Nigel Pearson hails ‘exciting’ Bristol City display against Blackburn Rovers as Robins go into top three

Bristol City extended their unbeaten run to eight games and flew up to third in the Championship table after a fine 2-3 win at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

A goal from Tommy Conway and a brace from Nahki Wells paved the way for a fifth victory in six games as the Robins grabbed their first away league victory.

No team has scored more than Nigel Pearson’s side in the Championship so far and the momentum being gained by the Robins is daring some supporters to dream.

But Pearson was as effusive about his team’s defensive showing as he was about their exciting attacking output when speaking following the game.

“It doesn’t feel like we’ve been searching for a win away from home,” said Pearson to the official club channels afterwards.

“We’ve been realtively successful in games recently. We make it hard for ourselves at times but they also have got some good players.

“I don’t feel necessarily nervous to close things out as we’ve done in the past – I think we’ve got more knowhow and more game understanding on the pitch, which is good.

“It was an exciting performance, we could have had three or four more goals in all honesty. But they had two really good chances in the first half too.

“We deserved to win and it would be nice to close out with a bit more certainty, but I think everybody goes home relatively happy today.

“I think our fans are feeling a bit more positive about us now – and we have a sense of excitement that we play commited football, and that’s important for them,” said Pearson.

Conway and Wells’ places in the team may have been at risk for this trip to the north west, with Antoine Semenyo having hitting three goals in three games coming off the bench.

But the Ghana striker is not being rushed back into the starting XI as Bristol City show their attacking riches, with Andi Weimann grabbing two assists and Chris Martin an unused sub for this one.

The Robins face tough games against Preston, Norwich and Burnley next but will fear no-one with the way that they are currently finding the back of the net.

“As the game progressed we were creating more meaningful chances,” said Pearson.

“There seems to be a calmness about the players, and a confidence that we can stand firm in those situations [defending set-pieces].

“That’s a big progression on where we’ve been probably last season at certain points. Good result,” added Pearson.