Two identikit first-half headers from Aden Flint saw Bristol City to a 2-1 victory over the Blues at Ashton Gate, sub Brett Pitman pulling one back for Town after the break against his old club.

Town boss Mick McCarthy handed Ben Pringle and Kevin Foley their Blues debuts in a 3-5-2 system with Foley and Jonas Knudsen wing-backs and Christophe Berra in the middle of the three central defenders. Kevin Bru took up Cole Skuse’s usual anchor role in midfield with the Bristolian one of those on Town’s lengthy injury list.

Chances were rare in the opening quarter of an hour, Pringle shot against a defender, then the on-loan Fulham man saw a cross from the left cut out.

Bristol City went close to going in front in the 17th minute when a Luke Freeman freekick was cleared to Korey Smith, who hit a shot through a crowd of players which took a deflection and Bartosz Bialkowski, last week’s man of the match at QPR, made a superb reaction save down to his left to keep it out.

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But three minutes later, the Robins went in front when Flint headed the first goal of new manager Lee Johnson’s time as boss, across goal and into the net off the post from Luke Freeman’s corner on the right.

Freddie Sears shot wide after good work from Pringle and Sears as the Blues looked to get back on terms, then Bristol City skipper Smith curled a shot not far past the post.

There was a scare for the home side on 27 when keeper Richard O’Donnell’s clearance hit Maitland-Niles, but the on-loan Arsenal man was unable to profit from it.

The Blues switched their formation to 4-4-2 with Foley moving to the centre of midfield with Bru and skipper Luke Chambers to right-back. Pringle moved to the left with Maitland-Niles on the right.

On 33, with Town increasingly on top, Tommy Smith shot wide following a corner, but two minutes later the home side doubled their lead with Flint again the man on target, once again heading home a Freeman corner from the right.

The Blues were unable to pull a goal back before the break and the scoreline remained 2-0 at half-time. That both goals came from set pieces is unlikely to have gone down well with manager McCarthy.

Eight minutes after the restart, former Robin Brett Pitman replaced Ainsley Maitland-Niles, allowing Sears to move to right midfield. Moments later, Smith did well to block Kodjia’s shot from the right of the area.

Daryl Murphy chased a ball over the top in the 55th minute and hit a shot which O’Donnell did well to block. From the resultant corner, Chambers headed over, while being manhandled according to the Blues captain.

The Blues were beginning to threaten more and more and just after the hour mark Murphy forced O’Donnell into a superb save from a powerful header down to the keeper’s left from Sears’s cross from the right.

Pringle sent the ball back in from the left, Murphy nodded back across goal and Pitman flicked his header wide.

But the ex-Bristol City man wasn’t to be denied a goal for long. In the 62nd minute Murphy sent the Jersey-born striker away on goal towards the left and he held off his man before shooting low across O’Donnell and into the net to claim his 10th goal of the season.

As promised, Town’s reluctant super sub celebrated against his old club but without going over the top.

Luke Varney replaced promising debutant Pringle on 67, seconds before Freeman sent a dangerous ball across the Blues area.

The Robins were looking the more threatening side with Bialkowski making another impressive stop when he pushed sub Kieran Agard’s low shot past the post, before Bristol City skipper Smith screwed an effort across the face of goal.

Foley picked up the first yellow card of his time with Town for a somewhat cynical pullback on Agard as the home side broke following a corner.

On 76 Smith seemed certain to restore the home side’s two-goal lead when he was found in space in the area but superbly got across to challenge.

Soon after, Bialkowski made another excellent save down to his right from Nathan Baker’s header from Marlon Pack’s freekick, although referee Tony Harrington had already blown his whistle for a foul.

With the game now in its final 10 minutes, a Varney cross from the right deflected out to Smith, who hit a powerful shot which flew just wide of O’Donnell’s goal.

But it was Bristol City who were looking the more dangerous side, Joe Bryan failing to find the target with a volley and Bialkowski making another save from Smith, although with the flag having been raised.

Larsen Touré replaced Foley as the game moved into five minutes of injury time, then - after Christophe Berra had found the net from but with the referee having pulled back play - Smith went close to putting the Blues back on terms. The New Zealand international did well to get to Knudsen’s freekick from deep but headed just wide.

However, the home side saw the rest of the additional minutes out comfortably and referee Harrington’s whistle confirmed Town’s fourth successive away defeat in all competitions, three in the Championship.

Having gone two goals down in the first half, the Blues always faced an uphill struggle. Pitman’s goal gave them a lifeline but despite having chances they never really put the Robins under significant pressure having reduced the lead, while at the other end the again excellent Bialkowski remained the busier of the two keepers.

The result and Birmingham’s 0-0 draw at Rotherham sees the Blues drop to eighth behind the Midlanders on goal difference and now three points behind Derby, who are now sixth following their 1-0 home defeat to the MK Dons, Sheffield Wednesday having climbed to fifth via their 4-0 victory over Brentford.

