‘Real swagger’, ‘sharp’ - Bristol City player ratings in second Swindon Town win

Bristol City claimed a 5-0 win over Swindon Town in their second of two sixty minute matches at the High Performance Centre.

Mark Sykes opened the scoring before Tommy Conway scored four goals in what was a clinical display by the 20-year-old.

The opposition had to borrow some players from the hosts to help fill their squad. Seb Palmer-Houlden lead the line with Omar Taylor-Clarke behind him, and then both Duncan Idehen and Jamie Knight-Lebel were Swindon’s centre-back partnership.

Tale of the match

In the second game, the ball was in the net as a free-kick was whipped in but a foul was given as Stefan Bajic was bundled over the line along with the ball. The second match started with a slower tempo with the match feeling more evenly contested.

Fifteen minutes in and the deadlock was broken. Anis Mehmeti was involved, and he played in Cameron Pring who’s cross deflected to Sykes, who headed home from a few yards out.

Sykes opening goal put Bristol City in command, and the Republic of Ireland international searched for a second, but his shot curled over the bar. Another chance shortly followed with Tommy Conway going on a mazy run, and after dribbling away from his opponents, filed a deflected shot just wide.

Approaching the half-way mark, Conway opened his account in pre-season. Mehmeti’s cross came in, and following a touch on from Calum Wood, the Scotland Under-21 international was able to touch it home.

Another goal for Conway shortly followed, as he made the most of a defensive error. He nabbed the ball off of Harrison Minturn following Tyrese Shade’s heavy pass, and then slotted it past the trialist goalkeeper.

In search of a goal, Palmer-Houlden nearly netted against his own club, but Bajic did well to block him from getting a clean shot. The hosts went from defence to attack quickly as a a long ball over the top, but Conway’s effort hit the post.

He did eventually find his hat-trick as Mehmeti was found on the overlap by Joe Williams, and he found Conway from a few years out to strike home.

Williams found himself getting involved more in the game, and he found Conway for a free header, but he missed the target. Swindon continued to use more of Bristol City’s academy players and soon Ephraim Yeboah and Josh Campbell-Slowey came on.

In a breathtaking move, Mehmeti turned his man before threading a ball through to Conway, who showed great composure to tuck his shot past the goalkeeper.

A rare opportunity saw Bajic come out to make a save, in what was one of the only real times that he was called into action. Andy King lost possession and Aroaye lost his man, but Jacob Wakeling couldn’t beat him with his shot. In the last act of the match, Ephraim Yeboah rounded Bajic, but couldn’t find a teammate.

Player ratings

Stefan Bajic - 7

Nervy at the start after the ball went in the net, but picked himself up from that. Good block to deny Palmer-Houlden and then Wakeling late on.

Ross McCrorie - 7

McCrorie got to go slightly more forward in the last 15 minutes, and showed some glimpses.

Raphael Aroaye - 7

The young centre-back got some his experience along with his academy teammate, but didn’t have much to deal with. He did show some good vision with some long-range passing.

Calum Wood - 7

Wood got himself in a position to help contribute to one of Conway’s goals.

Cam Pring - 7

Pring got some benefit out of this 60-minute appearance, and got Mehmeti some joy down the flank.

Andy King - 7

Looked comfortable in possession and was a calming presence in the centre of the park. Did make a slight error towards the end though.

Andi Weimann - 7

Didn’t really get to influence the game much with no real shots or passes of note, with his teammates taking the limelight, but nearly got something towards the end.

Joe Williams - 8

Solid display from Williams. He’s known for being a bit more of a defensive minded midfielder, but he was involved a lot in the final third, and found Mehmeti a few times, who in turn found Conway.

Mark Sykes - 8

Sykes took his goal well, and could have had more. Dropped slightly deeper to allow McCrorie to get an attacking opportunity.

Tommy Conway - 10

He showed a real swagger in his performance. A slight worry when he looked to pick up a knock, but he approached this game in the right way. Took his goals well and could have had even more. The first XI against Swindon was arguably the stronger of the teams, but Conway made a point with his display

Anis Mehmeti - 9

Good display from Mehmeti who found Conway on a few occasions for his goals or goal scoring opportunities. Sharp and a good platform to build on for the remaining fixtures this month.