Bristol City vs Barnsley. Sky Bet Championship.
Ashton GateAttendance18,347.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Bristol City and Barnsley at Ashton Gate as an Andi Weimann double earned a comeback victory for the Robins and finally ended their winless run at home.
Saturday 30 October 2021 18:58, UK
Andreas Weimann's first-half double ended Nigel Pearson's Ashton Gate nightmare as Bristol City came from behind to beat Barnsley 2-1 in a tense Sky Bet Championship game.
The visitors took a 28th-minute lead when Devante Cole got behind City's defence on the right and pulled the ball back for Aaron Leya Iseka to shoot home from close range.
Home fans were becoming restless until Weimann broke on to a Nahki Wells through ball on 42 minutes and thumped the equaliser past Brad Collins.
Weimann netted his second with a precise side-footed finish from Chris Martin's cross after a defence-splitting pass by Han-Noah Massengo in first-half stoppage time.
City lived on their nerves in the second half but held on to record their first home success in 18 games, stretching back to February - 15 of them under Pearson.
For Barnsley, it was a seventh successive defeat, but they could consider themselves unlucky on the balance of play.
Tyreeq Bakinson fired narrowly over for City on 15 minutes before wing-back Jordan Williams, looking a threat on Barnsley's left, was denied by a Daniel Bentley save.
Leya Iseka's opening goal gave the Tykes a boost and Bentley did well again to parry a Callum Brittain drive on 38 minutes.
Boos were starting to ring around Ashton Gate from disgruntled City fans, but Weimann's quick double transformed the atmosphere and Pearson's men left the pitch to cheers at half-time.
Barnsley boss Markus Schopp made a change at the break, sending on Josh Benson for Claudio Gomes, while Pearson was forced into one early in the second half, Jay Dasilva replacing the injured Cameron Pring.
Williams had a curling effort saved by Bentley as Barnsley looked to level. They came within inches of doing so on 62 minutes when a bout of pinball around City's six-yard box saw Liam Kitching hit the bar and two goalline clearances.
City could have sealed the points on the break on 67 minutes when Wells shot over after a slick move, but their defence was coming under heavy pressure.
Bentley produced a reaction save to keep out Cauley Woodrow's 73rd-minute header after more good work by Williams and Cole.
By then Pearson had given a debut to 18-year-old midfielder Ayman Benarous as substitute for Bakinson.
Martin had a shot blocked, but much of the action was at the other end, Barnsley forcing a string of corners. Cole shot over from the edge of the box on 84 minutes and the visitors piled extra men forward.
Cheered on by their long-suffering fans, City held on by the skin of their teeth. At the final whistle Pearson turned with both arms outstretched to the stand behind him, while supporters celebrated as if their team had just won promotion.
Bristol City's Nigel Pearson: "Our supporters were fantastic. The noise in the closing stages when we were under pressure was unbelievable and definitely helped the players over the line. It was not something we had a right to expect. There were nerves on and off the pitch at the end and the fans could easily have gone quiet. Instead, the volume of support was magnificent. We have played a lot better at home this season and lost, but today the result was everything and fair play to the lads for displaying the necessary fighting spirit.
"Of course, there is a feeling of relief. The home run we have been on is unfathomable and hopefully we can make this result a turning point. There have been times this season when we deserved to win games here and it didn't happen. Today, we were poor at times, but that's football."
Barnsley's Markus Schopp: "The ball just wouldn't go in for us. We have paid for a five-minute spell before half-time when we didn't look after the ball well enough. Perhaps we still lack a bit of experience in that situation. Other than that, I couldn't have asked more of my players. We are so near to where we need to be and I hope I am given more time to work with them. That is out of my hands. We couldn't have created more chances than we did today and at times it was hard to see how the ball stayed out of their net.
"All that was missing was the result. I know that is hard for our fans to accept and they are suffering along with everyone at the club. But I repeat that we are nearly there. There is still a bit to do and no one wants to hear that when you are struggling for results. But today I saw a team that tried their hardest from the first second and had more than enough opportunities to win."