Bristol City: O’Donnell, Little, Flint, Baker, Golbourne, Pack, Smith (c), Tomlin (Agard 64), Bryan (Wagstaff 88), Freeman, Kodjia (Wilbraham 63). Subs: Fielding, Vyner, Pearce, Reid.

Town: Bialkowski, Foley (Touré 90), Chambers (c), Berra, Smith, Knudsen, Pringle (Varney 67), Bru, Maitland-Niles (Pitman 53), Sears, Murphy. Subs: Henly, Kenlock, Digby, Tabb. Referee: Tony Harrington (Cleveland). Att: 15,736 (Town: 1,443).

Photo: Action Images

BlueKush added 17:37 - Feb 13 i·den·ti·kit īˈden(t)əˌkit/ nountrademark a picture of a person, especially one sought by the police, reconstructed from typical facial features according to witnesses' descriptions. "an identikit photograph"
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bluefeast added 17:39 - Feb 13 Keanish your post is spot on Mm has lost it for sure.
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TimmyH added 17:42 - Feb 13 Very disappointing result but again not hugely surprising considering the debutees starting (although Pringles sounded like he did ok) and general different look to the midfield. Shows that once the starting 11 gets fragmented through injuries, suspensions etc. we are left with a shakey veneer of a side, and in fact so far we've been lucky this season that we haven't had defensive injury woes as I believe we are even weaker in cover for those places than else where. It really shows what a shambles the last month or so has been in the January trnasfer window and lack of foresight from the club/management. As for the game today sounded like Bristol were largely the better team as per the QPR game and we probably deserved little from it, a game I believe we wouldn't have lost in the 1st half of the season and a further continuation of sloppy form into the New Year as per last season - 8pts from 7 games is poor!

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ShropshireBluenago09 added 17:42 - Feb 13 Thought we would lose today, a new manager always brings about an improved performance from a lower placed team. Didn't go today, but reading others reports and comments once again, we lacked guile, passing ability and any type of game plan. Our midfield is poor at the best of times, but without Skuse and Hyam today the midfield we put out wouldnt even get in a league 2 team. All comes back to ZERO investment. Its s no wonder we revert to hoof ball.

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prebbs007 added 17:43 - Feb 13 Those tinted glasses on again essex. You really are clueless !!! Is 48 points enough to stay up ??? Another week and another defeat against a team in the lower reaches of the division and yet again reliant on our keeper to avoid a drubbing. We are truly awful with players who are nowhere near good enough for a promotion challenge. Bart was outstanding (luckily for us) chambers again a liability berra totally flat-footed twice at set pieces, Knudsen out of position countless times, Bru clearly unfit, Murphy an absolute donkey who brings nothing to the team except making the defenders hoof it. Bart Smith Pringle & Pitts only players who earnt their wages today, the rest should be embarrassed. Mick you continue to say they work hard. Unfortunately that's not enough. We lack quality all over the pitch and yet you place your faith in massively lacking players. We have no hope whatever of promotion be realistic and you are losing the support of the fans. Crowds will dwindle further due to your dire style of hoofball and you will eventually be gone. Evans you're a joke with the lack of investment and ambition do us all a favour and sell the club to someone who doesn't want to use it as a tax break for other businesses. Another weekend ruined. Thanks Off you go with your - mark essex !!! C0ck

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yerfdog87 added 17:44 - Feb 13 If you think we will make play offs then your deluded.
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bluefeast added 17:44 - Feb 13 Change the manager , agree or disagree add below Bluefeast agrees
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essex57 added 17:46 - Feb 13 Cheers Blueboy glad you enjoyed
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essexboy added 17:46 - Feb 13 Oh dear,Oh dear, my squad is good enough! Quote MM.(really).! The bench was a joke,and so were we.I was there.It's ok for some to say Bristol were a good side but we are 8th and teams like this we should beat.This squad is poor and so are the decisions MM makes.ME uses this club as (I own a football club to his mates) and has not a jot of respect for the supporters.And before you all start knocking me,deep down inside you know it's true,he well may have saved us a few years ago but he's done little since.Do we really think we are good enough to get into the play-off's.It breaks my hart to talk like this as I have followed Town for 55 years,but this is how I feel at the moment.😡

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Bluetone added 17:47 - Feb 13 It must be crystal clear by now that McCarthy's mindset is "If I achieve promotion I'll get found out and sacked; if I stay mid-table in the championship I've got a cushy billet until I choose to retire." Now is the time to change and to blood youngsters and plan to move forward by playing football NOT hoofball.
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ronnyd added 17:51 - Feb 13 I agree with you Geoff, the only only thing connecting the side of that era and todays is the colour of the shirts.
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Len_Brennan added 17:52 - Feb 13 essex57: You're missing the point. Despite a large number of supporters pointing out serious errors the management & owner have made, even before the effects are felt, there hasn't been a huge cry for Mick to be sacked, as yet anyway. Most of us recognise the great job Mick & TC have done in saving the club from relegation & making us competitive and we say it all the time. The frustrating thing is we have been willing him to make just a couple of changes & push to get players who will give us the right balance to consolidate a playoff spot this year. There's no need for me to go on about Bart in goal, Chambo to the centre, a real right back or use of Jonny Parr & a creative midfielder, everyone on here knows the arguments. We just wanted him to give it a go, we haven't been crying out for £5m to be spent. Also I don't think it is fair to suggest that sacking Mick would automatically result in relegation regardless of who would come in. Much of the reason for that would be thanks to the work carried out by Mick & TC.

