Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson was left bemoaning his side's defensive 'frailty' after Sunderland's 3-2 win at Ashton Gate. The Black Cats earned their first victory since returning to the Championship in a see-saw game which saw debutant Ellis Simms give the visitors an early lead, only for City to level through Andreas Weimann.
Chris Martin then put City ahead just after half-time, with Simms equalising almost immediately, and then Ross Stewart scoring the winner with a little under 20 minutes remaining. Sunderland boss Alex Neil felt his side deserved their win, and while Pearson praised Simms and Stewart as 'lively', he pointed the finger at his defenders who have now conceded five goals in their opening two games - both of which have ended in defeat.
"We're two games in and we've conceded five goals," said Pearson. "I can argue last week [when City lost 2-1 at Hull] that we were unlucky but I can't argue that this week.
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"The first is an individual mistake, the second we've got a throw-in and they score a goal from our throw-in, some really poor defensive work and the third one ... it's just too easy for them. Even when they scored the third we've still had chances and opportunities to get back in so it's a frustration but two games in and concede five goals.
"We're giving ourselves far too much to do in games. Credit to them they put us under pressure.
"Their front two were quite lively but we still made basic errors which we've been punished for and that is a big frustration. We've dominated possession and we're not really a possession-based side.
"But we've had around 60 percent possession but not been able to do enough with it. I still think we created enough opportunities to get something out of the game but unfortunately we've scored two goals at home and still haven't got anything and the big thing for us is our defensive frailty and that's the problem."
Pearson was in no mood to try to pick out positives in defeat, nor to reflect on how he will pick his players up after two defeats, saying they need to feel the 'hurt'. He said: "It's not a day where I make excuses or look for positives that aren't there.
"If we concede goals like we did yesterday, we're going to have a tough season. I don't think I need to pick the team up right now quite frankly.
"They have to feel the pain of losing first and I'll pick them up later, but not now. It's got to hurt them."
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