‘We were nowhere near our usual level’, admits City boss
BRISTOL City boss Dean Holden admitted his side were well below-par in Saturday’s 3-1 Championship defeat to Reading at the Madejski Stadium.
After a drab goalless first half, Reading went in front in the 54th minute with a deflected drive from Ovie Ejaria.
City equalised 17 minutes from the end, when substitute Nahki Wells scored following a goalmouth scramble.
But Reading secured a first win in six matches with further goals from Yakou Meite and Lucas Joao - his 12th of the season.
After City tasted defeat for the first time in five matches, head coach Holden said: “We were nowhere near our usual level.
“It’s happened twice this season - the Norwich game at home and this game.
“The players have been magnificent in the season up to now and this was just a game where we weren’t at our best.
“We were poor in possession, we gave the ball away cheaply and we offered them to come on to us too easily.
“Having said that, when we got back into it at 1-1, then the mentality has to be that if we can get another opportunity to win, brilliant.
“But if not, let’s not lose it. We became a bit too open too easily for that second goal and, ultimately, that’s where we lost the game.
“The third goal, again, was a cheap giveaway, from which Reading punished us.
“But we just have to swallow this. We have to move on quickly.”
Holden and Reading manager Veljko Paunovic were involved in an exchange of words midway through the second half, for which the Serb was booked.
“The pressure was building and I love that,” said Paunovic. “It’s a passionate game and I think that I overreacted at one point.
“But I apologised (to Holden) for that.”
Holden said: “Four of their staff were trying to get Taylor Moore sent off (for a foul) and I asked for some calmness.
“Their manager told me to do something to myself, which I won’t repeat. It was unacceptable. It’s heat of the moment, it happens. I don’t hold grudges with anybody and it’s easy to apologise when you’ve won a game.”
Paunovic praised his players for their “complete performance” in the victory over City.
“We are all very happy,” said Paunovic. “That is one of our best performances of the year. But in saying that, we must remind ourselves about our consistency. We needed a balanced display on the defensive side and in attack.
“And that happened today. It was a very complete performance. Although we conceded a goal, that sometimes happens. You have to clap your opponent because they do well.
“But we didn’t tremble. We reacted well and we were serene and ready to go. From the past, we learned what we had to do. This really was a great match-up game for us today against a team that had had a similar start to us.
“It was very important to get the feeling of winning again after a month without it and it feels great. It’s just fantastic.
“But, as we always say, we still we have to keep our feet on the ground. We’ll enjoy it for one day and then get back to our process of recovery.
“We have to replenish and prepare for the next games, especially for the game on Wednesday (at Sheffield Wednesday).”
Reading continued to press forward after going 2-1 ahead, declining to sit back and protect what they had.
“That is the identity and the mentality that we have built,” said Paunovic. “I know that we didn’t have good results in the last month but we always fought to the end. We always gave our best in every game. Even when we have been 3-0 down, we have always wanted to score our goal.”