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essex57 added 17:53 - Feb 13 You've excelled yourselves today lads 2 pages in under an hour of final whistle you must be really stoked up today.
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yungblue added 17:55 - Feb 13 Said it for a long time, before the recent run of poor form, McCarthy isn't the right man for the job, best thing we could do is get out some money and get Karl Robinson, play quality football. Feel for the fans, deserve a lot better than what we're paying for at the moment
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itfcbam added 17:56 - Feb 13 For all of you negative numb nuts wanting to know where money goes. The club operates at a running loss of around 6 million per season. Doesn't take Einstein to work out what some of the surplus transfer money goes towards. If we were in profit season after season then that one thing but we aren't.
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wessextractorboy added 17:57 - Feb 13 Thought Knudsen and Smith had a good game. The rest of the team looked lightweight. AMN was knocked off the ball every time. Do we really think we are good enough to play the ball amongst the back 3 when we are 2-1 down in the 81st minute?? We just pumped the high balls to no-one when their 2 central defenders were giants. If it wasn't for bart, that would have been a rugby score. Not enough passion to play for the badge. Disappointed.

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cartman1972 added 18:02 - Feb 13 Absolute dross, zero enterprise and historic tactics, shambles.
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EssexTractor added 18:03 - Feb 13 Ok what is way forward? Mc Carthy "saved us", that was his task? Nothing further? Ok no money ? Do we have a "talkative chairman/owner/board" who actually speak to the supporters? And tell us the real reason for the financial position? Or has MM reached the end of the road for this club? Where is the inspiration from the top??? Having stood in the North Stand for 30 years and sat in the Britannia for over 20 this is now a zadir in terms of football ! BUT although 200 or so "chat" on here (out of arguably a much superior fanbase) the only way a change will be made, if that is the majority view, is if those who pay and go STOP going WE are, in the main, LOYAL supporters AND some do see each others opposing views but we cannot be BLINDLY LOYAL Will empty terraces provide a cure for this lamentable stage of ITFC history? I fear this wheel is broke..time to fix it

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Seasider added 18:05 - Feb 13 Players playing out position,one incoming player not played at all this season,another hardly trained with team mates.When formation changed 3 times dur ing game no wonder we lost. This makes it all the more galling that decent players not brought in previously by a manager,who's team is now down to 8th;but who still refuses to admit that he needs to strengthen. Quite where we go from here is anybody's guess as football is 1st div standard at best.I seem to think that with the lack of ambition being shown that it will take a miracle to even get in the play offs let alone the Premiership with this bargain basement team with no youngsters to add enthusiasm. Please prove me wrong Mr McCarthy as you said in your interview just now that you had never played with men on the post;but have taken two teams up.

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cornishblu added 18:07 - Feb 13 Essex57....philtwtd time for some background checks ..a canary or a troll....need to delete her postings
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Len_Brennan added 18:08 - Feb 13 EssexTractor: I think you have the bones of an important post for the blog section of this fine interactive website.
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blueboy1981 added 18:08 - Feb 13 ........ amazing how many people trawl, week after week, for lame excuses to try and justified abject performance, and results. Some will never change - and, I guess, is one of the reasons the Club has been able to change to what it is today - not for the better, and certainly lacking in past and previous ambition. Memories are great to have.
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Granthamblue62 added 18:09 - Feb 13 I wish someone would clarify definitively what the club's financial position is. Milne has stated that funds would be available to strengthen. I also seem to remember that the Mings sale was supposed to be ploughed back into the team. However, others seem to feel that McCarthy can only utilise the loan market. Its utter tripe for MM to expect us to believe "there is no one else better out there than what I've got." This Town side is average at best, even more fragile with the loss of Fraser. Can't see us turning over high-flying Hull, which means 3 defeats on the bounce. I've said it countless times, lack of investment equates to lack of ambition. We're not good enough for a top 6 spot and cannot compete with those above us, both financially and in a competitive sense. These are sad times to be a Town fan. Heading nowhere.

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blue added 18:11 - Feb 13 Was at the game CITY are fighting and at home they showed they are no easy coupe at home .Keeper had a blinding game could of been 4,5 or 6 but under circumstances of the weather and ground .If you were there you see what i did but we arent out of the play-off positions yet by the end of the season only 3 points away from free falling derby and birmingham drawing , just shows its that close , BUT again if you were there you would understand 2 set pieces and well taken headers decided this game .PRINGLE was a good addition from what was showed today . Roll on the next game .

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yorksblue added 18:13 - Feb 13 Charlton making their voices heard outside entrance. Remember when we wanted management and board gone a few years back? Most of Churchmans on pitch. Now there's an idea
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