Belter for Nic with judo skill
LEE JOHNSON put Niclas Eliasson’s man-of-the-match display down to weekly judo sessions.
The winger tore apart Huddersfield as rampant City built a 4-1 first-half lead, scoring one goal and making two more.
Robins boss Johnson said: “Niclas has learned so m u c h since he has been with us and his body shape has changed through hard work. We’ve been sending him to judo every week for some time. It has ensured he uses his body better and has strength to match his ability.
“That performance has been coming and today we were brilliant as a team. I asked for a response after the midweek defeat at West Brom and got exactly that.”
Josh Brownhill marked his 150th City appearance by diverting Andreas Weimann’s 11th-minute drive past goalkeeper Kamil Grabara to start the first-half rout.
On the half-hour it was 2-0, Eliasson’s cross from the right turned into his own net by Terence Kongolo under pressure from Nathan Baker.
Karlan Grant halved the deficit on 35 minutes, turning his marker to net a right-foot shot, but moments later Eliasson headed in Brownhill’s cross. Ashley Williams headed home Eliasson’s 40th-minute cross, and soon after the interval it was 5-1, Weimann running on to an Adam Nagy through ball and rounding Grabara before finding the roof of the net from a narrow angle.
Juninho Bacuna pulled a goal back for Huddersfield with a low strike from 25 yards on 57 minutes, but it proved no more than a consolation.
Huddersfield boss Danny Cowley said: “Our fans were fantastic and when I went to them at the end I felt ashamed.
“I’m not used to seeing my players lack resilience. We didn’t have enough good men out there with the qualities you need to get results away from home.
“Bristol City were very good and all credit to them. But we have to take a long hard look at ourselves in the mirror.
“We flew down yesterday and are pampered compared with the journey our supporters faced. They were a credit to our club today.”
Huddersfield lost striker Fraizer Campbell to injury in the opening minutes and Cowley added: “I’m not going to hide behind that.”