MATCH STATS
BRISTOL CITY
Goals: Conway (32 mins, pen), Twine (57 mins)
Bookings: Williams
ROTHERHAM UNITED
Bookings: Phillips, Eaves
Referee:
per cent possession was a season high - and although that nagging lack of a killer instinct at times came to the surface, the opening goal seemed a matter of when rather than if.
Conway shunned Twine’s run to his left on 11 minutes as he advanced on the Rotherham penalty area and elected to shoot rather than pass, with Dillon Phillips making a strong but straightforward save. As was the case when he dived at the feet of the City striker after Twine had clipped a ball into him at close range and again when saving with a straight arm, after Conway had played a 1-2 with Matty James.
But then any concern, which there wasn’t really, disappeared when Twine sent Conway past
Phillips and although the dive was a touch theatrical and delayed, with the ball running ahead of him, there was enough contact to deem it a spot-kick and the boy from Taunton doesn’t tend to miss from there.
Twine made sure of victory with a glorious free-kick on 57 minutes. There was little power, just pure technique as he produced the right amount of spin, drift and turn to leave Phillips clutching thin air as he scrambled across to his near post.
Nahki Wells twice got beyond the Rotherham defence but couldn’t quite set-up Twine, and Elijah Morrison had a day to remember with his debut as City played out the remaining 33 minutes with total and utter ease.
FINE TWINE-ING
IF there was one individual who personified Manning’s interpretation of the word bravery on Saturday then it was Twine.
There were first-time back-heels, one which nearly set up Conway and another that sent Cam Pring free, one-touch flicks around the side as he feinted to take the ball into stride, fooling defenders and releasing Conway into space and the constant outstretching of arms, signalling to team-mates, as he moved into the pocket to make things happen.
Twine has many strengths - and when was the last time a direct freekick was sent into the top corner in front of the South Stand? - but his spatial awareness and ability to read the opposition is one of them. The way he just takes up that position, in between defence and midfield or just ahead of full-backs that makes them think about swinging and often missing, leaving areas for others to exploit.
Rotherham possess the worst defence in the Championship but it was still impressive to see the amount of knife-through-butter passes Twine delivered to set Conway either one versus one with a defender or clear into areas that led to shooting opportunities.
Twine gives City shape and significance in an attacking sense and the growing chemistry he has with Conway is evident. As gifted as Mehmeti is, his unpredictability is not only frustrating for fans but also team-mates given nobody is quite sure what’s coming next.