Bristol City striker expresses gratitude to teammate after reaching double figures for Robins

The experienced Football League striker found double figures again, and for the first time for Bristol City

Chris Martin has expressed his delight in reaching his 10th goal of the season for Bristol City after scoring in the 1-1 draw with Sheffield United.

The 33-year-old found the back of the net in the Robins’ 1-1 draw with the promotion-chasing Blades at Ashton Gate in what was a respectable performance on Easter Monday.

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Martin, who last month signed a contract extension reached double figures for the first time in four seasons and added to the four goals he scored last year.

And he paid thanks to his attack partner Antoine Semenyo who provided him with an assist for a simple finish as he tucked his shot past Wes Foderingham to reach the tally.

It was the eighth time that the Scotland international scored ten goals or more in a season in what has been a lengthy playing career.

“I’ve got Antoine to thank for that, he put it on a plate for me,” he said to Robins TV.

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“I just had to do the easy part and tap it in. Those ones are a bit nervy as you have so much time to think about it as the ball is rolling across but that is what we pay for as centre-forwards.

“It’s always nice to get into double figures. It’s not every season that it happens. When I look over my career I’ve been lucky enough to do it a few times.

“It’s always a good milestone but as any good centre-forward will tell you that I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t get another one.”

The performance was much improved from their last home match in which they were booed off against Peterborough United.

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City contended well with a side that last season were in the Premier League and are competing to be in the end-of-season play-offs.

United may have been without a recognised striker but still caused some problems, especially in the first-half.

From the game, the experienced forward gave an honest assessment of the match and explained the improvements from the first period.

“I think we are reasonably satisfied,” said Martin. “They had some chances and so did we, so maybe it was a fair result. I know they had a bit more possession than us but I thought especially in the second-half we looked dangerous on the break.

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“It could have gone either way. We had chances to get the second but they also had some big opportunities in the first half and could have been a goal in the lead. Take the point and move on.

“We need to be a little more positive with the ball. We rushed it a little bit in the first half and we weren’t able to hold on to possession enough hence they had a lot of pressure especially on the edge of our box.

“They have got some very good players and they had some good interplay on the front line and managed to open us up a little bit. I think second half we showed a bit of prowess and managed to go in the lead but weren’t able to hang on.”

The draw against United secured a fourth point out of a possible six in the Easter Holiday double-header.

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City claimed a rare away win away at Stoke City, winning 1-0 thanks to a delightful strike from Jay Dasilva.

And whilst back-to-back wins still alludes them this season and under Nigel Pearson, there were positives to take from their last two matches.

“I think we showed a good discipline and character when we didn’t have the ball,” said Martin. “We enjoyed the work that we had to do to get back possession and put our bodies on the line.

“I thought the back three did a great job both Friday and today being our last line defence, showing that desire to keep that ball out of the net.

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“I thought we showed how dangerous we were in both games and created some good opportunities. All round it is fairly positive.”

There are now three games left in City’s season including a trip to Pride Park to face Martin’s former club Derby County, who were relegated.

There is also a home game against Hull City, as well as a final day fixture against Huddersfield Town, who are in the mix for an automatic promotion spot.

But despite securing status in English football’s for a second tier and not much room for movement, Martin says there is still a motivation in the final few games.

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He said: “There is always something to play for. People might look at now we are mathematically safe they might expect us to take our foot off the gas a bit and coast towards the end of the season.

“Everyone is playing for their futures and we are looking to build on what has happened this season and take the positives into next.

“It’s been a real learning curve for the older players and especially the younger players who we have bred into the squad this season. What we want to do is finish the season as strongly as possible and build a platform heading into next year.”

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