Nigel Pearson praised his side's bravery and admitted the younger players will learn from the experience after Coventry condemned The Robins to a cruel defeat with a late goal.
Bristol City fell behind through Ian Maatsen's impressive strike in the first half but were rewarded for their pressure when Chris Martin equalised with his head from close range just after the hour mark.
The hosts piled on the pressure looking for a winner but were punished in the dying embers when Han-Noah Massengo was made to pay for a misplaced pass before Viktor Gyokeres latched onto Gustavo Hamer's through ball to score the winner.
Pearson has been vocal in his criticism of individual errors costing his side goals in previous matches but remained more than encouraged with the performance despite a missed opportunity to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.
He said: "I thought the performance tonight was really good. I know we’ve given a lot of goals away late on but tonight didn’t feel the same as other situations because there’s no anxiety there.
"We played really well and we were looking for the winner. We’re punished by another mistake in the middle of the pitch which has cost us. It’s quite hard for young players to deal with those types of situations but that’s how they get better.
"They only learn if they show progression. Learning is about how you process either information or an experience and whether you can then do things differently when a similar experience occurs.
"That's why it was important for me to recognise tonight that what we didn't do is lose the game because we showed anxiety - it wasn't about that. We got punished - I don't want to take anything away from Mark's team who set up against us how I would set up against us. That is let them have the ball and counterattack.
"Their game plan has worked really well because we were really at it tonight. One thing our punters can't criticise us for is a lack of honesty. There is a real honesty about the group of players and how we go about it and yea, we've made mistakes this season but doesn't everybody?
"They're having a go and we are making progress. A result like tonight is a big hit because we didn't deserve that, it's what football is. You've got to be able to deal with disappointment in life.
"The youngsters are gaining some tough experiences but some very valuable ones too."
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