Liam Manning delight as resilient Bristol City win five-goal thriller against Middlesbrough

Goals from Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Tommy Conway and Mark Sykes saw Bristol City earn a 3-2 win against Middlesbrough in Liam Manning's first home match in charge.

A first goal for the club from TGH and Conway's penalty gave City a comfortable lead at the break. However, just seven minutes into the second period the score was level. Zak Vyner diverted the ball into his own net before Matt Crooks drew Boro all square.

Sykes reacted well to control a difficult chance into the back of the net, and City held strong to deny another fightback from Michael Carrick's side.

Boro came into the match off the back of nine wins in 11 matches, and their confidence was clear to see as the visitors pinged the ball around with intent early on.

Carrick’s side manipulated the ball well but it was a City error which almost saw them take an early lead.

Vyner’s heavy touch was taken advantage of by Sam Greenwood, who saw his effort deflect kindly into Max O’Leary’s hands.

Boro continued to dominate the ball, but a quick turnover almost saw City force a breakthrough.

Sykes won the ball back in the middle of the park and set up a 4v3. The winger played his pass right to Jason Knight, whose fizzed cross was palmed out to Gardner-Hickman.

TGH took a touch past Dael Fry and shot left-footed at goal. His effort looked set to nestle into the bottom corner, but a last-ditch block diverted the ball to safety.

City then began to get a foothold of possession, and their new more patient approach started to show.

The hosts passed and moved effectively, but often a little too far away from the opposition's goal to cause any real problems.

Boro were happy to oblige and use their pace up front to counter, and after a swift move forward, Isaiah Jones’ poacher's finish was ruled out for offside.

City continued with their measured on-the-ball approach but couldn’t create any consistent threat on the away goal, and it took a moment of magic from Gardner-Hickman to open the scoring.

The midfielder picked up a loose ball, set it out of his feet and fired an arrowing curling effort towards the top left corner of Seny Dieng’s goal. The shot crashed off the crossbar and down into the net to mark his first goal for the club.

An Emmanuel Latte Lath pot-shot moments after the restart gave City a scare, but O’Leary saved and a frantic few minutes followed.

A loose back pass from Jones set Conway through on goal, but the Scot couldn’t convert past Dieng.

Conway then latched onto a loose ball in behind the Boro backline and was brought down by Fry – who was perhaps lucky to only see yellow. TGH stepped up and was denied what would’ve been a brilliant brace by the away keeper as he clawed away from the top corner.

There was time for more drama before the break. Middlesbrough made a mess of a cross into the area and Matty James was the first to react to get a foot on the loose ball.

Fry caught James late and referee John Busby pointed to the penalty spot. Conway stepped up after a lengthy wait and sent Dieng the wrong way to double the Robins’ lead at half-time.

Middlesbrough would’ve been hoping for a fast start after the break and were gifted a route back into the match when Vyner diverted into his own net.

Crooks’ initial effort struck the crossbar, and as Vyner attempted to cushion the ball back to O’Leary, the keeper struggled to regain his footing and the loose ball lofted over the goalkeeper and over the line.

Three minutes later, the score was level. George Tanner lost the ball unnecessarily and Greenwood picked out Crooks who was all alone in the area. The no.25 took a touch a slotted low past O’Leary in front of the away support.

Momentum unsurprisingly shifted after the quick goals and Carrick’s side smelled blood.

However, after a quick period of pressure, City raised their game again and began to push forward once more – with Sykes at the forefront of the fight.

The winger turned on the style and won City a corner. TGH whipped the ball in and Conway’s header looked destined to fly home.

Dieng scrambled to make a brilliant fingertip save, but his touch found Sykes, who stylishly volleyed into the top corner and restore the home advantage.

City switched to a back three late on to see out the victory and were well worth the three points in Manning’s first match in charge in front of the Ashton Gate crowd.