Well, it was probably due. Tuesday’s 0-0 draw between Bristol City and Coventry City at Ashton Gate was the first time this season that the Robins have failed to score and their first goalless draw since September 2021 at home to Preston.
It was a strange game that saw the away side probably have the best chances with Dan Bentley forced to make yet another impressive save to keep his team’s clean sheet, yet City had spells where it was like an attack vs defence training session.
Nigel Pearson and Andy King both mentioned that the hosts had attempted “40 crosses” in what felt like an unthreatening bombardment, where City kept huffing and puffing without ever really feeling like they would score.
That can be forgiven thanks to Pearson’s team’s incredible attacking displays this campaign, one match without scoring isn’t too worrying and when partnered with a much-needed clean sheet it can definitely be forgiven.
It’s an overused cliché but the nature of the Championship means that City have a chance to end their four-game winless run in only a couple of days’ time at St Andrew’s and four points from their last two games would sound a lot sweeter than one point from their last four.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s look at the moments missed under the lights on Tuesday at Ashton Gate.
Bell back amongst the first team
It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster start to Sam Bell’s Bristol City career, with the 20-year-old making his debut against Birmingham City during the 2020/21 season but he was limited to appearances from the bench or out of position at right wing-back in the last campaign.
The quick rise of Tommy Conway and resurgence of Nahki Wells this season has seen City inundated with striking options and Bell is yet to make a Championship matchday squad, however, he has found form for the under-21 side, impressively so with five goals in his last three games.
Bell was seen getting off the team coach at Ashton Gate and posed for selfies and photos with fans in the front of the Lansdown Stand in training wear, despite not being named in the Robins matchday 18.
Pearson revealed that the forward was left out of Monday’s U21’s match at Millwall as it was touch and go whether Conway would recover from a knock sustained in the defeat to QPR on Saturday.
“Sam Bell is coming back into form which is great for us,” said Pearson. “He was in the squad; we can’t leave ourselves short.”
The likelihood that all of City’s current attacking options remain fit for the entirety of the season is low so to have Bell chomping at the bit, City should be able to maintain their great attacking threat.
The return of Palmer
Kasey Palmer’s three-and-a-half years as a Bristol City player were by no means what either he or the fans quite expected, as the former Chelsea man left BS3 with more appearances from the bench than starts.
He returned to Ashton Gate off the back of a good performance for Coventry in their win against Middlesborough and his evening started with a warm welcome from Scott Murray, the two sharing an embrace pitchside as the Sky Blues began their warm-up.
But that was about as warm a welcome as the 25-year-old would get from the City faithful, with his first touches booed and whistled that became customary throughout the night. A big cheer also erupted from Section 82 and around the Dolman as Andy King beat Palmer to a ball on the edge of the box that he was second favourite for.
As usual Palmer showed touches of brilliance and immense skill in the away side’s midfield but his influence on the game faded as the minutes ticked along - to be expected given his lack of minutes in 2022 - with his former teammates showing him little love with tackles flying in and no quarter given.
As evidence of the feistiness, Palmer made six successful tackles, committed five fouls and won two free-kicks against his former teammates. He was a man definitely up for the occasion.
There was, however, a nice reunion with Jay Dasilva after the final whistle with the pair coming through the Chelsea youth ranks together.
The attacking midfielder made a big deal of clapping the travelling fans every time he wandered to the corner flag in front of the Atyeo Stand and he’s certainly increasingly loved by the Sky Blue faithful, maybe, and hopefully he’s found a happy permanent home.
Eustace in attendance
It’s not unusual to see a couple of familiar faces positioned around the Ashton Gate press box with plenty of scouts typically in attendance, but on Tuesday night there was a third Championship manager in the Lansdown Stand.
Birmingham City head coach John Eustace was sat just behind Bristol Live in the top tier of the stand presumably taking the short trip from the Midlands to watch his side’s upcoming opponents.
The Blues take on Middlesbrough on Wednesday night before welcoming Pearson’s side to St Andrew’s on Saturday and Eustace will have had his own personal interest in Tuesday night’s contest having played for the Sky Blues for seven years, scoring seven times from midfield.
You’d imagine Eustace wouldn’t have learnt much he didn’t already know about the Robins but all that could change by Saturday, with Pearson floating the idea post-match of a shift to a back four if Kal Naismith isn't declared fit.
King channels Gallas and Matthaus
When writing a Bristol City 22/23 bingo card, I doubt even the most forward thinking of fans would’ve thought to imagine a season where 33-year-old Andy King would play as a Lothar Matthaus-style sweeper in a back three.
The German legend reinvented himself as a central defender in the final stages of his decorated career having dominated midfields in the 1980s and 1990s, but no matter where he played on he field, he always retained his No10 shirt.
I doubt it was in Nigel Pearson’s plan A, B or C but thanks to his injury-ridden defensive options he was unable to call upon Timm Klose or Tomas Kalas, when Naismith was forced off in the first half.
King had already impressed alongside Han-Noah Massengo in the City midfield, his first start in the Championship this season and despite not having the pace to cope with Victor Gyokeres in a sprint, he made sure the Swede had to work hard for his chances.
Statistically King was one of the home side’s best performers, completing 87 per cent of his 54 passes and making six defensive recoveries while winning 75 of his ground duels against the tricky Gyokeres.
In the post-match press conference King, still dressed in full kit, admitted he had been given some stick from his teammates for playing in defence while donning the number 10 shirt, admitting that there had been "quite a bit of banter flying around" with comparisons more with William Gallas’ spell at Arsenal than Matthaus’ appearance in the 1998 World Cup.
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