making a solid first impression.

His first touch was a crunching tackle on the edge of his own box which resulted in his side winning a goal-kick. His cameo may have been short but he was energetic in the middle, not shy in getting his foot on the ball despite the occasion and certainly wasn't afraid to throw himself in front of the ball.

Omar Taylor-Clarke chases down a loose ball (Ashley Crowden/JMP)

Having impressed with the Under-21s throughout the campaign, Taylor-Clarke has been training with the first-team and travelling with the senior set-up, often warming up before matches with Kadji. He was named on the bench for the first time in the reverse FA Cup fixture at Ashton Gate and then again in the victory over Birmingham.

As Nigel Pearson said post-match, he was "a bit surprised" with the manager revealing why he decided to utilise him. He said: "We wanted to optimise the substitute situation. Omar is a slightly different style of player to Dylan (Kadji). Dylan is a bit more languid and Omar is a real tenacious tackler.

"We decided to put him higher up and Joe (Williams) back with Kingy and let him loose. He got plenty of tackles in during his short cameo performance, let's put it that way."

Like father, like son

One down, 37 to go for Bell to beat his dad, Mickey's Bristol City goalscoring record. You only have to see videos and images of the celebrations on social media to see what it meant to him and the rest of the group.

It was only a matter of time before Bell broke his duck. After watching his mate Tommy Conway breakthrough into the first-team this season with such success, he must have been itching to get that opportunity in front of goal to help ignite his City career.

The 20-year-old has been scoring for fun with the youth side and that form has contributed to him moving ahead of Chris Martin in the striking pecking order. He's had to be patient for his goal after making his debut two seasons ago but it was worth the wait.

Andy King slipped it into his path and he was off, beating his defender for pace to surge into the box. He cut in front of his man to prevent the tackle, moved the ball onto his right foot and fired it into the roof of the net to send the away fans into delirium.

It was what Bell is all about. Pace, skill and composure rolled into one and his moment had been coming. Just minutes before he came within inches of getting a touch on Semenyo's cross towards the back post for a tap-in while also dragging a shot wide on his left-foot following some smart movement to get in front of his man.

It wasn't the only impact he had on the game and he deserves huge credit for the quality of his assist to open the scoring. Joe Williams did superbly to dispossess his man and thread a pass into Bell's feet.

He turned and played a beautifully weighted ball into the onrushing Sykes who made no mistake to score his third in just two games. There's no doubt Bell is going to have a bright future at City and hopefully, that goal will be the catalyst to be the first of many.

Sam Bell celebrates the winning goal (Ashley Crowden/JMP)

Zak Vyner's a leader

As written prior to the game, it was 11 months ago at the Liberty Stadium when Vyner became the victim of a shoddy defensive performance and humbling defeat. That was in February and the central defender only saw 45 minutes of league action from then until the rest of the season seemingly putting an end to his City career.

Compare that performance to the one yesterday and it's further evidence of how much his game has progressed over the last year. As we've now come to regularly expect, Vyner was (almost) faultless once again and I write almost because he would have breathed a sigh of relief in the first half when his shanked clearance almost hit the back of his own net if it wasn't for O'Leary.

What was notable last night that perhaps often goes under the radar was Vyner's responsibility in organising the backline. While that has usually fallen to Kal Naismith when playing in a back three, the 25-year-old was probably the most vocal he has been this season.

That was particularly evident during extra-time when he headed a delivery clear for the umpteenth time. Immediately, he called on his defenders to get out and push higher up the field.

As he continues to build that relationship with George Tanner on the pitch, he was constantly speaking to him and keeper Max O'Leary both proving a source of motivation and ensuring they remained focussed throughout the duration of the game.

Whether that aspect comes with confidence and greater responsibility, Vyner is proving not only a reliable defender but also a figurehead at the back too.

Seven subs named

The FA Cup provides an opportunity to name nine substitutes and therefore gives managers the flexibility to give fringe players or youngsters the scope to gain invaluable experience.

Given the lack of options with the injuries to Andi Weimann and Tommy Conway, Pearson opted to name just seven players on the substitute bench which is further confirmation that surely Chris Martin and Timm Klose are unlikely to feature again for the club.

While Pearson confirmed they are looking to offload Klose last week, he remained a little more coy over Martin by stating that "they will not cut their noses off to spite their face" during the January transfer window.

However, his absence in particular from the squad yesterday is evidence that they will be willing to listen to offers this month with the hope of reducing the wage bill and bringing in a new face or two.

With Taylor-Clarke and Kadji among the substitutes, Pearson continues to look towards the future but last night could have provided the chance to give the likes of Elijah Morrison or striker Seb Palmer-Houlden an invaluable experience of being in and around a first-team environment.

Perhaps the Under-21s fixture away at Newcastle on Wednesday was in his thinking when it came to naming his squad.

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