Bristol City vs Birmingham City. Sky Bet Championship.
Ashton Gate StadiumAttendance22,397.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Bristol City and Birmingham City at Ashton Gate as Koji Miyoshi and Lukas Jutkiewicz steered the Blues to victory on Saturday.
Saturday 19 August 2023 19:27, UK
Goals from substitutes Koji Miyoshi and Lukas Jutkiewicz gave Birmingham a 2-0 Championship away win against a Bristol City side who finished with 10 men.
The visitors took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Keshi Anderson's corner was not cleared and Miyoshi, just introduced for the injured Ethan Laird, found the roof of the net with a sweet right-footed volley.
The home side's task became more difficult when centre-back Rob Dickie was shown a second yellow card on 75 minutes for blocking a run by substitute Jordan James, having already been booked for dissent in the first half.
And any hope the home side had of a recovery was snuffed out six minutes from time when Jutkiewicz, introduced on 73 minutes as a replacement for Anderson, converted a low right-wing cross from close range.
Birmingham were good value for a win that maintained their promising start to the season, while inflicting a first defeat on their hosts.
Robins boss Nigel Pearson gave a first start of the season to winger Anis Mehmeti, while Birmingham were unchanged from their 1-0 home victory over Leeds.
Blues made a bright start and their first attack saw Scott Hogan head over from Juninho Bacuna's left-wing cross.
Defences dominated for much of the first half and chances were at a premium. Siriki Dembele fired over from distance for Birmingham on 21 minutes.
Four minutes later the hosts' first meaningful goal attempt saw Sam Bell's shot blocked. Dickie headed over from the resulting corner.
Birmingham looked more dangerous and Max O'Leary had to save a Bacuna shot on 35 minutes. Then came the injury to Laird that saw Miyoshi sent on as a 40th-minute replacement.
The Japanese substitute made an immediate impact, forcing a good save from O'Leary before breaking the deadlock deep into three minutes of injury time.
Both managers made changes at the break, Pearson sending on Haydon Roberts and Mark Sykes for Cameron Pring and Harry Cornick while Blues boss John Eustace introduced James for Dembele.
Bristol City began the second half on the front foot, Zak Vyner failing to make contact with a Mehmeti corner and a Sykes run halted by a foul that earned Lee Buchanan a booking.
But Birmingham soon responded and Bacuna grazed a post with a left-footed shot before Miyoshi sent another effort wide.
Both sides were fully committed but still it was Blues creating more openings as a James shot brought a diving O'Leary save.
Dickie's dismissal only seemed to fire up the home side and substitute Nahki Wells should have equalised on 82 minutes when shooting wide from Bell's low cross.
It proved an expensive miss as Jutkiewicz quickly settled the outcome.
Bristol City's Nigel Pearson:
"It was a bad day at the office for us. We didn't play very well. We were laboured in our passing and made too many unforced errors, with things like the ball slipping under players' feet. We should have been level at the break, but went in a goal down because an individual switched off and didn't do his job at a set-piece.
"I still believe we are better than we were last season and will do well. We were on the front foot even with 10 men towards the end and missed a great chance to equalise. But we didn't manage the key moments well. You have to take your chances when they come along in the Championship and not concede poor goals because the difference between winning and losing in so many games is very small."
Birmingham's John Eustace:
"It was an outstanding effort by the whole group, but it's important not to get carried away because this team has still got to grow together. Koji Miyoshi came off the bench against Leeds and was really exciting. Today again he showed what an important player he is going be for us.
"He was out for nine months before joining us, so we have to be careful how we manage him. But his talent is there for all to see and he will get better with games. We had a few injuries that could have hurt us. Ethan Laird and Siriki Dembele picked up muscle strains, which might have been disruptive.
"But we adapted really well. Juninho Bacuna moved to right-back and looked as if he had played there all his life. We set out to be strong and competitive in all areas of the pitch and that was the case throughout the game."
