Bristol City have found their way to the fourth round of the FA Cup having finally found a way past Swansea City with Sam Bell’s first goal for the club breaking 202 minutes of stalemate.
Nigel Pearson opted for a strong squad for Tuesday night’s replay and although the Robins couldn’t get it done inside 90 minutes, their patience and resilience was rewarded with a date against West Brom next Saturday.
The important thing from City’s point of view, beyond advancing to the next round and that £105,000 prize money, which can't be sniffed at, was to build momentum and as explained by Pearson post-match: “The best way to do that is to win games.”
Since the toothless 2-0 defeat on Boxing Day to the Baggies, the Robins are yet to lose in five games in all competitions and on Tuesday night any feelings of negativity or talk of sackings felt a long way away.
Realistically, this is football and that could all change again in just a matter of days, but it seem as though a corner has been turned as City are finding ways to compete no matter the style of opposition.
Whether they can do that against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday after 120 minutes their opponents haven't played, in what has been a free week, is question for the weekend. For now here are the moments missed from what turned into a special night in Wales.
The man of the moment
As far as first goals for Bristol City go, in terms of quality, one that draws comparison to Michael Owen’s goal against Argentina in 1998 is pretty hard to beat.
For that to follow an assist for Mark Sykes’ opener, it was truly a night to remember for the 20-year-old. After huge celebrations for his extra-time strike Nailsea's finest was sent back out to the travelling fans for one last celebration and moment of recognition.
What had been noticeable in the pre-match warm-up was that as the rest of the matchday squad went through the final stages in front of the away end, Bell stayed locked in conversation with Jason Euell with the two discussing the forward receiving the ball and attempting to turn the defender with his first touch.
In his post-match interviews with the various media outlets present, the smile was impossible to take off his face and as Bristol Live spoke to the striker in the technical area, he received special congratulations from Scott Murray, Nigel Pearson, CEO Richard Gould and chairman Jon Lansdown; there were plentiful pats on the backs, handshakes and passionate variations of the phrase, "well done".
Pearson has repeatedly spoken about Bell’s potential and his impressive goal scoring record for the under 21s this campaign speaks for itself; he’s had to wait patiently for his opportunity but now he’s truly reaping the rewards.
The Wurzels may return to South Wales
This fixture may not be either side’s biggest rivalry each season, but both legs of this FA Cup replay have had a special feeling of bite and tenacity. Even Pearson has got stuck in with comments on Saturday about the intention to play some English folk music out of the Robins changing room to retaliate to the Swans own Welsh-based tunes on their visits to Ashton Gate.
As the squad arrived at the Swansea.Com Stadium, a video was posted on Twitter of The Wurzels’ ‘Blackbird’ blaring from the City changing room with smiles beaming across the face of the manager and Curtis Fleming as they made their way past the speaker.
However, in his post-match press conference Pearson took no responsibility for the music on arrival saying, “No, I’m not involved in anything to do with the playlist. It’s the kitman who does that, but the Wurzels might get a play next time we visit.”
Also, let's not ignore the fact that the Robins matchwinner is a former Nailsea United striker, the town intrinsically linked to the origin and history of The Wurzels.
The post-match playlist was a sizeable departure from the West Country legends, with both the Scissor Sisters and Robbie Williams echoing from the changing rooms throughout both Russell Martin and Pearson’s press conferences.
Possession is only nine tenths of the law
City have now played Swansea three times this season, all three games have been a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes, which would suggest that the two sides are fairly evenly matched. Russell Martin on the other hand doesn’t seem as convinced.
Having made six changes from the side that won at Sunderland on the weekend it seems fair to think Martin viewed the FA Cup as secondary to the Championship season, yet his comments post-match came across as sour grapes to some of the City faithful.
“We’re in their box so many more times than they’re in ours, in the final third so many more times. But in terms of actual chances created not a huge amount, but there’s a big difference between the two teams,” said Martin post-match.
“Their game plan has probably worked really well, Nigel will say.”
While City had limited possession with only 39 per cent of the ball, Swansea didn’t really make Max O’Leary work too hard, with his only two major saves coming, one as a result of Zak Vyner’s sliced clearance and to deny Ryan Manning in extra-time.
With a further visit to Swansea to come this season in the Chanmpionship, we highly doubt Pearson will be straying too far away from his counter attacking plan, whatever criticisms are levelled him from the opposition dugout.
Zak Vyner finally has a song
Few have defied people’s expectations in a City shirt this season quite like Zak Vyner. This week we’ve written plenty about the difference in the defender since last year’s trip to South Wales and how he led from the back on Tuesday night.
What we haven’t mentioned is that having made his Robins debut all the way back in 2016, in a 2-0 win away to MK Dons, and with 122 appearances since then, Vyner finally has a song.
It isn’t exactly one of the catchiest, consisting of a variety of noises, some sha-la-las thrown in, around a refrain of “Oh, Zak Vyner,” but it is quite the marker of how far the 25-year-old has come since that 3-1 defeat at the Swansea.Com Stadium last year.
If Vyner can keep up this level of performance for the rest of the season, maybe the City faithful can find a chant to match the levels of those for Jay Dasilva or Han-Noah Massengo.
Welsh connection on the benches
Euro 2016 isn’t a tournament exactly remembered fondly this side of the bridge, but it was a special time for Welsh football and there was a reunion of two members of that Wales squad on the side-lines during the first half.
Veteran midfielders Joe Allen and Andy King were part of Chris Coleman's group in France and shared a long conversation while they warmed up on the side of the pitch during the first half.
The conditions in Swansea on Tuesday couldn’t have felt much more different from the summer sunshine of France, but both players took to the field in extra-time to offer an experienced head in a young midfield.
It was King and Bristol City who ultimately had the last laugh with the Premier League winner picking out Bell excellently in the closing stages of extra-time. He also showed his excellent leadership skills sharing a moment with Omar Taylor-Clarke as the young midfielder took to the field alongside King for his City debut.
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