Liam nose why he made Twine sign on the dotted line!
LIAM MANNING praised Scott Twine’s impressive debut after the midfielder’s first-half goal earned the hosts a point.
But even the head coach was surprised by the 25th-minute strike that saw Twine rise above a defender to head into an unguarded net after goalkeeper Ben Hamer had diverted Tommy Conway’s close-range drive into his path.
“I reckon it’s the first time he’s scored with a header,” said Manning. “He probably closed his eyes and it went in off his nose.”
The pair know each other well. Twine scored 20 goals in a season for MK Dons while Manning was in charge during the 2021-22 season.
Signed last Monday from Burnley, on loan until the end of the season, the 24-year-old definitely caught the eye with his delivery from free-kicks and corners in a closely fought clash.
More importantly, he marked his first appearance in a Robins shirt with the equaliser after Tom Dele-bashiru had fired Watford in front with a low 13th-minute penalty, awarded for handball by Rob Dickie.
Manning added: “Scott showed everyone what he is all about and will only improve as he gets to know the other players.
“He had a chance to score before his goal and is great at getting forward into those threatening positions.
“His dead ball delivery is just one of the reasons I wanted to sign him and it was very clear to see today,
“I felt we had the much better chances overall.”
A draw was probably a fair outcome in this closelyfought Championship clash in which both teams had the chances to seal a win.
Dickie had a late header brilliantly saved by Hamer, while Bristol City keeper Max O’leary produced a brave first-half save at the feet of Yaser Asprilla.
Watford boss Valerien Ismael said: “It was another solid away performance from us. We just needed to be more mature in our decision-making at times.
“It was a clear penalty though and we had another good opportunity to be ahead at half-time. “We are working with a
lot of young Watford players at the moment and I am pleased with the progress they are making.
“We have the possibility of entering the transfer market before the deadline and I am hopeful of doing some business.”
Meanwhile, Manning does not anticipate any more signings before the transfer deadline and revealed that there were no deals imminent that would see any players leaving the club during this transfer window.
BRISTOL CITY: O’leary 7; Tanner 7, Vyner 7, Dickie 7; Mccrorie 6 (Bell (63) 6), Williams 6 (Gardner-hickman (69) 6), James 6, Pring 7; Knight 6, Twine 8; Conway 6 (Wells (63) 6) WATFORD: Hamer 7; Andrews 7, Porteous 7, Hoedt 7, Morris 7 (Lewis (63) 6); Livermore 7; Asprilla 6 (Martins (46) 7), Dele-bashiru 7, Kone 7, Chakvetadze 7; Rajovic 7 (Bayo (63) 6) STAR MAN: Scott Twine – A debut goal and some accurate set-piece deliveries from the Burnley loanee. REF: Andrew Kitchen 7