Bristol City vs Birmingham City. Sky Bet Championship.
Ashton Gate StadiumAttendance24,923.
Bristol City 1-0 Birmingham City: Sinclair Armstrong seals narrow win for Robins
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Bristol City and Birmingham City at Ashton Gate on Saturday; Sinclair Armstrong scores the only goal as Gerhardt Struber's in-form Robins seal a narrow win.
Saturday 25 October 2025 18:30, UK
Sinclair Armstrong's first half strike proved enough for Bristol City to consolidate their place in the Sky Bet Championship play-off places, sealing a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Birmingham at Ashton Gate.
The decisive moment came in the 42nd minute when the powerful striker raced onto a Rob Atkinson through-ball and outpaced the Birmingham defence before a slotting a cool right-footed finish beyond the reach of goalkeeper James Beadle.
Blues paid for not having a cutting edge, particularly in the second half when they dominated for long periods without seriously testing Robins goalkeeper Radek Vitek, and there was only frustration to show for their considerable efforts.
The hosts gave a start to Armstrong, who impressed as a substitute in the 3-1 midweek home win over Southampton, in place of the injured Emil Riis, and brought in Ross McCrorie for Mark Sykes at right wing-back.
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Birmingham also made two changes from their 1-0 win at Preston, with Marc Leonard and Patrick Roberts replacing Lewis Koumas and the suspended Bright Osayi-Samuel.
Blues made a fast start and when the home side lost possession in a dangerous area inside a minute, Roberts sent a low shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box.
A closely-fought first half developed with both defences coping well with some threatening attacks. Beadle saved a 12th minute cross-shot from Neto Borges and Rob Dickie headed wide from an Anis Mehmeti free-kick, while at the other end Zak Vyner produced a timely block from a Jay Stansfield shot.
Armstrong's goal came as something of a surprise and Birmingham could feel a shade unlucky to be behind at half-time.
Tommy Doyle fired over from distance for Blues at the start of the second half before Scott Twine volleyed wide at the other end when in space inside the box.
It remained a close contest as Paik Seung-Ho headed wide, to the dismay of the massed ranks of Birmingham fans behind the goal.
Blues boss Chris Davies made a triple substitution just past the hour mark, sending on Koumas, Demarai Gray and Kyogo Furuhashi for Roberts, Keshi Anderson and Stansfield.
The visitors then enjoyed a spell of pressure, which saw Leonard send a curling shot just over. Gray volleyed inches too high from a Koumas cross moments before the Robins replaced the impressive Armstrong with Fally Mayulu.
The home side had faded entirely as an attacking force and were forced to work tirelessly to repel incessant Birmingham attacks.
Substitute Sykes came to their rescue with a last-ditch clearance from a dangerous right wing cross and six minutes of stoppage time tested the nerves of home fans, but their hugely committed team held out.
The managers
Bristol City's Gerhard Struber:
"Sinclair Armstrong's goal came from a situation we have worked on again and again in training.
"He is always ready and eager to work and learn. We let him run free with his pace on the training ground and repeatedly work on his finishing in that position. I am super happy with the way he is developing but today is just the first step for him.
"He is a monster for defenders to cope with. But he has one goal so far this season and we need him to be an important player for us over the remaining fixtures.
"It has been a great week for us. Today our football was not as sexy as I like but the togetherness of the team and the commitment to defending our box was tremendous.
"We have won three games, each with a different picture and a different way of earning the points. I have a group full of players with a fantastically professional attitude and with an outstanding team spirit."
Birmingham's Chris Davies:
"It was like a home game for us at times, but we haven't made the most of something like 75 per cent possession, which is higher than I could have expected before the game.
"There are positives to be drawn from how dominant we were against a team who will again be up there challenging for the play-offs this season but we have to carry more of a threat when so much on top.
"It was a game that got away from us. The danger was always going to be a fast break from them. We didn't suffer many, but one proved the difference.
"We have been working on stopping counter-attacks, but we couldn't stop that one. Away games in the Championship are difficult enough without giving the opposition a goal they haven't had to work for."
