‘Anything is possible’ - Nigel Pearson’s verdict after Bristol City beat Blackpool

Nigel Pearson says ‘anything is possible’ after being questioned whether Bristol City could mount a late play-off push following their win over Blackpool.

The Robins had to be patient but goals from captain Andi Weimann and Alex Scott in the second half ended a nearly five-hour wait for a goal in open play and helped them earn their first win in three matches. City’s lunchtime victory narrowed the gap between the top six to just seven points, with the rest of the division to play on Saturday and Sunday, before a full midweek schedule of fixtures.

City’s win put them into 12th and further created a distance between themselves and the drop zone with 16 points separating them and today’s opponents Blackpool. Pearson challenged his players a fortnight ago after an impressive performance against Manchester City in the FA Cup to make a push but admits the Championship is unpredictable.

In a post-match interview with Sky Sports, he said: “It’s really interesting because I think before today’s game people were saying there’s nothing to play for. There are going to be swings in both directions before the end of the season.

“What we’ve got to try and do and approach our own fixtures in a way that we finish the season as strongly as we can and what that equates to I couldn’t tell you. Anything is possible in this division and so it’s important we enjoy our football."

Bristol City’s tactics, even at home, are a side that has a preference to counter-attack teams and had more possession than their opponents who were happy to give the hosts the ball. City’s side had to find a different way to win and Weimann’s goal from outside the box was a real moment of quality to open the scoring. Scott’s goal ten minutes from time was a composed finish, and he took a touch after Curtis Nelson failed to clear his line before finessing it past goalkeeper Chris Maxwell.

"It’s just a really good result for us," Pearson said. When you play against sides that are battling for points you try and get your own part of the deal right and that is to play as well as possible but also show a bit of discipline. I thought today, we’ve had a lot of the ball, we are a counter-attacking side but we have had to find a different way to win today and I thought we showed a lot of patience.

He added: “It’s a great experience for our younger players again, for Andi to score a goal as he did is a testament to him. It’s been at times quite frustrating for him because at times he’s scored four on the trot in the first four games and he’s had a dry spell. We’ve got players missing but we still showed we’ve got the ability to win difficult games."