Monday, 25 February 2013

Bristol City 5 Barnsley 3

Sean O'Driscoll has given his players the freedom to dig themselves out of a relegation hole - and they are responding.

City have won the last four home games to turn Ashton Gate into a fortress and dragged themselves off the foot of the table to within three points of safety.

Manager O'Driscoll took on the West Country outfit in mid-January after snubbing an approach from Barnsley after Keith Hill was sacked and it looks as if the former Nottingham Forest boss may have made the right choice.

O'Driscoll's predecessor Derek McInnes managed only six wins in 28 outings before getting the boot, but City are now playing with a new-found sense of self-belief as the new manager's methods kick in.

And O'Driscoll was delighted to score five goals from set pieces before revealing that he never asks his players to practice them. He said:

"I'm really pleased - especially as we don't work on them.

"We have worked on the premise that movement kills defenders and we concentrate on having good movement in the box. We have some people who can put quality balls into the danger area but, other than that, we play it off the cuff.

"That makes it difficult for opposition defenders, because they can't say 'Bristol City do this, this and this'.

"It makes us less predictable, but the principle behind it is that, if we put the ball in an area and our movement is good, then we give ourselves a chance. We have four people who move and one that we call the maverick, who can do whatever he wants. We try and drag people out of spaces."


O'Driscoll reserved special praise for two-goal man of the match Jon Stead. He said:

"Jon's an articulate footballer who has an opinion and sees the bigger picture. He led the line well and got his reward. The players have said they believe they can be successful and all I've said is: don't just say it, show it."

Skipper Liam Fontaine, 27, scored the Robins second goal - his first in three years - and urged his team mates to take their form into away games. He said:

"It has been a frustrating time for the fans at Ashton Gate this season, but we have changed all that over the last month. Now we have to try and reproduce these kind of performances on the road."

Stead, 29, opened the scoring and added a third before saying:

"The lads are fighting for the club and it's a pleasure to be out on the field when we're working like that. We're keeping ourselves in the running and sucking other teams in."

Fontaine's central defensive partner Lewin Nyatanga added City's fourth, but Barnsley's three subs kept the Tykes fighting.

Chris O'Grady pulled one back - despite some frantic goal line defending - before striker Steven Davies restored City's four goal advantage.

But Tomasz Cywka and Jason Scotland added two late strikes to turn the game into a real thriller.

Barnsley now sit one place above the drop zone and boss David Flitcroft took his squad to Spain yesterday to recharge their batteries before they resume their own relegation scrap and take on Premier League champions Manchester City in the FA Cup. He said:

"I have to say, I didn't see that result coming. It's been game after game for five weeks now and it has finally caught up with us.


"Jon Stead and Steven Davies dominated us for large periods of the game. four goals from set pieces has thrown me and surprised me. It was a capitulation from a set piece point of view."

Keeper Tom Heaton had settled City nerves with several great first half saves.

Tunnicliffe was the first to sting Heaton's palms when he fired in a twenty yard shot.

And Stoke loanee wing-back Delap and central defender Martin Cranie both saw the stopper beat their goal bound efforts away.

My piece from this morning's paper

... and yesterday's clipping

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