Nigel Pearson bemoans penalty decision for ‘honest’ Bristol City after defeat to Bournemouth

Bristol City were blown away on the south coast by on Saturday by two second-half scores from Bournemouth, who look very likely to return to the Premier League come May.

The Cherries went behind to Rob Atkinson’s fourth minute header, but roared back through Dominic Solanke’s equaliser five minutes before the break, before goals from Lewis Cook and Siriki Dembele put Scott Parker’s side in control.

A 19th goal of the campaign for Andi Weimann continued his own great season but was just a consolation in the first minute of injury time, as he converted from Tommy Conway’s pass.

The loss made it just a single win on the road in the last 14 away games for Bristol City, and five defeats in six from the West Country outfit’s travels. It’s also now 72 goals conceded for the campaign, with just Reading and Peterborough letting in more.

After the game Nigel Pearson gave his reaction to the loss to the official club channels.

“I think we had a very honest performance today. The players worked very, very hard,” he said.

“Obviously they're a very good side. They've got some quality within their team.

“I thought in the first half, we defended very, very well - very disciplined. The game opened up in the second half and consequently they had a few situations where they looked very dangerous.

“But again, I don't know if we'll ever get another penalty, certainly if that one's not given. I don't know what we've got to do to get one, basically,” he added.

The Robins struggled for possession of the ball in the game and the manager pointed to the quality of players on show in Dorset.

He also explained that the final scoreline was a little harsh on the visitors from Ashton Gate.

“We had to defend countless set-plays and did it very, very well. We know that they’re a good side and knew that we’d have to defend with a bit of spirit,” he said.

“Although we’ve conceded three goals, I thought it was a bit harsh on us today, certainly with the penalty incident that didn’t go our way and that somewhat changes the perspective.”

Asked about the overall display, Pearson had few complaints about his side.

“I thought we gave them a really stern task today. Their staff know that at the end of the game, they’re a little bit relieved. There’s more positives than there are negatives for me,” he explained, picking out the individual displays of Tommy Conway and Han-Noah Massengo, after the pair had performed well coming off the bench.

A sold-out away end of 1,300 Robins supporters on the day also deserved a mention.

“Hopefully, they at least see their team giving everything they’ve got and that’s what we need,” explained Pearson.

“It’s one of those games where potentially we could’ve got something from but we needed things to go our way as well.

“When you play against the best sides, you’ve got to be at your best and you also need a little bit of the rub of the green somewhat,” he added.