Your say / Sport
Stage is set now for Bristol City’s charge
This comment article is written by Bristol City fan Steve Coombes
As resounding answers go, this was pretty deafening. Having suffered back-to-back loses Friday nights trip to Peterborough, who harbour promotion hopes of their own, looked set to offer clarity on Bristol City’s table topping credentials.
A Luke Freeman double, an Aaron Wilbraham back-post header and a thoroughly imposing performance sent out an unavoidable reminder that the league leaders mean business. Icing on the cake came in the form of a clean sheet, had Marlon Pack’s speculative effort been a whisker lower we were in white towel territory.
“I thought we were terrific, but we’ve been like that most of the season,” City boss Steve Cotterill told the club’s official website after the game. “Winning tonight keeps us top of that table for four months. We’re really proud of that and determined to keep it up.”
With an FA Cup tie against Telford on Saturday it is a position that the club will hold for another few weeks at least, a fact not lost on defender Derrick Williams in the run up to the game. “It would be good to be at the top of the table for a couple of weeks and relax and enjoy it,” the Irishman said, “so this is a massive game for us.”
While addressing the blip and returning to winning ways was important, it will be the manner of the victory that resonates most. Midfield shields Korey Smith and Marlon Pack, “unsung heroes” according to their appreciative boss, were workmanlike and efficient. Wing backs Mark Little and Joe Bryan, who had an assist each, direct and threatening. Luke Freeman took both of his goals well with a dash of arrogance. Never truly looking threatened and could well have scored more, this was a complete performance from a multifaceted team, a commanding display from a side smarting in the face of questioning.
“People talk about the two defeats we’ve had and in all the interviews you do everybody thinks there’s a crisis” Cotterill said, “but we‘ve played great in both of those games and it just didn’t fall for us.”
While November, on paper, appeared a tricky month, December makes much more pleasant reading. Excluding the cup game City will host Coventry, Crawley and Yeovil while visits to Crewe and Gillingham are set. Moving away from top of the table clashes, those named currently occupy 18th, 17th, 23rd, 24th and 20th.
Having drafted in 6’6 striker Matt Smith to alleviate the burden on Aaron Wilbraham this week, rumours abound linking the club with a January move for a front man, most notably League One top scorer Eoin Doyle of Chesterfield. Marquee has become supplementary as the club ruthlessly pursues success.
With December dawning, so imperious has the club’s form been, when even in defeat caveats are attached, anything other than an automatic promotion challenge now seems unthinkable. No half measures here, the stage is ominously set.
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