‘As I started to unload the dishwasher, something quite magical happened.’

I was sitting in my kitchen listening to Bristol City last Saturday afternoon, thinking that my beloved football team were having a pretty tough week. Having lost to Preston just a few days earlier, we were staring defeat in the face against a struggling Hull City side.

Then, as I started to unload the dishwater, something quite magical happened. First Flint, then Reid, then Brownhill scored for Bristol City as the most remarkable comeback was realised. The three goals scored in quick succession changed my impending miserable evening to one of utter joy.

In his post-match interview, Johnson claimed to be as disappointed in the first seventy-minutes as he was elated in the final twenty. As my friend texted me after the game, football can really throw up the most unlikely of turnarounds, and that is why we love the number-one sport in the world so much.

The magical comeback did paint over what was, by all accounts, a pretty poor performance overall but the nature of the comeback tells you a lot about our fighting spirit within the team and is testament to their fitness and team morale.

It is hard to read too much into last week as a whole, but its fair to say we certainly weren’t at our best for the Preston game and much of the Hull game, so, could this be our early season blip out of the way? City fans will certainly hope so, but personally I do see one or two issues arising in the coming weeks.

With December now upon us, focus turns to the impending January transfer window and the chance for Johnson to bolster his squad. One area that I think he may look at is up-front, despite the manager having a plethora of options available to him. Injury has played havoc with the likes of Taylor, Djuric and Diedhiou, and although Bobby is doing well, we may wish for more options in this position.

One would imagine that Johnson may also look at the right-back situation. Our number-one choice, Eros Pisano, has looked good when he’s played but is now a long-term injury concern. And, although Bailey Wright has performed amicably in the role, the management team may well be after a specialist for that position.

Last weekend saw professional sport across the UK take part in the Rainbow Laces campaign designed to promote equality. The campaign has the objective of ‘making sport for everyone’ with specific reference to the LGBT+ community.

When I first started going to Ashton Gate in the mid-90s, homophobic abuse was rife among all sets of supporters. The go-to derogatory chant for an opposing player who had irked either set of supporters would almost always be to question his sexuality.

Having spoken to my dad about his experiences of watching football in the 70s, it seemed that homophobic abuse had replaced the racial abuse that was rife in football in days gone past. I am happy to report that homophobic abuse at Ashton Gate is much more infrequent nowadays, but sadly rears its ugly head every now and again, usually when we play Brighton.

Football is so far behind the rest of society in this respect. It’s a disgrace that any form of homophobic abuse is still somewhat tolerated in a football stadiums and the governing authorities could, and should, be doing a lot more to increase inclusion and diversity within the sport we all adore.

I for one fully support the Rainbow Laces campaign and hope that in coming years such an initiative will not be necessary, and that both fans and players feel able to be themselves within a football stadium. Sadly, I think that day is still some way off.