Bristol City vs Rotherham United. Sky Bet Championship.
Ashton GateAttendance19,350.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Bristol City and Rotherham at Ashton Gate as Andreas Weimann scores in stoppage-time to earn victory for the Robins on Saturday.
Saturday 22 April 2023 19:05, UK
Rotherham's Championship survival hopes suffered a blow after substitute Andreas Weimann fired a stoppage-time winner to secure Bristol City a 2-1 victory at Ashton Gate.
The home side took a 15th-minute lead when Cameron Pring delivered a high cross from the left and Tommy Conway rose to notch his 11th goal of the season with a header.
Rotherham were level in the 67th minute when Jordan Hugill sent Max O'Leary the wrong way with a penalty awarded for a foul on him by Zak Vyner.
But City had the final say at the death when Kal Naismith had a shot saved in a crowded box and Weimann pounced to shoot past Viktor Johansson from eight yards, leaving the Millers three points above the relegation zone.
Rotherham were almost caught cold inside the first 30 seconds of the game as Sam Bell burst into the box and saw his right-footed shot bring a diving save from Viktor Johansson.
Zak Vyner might have put City in front after 12 minutes, but fired over from Bell's low cross.
Three minutes later Conway broke the deadlock from another build-up down the left where Pring and Bell were causing Rotherham plenty of problems.
Harry Cornick should have made it 2-0 in the 27th minute, somehow contriving to shoot over with the goal at his mercy a few yards out.
Bell's pace was a constant threat, but when he went down inside the box under a challenge from behind by Cameron Humphreys, referee Josh Smith waved aside the penalty appeals.
Rotherham could not summon up a final pass to make the most of some promising situations and half-time arrived without City goalkeeper O'Leary having made a save.
Visiting boss Matt Taylor made a change for the start of the second half, with Richard Wood replacing Tyler Blackett in the centre of defence.
Two more Rotherham substitutions quickly followed, Wes Harding and Oliver Rathbone taking over from Lee Peltier and Conor Coventry.
Still City were looking the more dangerous side and Conway had a 60th-minute shot parried by Johansson.
Vyner's initial poor touch led to him conceding the spot-kick which brought Rotherham's equaliser. But it was a contentious decision and City boss Nigel Pearson was shown a yellow card for his protests.
The penalty proved to be Hugill's last touch as he was immediately replaced by Georgie Kelly, who was just off target with a header shortly after going on.
Pearson sent on Weimann and Mark Sykes for Alex Scott and Cornick as his team raised the tempo in search of a winner.
It was Rotherham who almost snatched victory when their fourth substitute Shane Ferguson saw a well struck drive from distance come back off a post.
Then Kelly robbed City substitute Joe Williams, forcing a diving save from O'Leary, before Weimann's winner had home fans on their feet.
Bristol City's Nigel Pearson:
"It has been a difficult season at times, but I think our fans have seen definite signs of progress. Now we have the points to back that up. With so many young players having gained experience in the Championship, I believe the right additions in the summer can make us contenders for the top six. We need to strengthen in certain areas and will do our best to get the right players in.
"What we already have is an identity to our team and a lot of talented youngsters who give us great energy. They will benefit from the games they have now got under their belts and I am excited about the future. This was a good win against a side fighting for their lives. It was a really good squad effort with one of our substitutes getting the winner."
Rotherham's Matt Taylor:
"We were off the pace in the first half, which can happen. A few of the players were carrying niggles and a big effort against Burnley last Tuesday night may have taken a toll. Bristol's front players really impressed me and caused a lot of problems. They were better than us and the best thing that could be said is that we got to half-time still in the game. It was clear we had to change things and affect the match from the bench with some fresh legs and minds.
"The second half was much better. We played on the front foot and tried to take the game to the opposition. As the game progressed, I thought it might be our day to go and claim a winner. It was a cruel body blow when they scored so late. But that's football and we have to bounce back quickly."
