Well, league wins are like buses for Bristol City, you wait three weeks for the first against Luton and only days later the Reds put in yet another excellent performance to beat Cardiff City at Ashton Gate.
City were excellent once more, in front of a vocal home crowd, with Tommy Conway making it four goals in four games this season with an excellent header to break the deadlock in the first half, before Rob Atkinson headed home, from Kal Naismith’s superb header, to keep all three points on the English side of the bridge.
Unlike City’s win over Luton Town, there were almost no bumps in the road as the Robins got through the 90 minutes unscathed with every player from back to front putting in an impressive display.
The City fans inside Ashton Gate were confident with chants of “Cardiff get battered everywhere they go,” beginning before a ball had even been kicked and that confidence seemed to bleed into their players as they romped home for their third successive Severnside victory.
Any feelings of discontent that were being broadcast after a frustrating start to the season have been silenced, with Nigel Pearson finding a winning formula that has been a pleasure to watch in the last week.
Up next City travel to Adams Park in the Carabao Cup with no sense that it will be taken lightly by Pearson’s side, but before that here are the moments missed from a special day in South Bristol.
Sol Bamba, Dean Holden and Marlon Pack all in BS3
He may be training with the Bristol City squad now, but it is safe to say that Sol Bamba remains a legend amongst the Bluebird supporters. Having spent five years plying his trade in the Welsh capital he was given a hero's welcome as he arrived at the media entrance to carry out his Sky Sports duties.
The 37-year-old was flocked by travelling supporters singing his name and trying to take selfies, but Bamba was clearly in a rush so quickly made his way through the crowd.
In the pre-match talk on the gantry, Bamba was quick to deflect Michelle Owen’s suggestion that he’d moved over the divide, saying that he was just training and that he’d, “not crossed the bridge, yet." Although he had a huge grin on his face when revealing Nigel Pearson had asked him to come down and train.
Also stationed in the Sky Sports studio was Nigel Pearson’s predecessor Dean Holden, who returned to Ashton Gate where he spent four years as Lee Johnson’s assistant manager before taking over the reins in 2020 for six months.
Holden is a popular figure in South Bristol despite his tenure being a short one and was given a great reception on his return to the Gate with Stoke last season and had plenty of love shown his way when making his way around the stadium on Sunday.
There was also a place in the crowd for Portsmouth’s Marlon Pack and his son. However, there was no room for doubt over the midfielder’s loyalties. Despite having played for both City and Cardiff, his son was sporting an Andreas Weimann shirt.
A cold welcome on O’Dowda’s return
It wasn’t just in the stands and the gantry that former City players returned to Ashton Gate on Sunday, with Callum O’Dowda returning to face the Robins for the first time since being released at the end of last season.
Few players that cross the divide get a warm welcome on their return, as shown by the treatment of former City hero Aden Flint last season, and O’Dowda wasn’t ever the most liked by the City faithful even while donning red.
His first touches were greeted by loud boos from three sides of Ashton Gate, and it set the trend for what was to follow. Perhaps the biggest noise, other than the goals, came when Cardiff had a goal disallowed for offside. The Irish winger found himself starting his celebrations in front of Section 82 before they were cut short much to the amusement of the home crowd.
After the final whistle, O’Dowda spent a while clapping the travelling supporters before spending time catching up with his former teammates on the Ashton Gate turf. But it was a statement of his character that despite the frosty reception he was granted, he still clapped fans in the Lansdown Stand as he headed down the tunnel.
Tommy Conway absolutely loves it
What a week for Tommy Conway. On Wednesday he scored his first goal at Ashton Gate and then only four days later he gets his second in a Severnside derby win and it’s obvious he’s enjoying it as much as the fans.
His celebration was accompanied by a massive grin plastered across his face and when he was substituted in the second half all 20,000 City fans stood to applaud the performance of the 20-year-old.
After the final whistle, the substitutes were quick to make their way onto the pitch in celebration, but flatmates Conway and Alex Scott were one of the last to make their way down the tunnel with the striker offering Jurgen Klopp-like fist pumps in the direction of the singing section.
Having been in the academy since he was nine, Conway knows more than most how much this game means to the Bristol City supporters. Yet when conducting his post-match interview his focus was already on Wednesday’s trip to Wycombe showing that focus the coaching staff have desired from their young players.
Glass of wine for Nigel, but Scott fails to deliver
It was a double birthday at Ashton Gate on Sunday, with manager Nigel Pearson turning 59 and Alex Scott celebrating his 19th birthday, but according to Curtis Fleming, Pearson was more than happy for the spotlight to be on Scott instead of him.
The celebrations were put on hold with City’s entire focus concentrated on getting one over their rivals, with Fleming, who spoke to the written press rather than the City manager, suggesting that the coaching team would enjoy a glass of wine to not only celebrate the three points but also Pearson’s birthday.
The tradition is that when it’s a player’s birthday they bring in cakes for the rest of the squad, much like most workplaces, but Rob Atkinson revealed that Alex Scott was yet to provide the goods as it wouldn’t be ideal preparation for a matchday.
When Atkinson was asked whether the squad had done anything special for the under 19 European Champion his reply was fairly simple but delivered with a huge smile, “We won the Severnside derby.”
The unavailable players are still close to the squad
When the Bristol City bus arrived at Ashton Gate ahead of kick-off, accompanying the staff and the matchday squad there was also the suspended Mark Sykes who despite being unavailable remains integrated within the derby day squad.
Matty James could also be seen in the media entrance at Ashton Gate and there were photos of the midfielder inside the changing room after the game posted on Han-Noah Massengo’s Instagram. James has been one of Pearson’s crucial voices on the field when available so it’s not surprising that he is still close to the squad.
It’s easy to forget that City are still missing key players when they put in performances like they have so far this season, but the possibility of returns for James, Antoine Semenyo and Tomas Kalas over the coming weeks and months really is an exciting prospect.
However, as shown by Kane Wilson’s limited minutes so far this campaign while Pearson’s side are playing this well it won’t be an easy task for anyone to take the shirt from those who are performing at the moment.
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