Bristol City 1-0 Derby County: player ratings, MOTM, heroes & villains as starboy Scott shines

Bristol City made it back to back home wins in the Sky Bet Championship as they defeated Derby County 1-0 at Ashton Gate.

Teenage sensation Alex Scott scored the only goal as the Robins made it four unbeaten at a place which was hard to buy a win for the earlier part of the season.

Nigel Pearson’s men moved up a place to 17th, putting themselves 10 points above the relegation zone.

Tale of the match

Andi Weimann was played through and tried to run at Curtis Davies, but the Derby defender tackled him with the ball loosely rolling out to Scott who fired a low shot past Ryan Allsop.

Scott’s side-splitting pass cut the Derby defence in half which allowed Callum O’Dowda to square a ball to Chris Martin, but in a crowded box and a guarded line, he missed the target.

City were the side that had a majority of the chances but neither goalkeeper had much work to do. Weimann down the right flank did well to beat Max Bird before squaring to Semenyo but he blazed his shot over the bar.

The first-half became a bit scrappy with a yellow card brandished to Tyreeq Bakinson for a coming together with Jason Knight, before Tomas Kalas was booked for a foul too, but Derby still couldn’t muster up an attempt.

In the second-half, the referee had to decide whether O’Dowda had brought Festy Ebosele down in the box for a penalty, fortunately for the hosts, he waved his arms away as the Derby winger looked over to him and his assistant.

After a shot-shy first 45, Derby began to put pressure on the home defence as Tom Lawrence headed wide, as well as Craig Forsyth putting a half-volley over the bar.

City had done their job well in having to deal with the wave of Derby attacks and almost had a chance to sting them, but Max Bird’s shove on Cameron Pring was not deemed a penalty.

There would be one last moment for the home fans to hold their breath for as Ravel Morrison hit a shot just past the post, but ultimately his chance was the last of the game and City claimed all three points.

The heroes

Alex Scott: City’s Guernsey-born player put in a stellar first-half performance and dictated the game. He’s adapted well to this wing-back role that he’s been made to grow into. In recent weeks, we’ve praised his defensive work but today it was about his attacking ability. He was in the right place at the right time for his strike and took his goal well.

As well as getting on the score sheet, he was entrusted with a number of free-kicks which were well delivered. A highlight of the match was his pass which found O’Dowda, it completely caught the defence out and it should have resulted in much more.

Andi Weimann: It was a deeper role for Weimann who instead of playing alongside Martin, played behind both him and Antoine Semenyo.

This was one of the Austrian’s former clubs, so there may have been an added incentive to perform against them.

He of course had a part in Scott’s goal by carrying the ball into the right position for the youngster to score from.

This was a bit of a freedom role for Weimann and at times, we’d see him come back deep to add another body to City’s attack. There was a tough period in which Derby kept putting on the pressure, so he was tasked with heading away any crosses that came into the box.

Given he played the whole match, it was impressive that he was able to preserve his energy to be in both boxes.

Bristol City fans: As the game entered the last ten minutes, the atmosphere began to improve. There were a few nervous groans before that because Derby were the team on top. It’s been spoken about before but Nigel Pearson praised the fans in their role against Stoke and the fans did the same here.

Despite what is a good opportunity to be restless, they didn’t have a go at players for misplacing passes or failing to get on to a ball over the top. Instead they stood up for themselves and made their voices heard.

The villains

Graham Scott: In the first-half, the referee lost control of the game on a few occasions. He took  a while to book Tomas Kalas too as the centre-back positioned himself for a free-kick. There was also a tussle between Tyreeq Bakinson and Jason Knight, which could have escalated further.

Ryan Allsop: Chosen ahead of Kelle Roos today, it seemed that Allsop didn’t inspire confidence in his defence. A few times a pass would be played back to him and he would have to rush the ball out of play. City’s attacking players on a few occasions nearly caught him out.

Player ratings

Bristol City (3-4-3): Daniel Bentley 6, Zak Vyner 6, Tomas Kalas 6, Robert Atkinson 7, Alex Scott 8, Han-Noah Massengo 6, Tyreeq Bakinson 6, (Matty James, 67;6), Callum O’Dowda 6 (Cameron Pring, 70;6), Antoine Semenyo 6 (Nahki Wells, 74;6), Andi Weimann 7, Chris Martin 6.

Derby County (4-3-3): Ryan Allsop 5, Nathan Byrne 6, Craig Forsyth 6 (Ravel Morrison, 70;6), Graeme Shinnie 6,  Phil Jagielka 7, Max Bird 7, Tom Lawrence © 6, Curtis Davies 5, Festy Ebosele 6, Jason Knight 5 (Colin-Kazim Richards, 46;6), Liam Thompson 6, (Luke Plange, 46;6)

Man of the Match

Alex Scott: The match-winner ultimately deserves the award. It was just his second goal in the colours of City and luckily this one was a match-winning one, having scored in the defeat to Forest.

The 18-year-old had a good first-half and then had to ride out a difficult second period given all of Derby’s attacks were down his  side.

What’s next?

Fortunately there aren’t any more midweek fixtures until the Christmas break now.

It’s a trip up to Humberside next week for Bristol City as they travel up North to face Hull City.

For the Rams meanwhile, they face Blackpool at Pride Park next Saturday.