Chong back to cheer Blues boss
LEE Bowyer hailed the return after injury of Tahith Chong and Marc Roberts as key to an impressive Birmingham display.
The visitors were the dominant side for much of the contest after racing into an early two-goal lead and finished the game strongly to leave boss Bowyer delighted with a sharp team performance.
He said: “It just shows what sort of season we might have had without all the injuries.
“We are a good side, but we have not been able to show it often enough because of all the team changes. That drives me crazy.
“Tahith has been out for four-and-a-half months. He was our most creative player before his injury and today, despite being rusty, he has scored and played well.
“Marc Roberts has also missed a lot of games and he was huge for us defending balls into our box.
“Lyle Taylor made a differlikely ence, returning up front, and Nico Gordon, who has also had fitness problems, got himself a goal.
“It was about time we started a game quickly and I felt we caught them by surprise early on.
“Whenever we won the ball, I felt as though we were going to score on the break, with our pace.
“If I have a small criticism, it is that we should have scored more, especially in the first half.
“Overall, I am very pleased, just frustrated at what we might have achieved with a fully fit squad.”
The visitors were in front inside two minutes, with Chong breaking into Bristol’s box on the left and turning to send a low right-footed shot past Dan Bentley from a narrow angle.
It was 2-0 after 13 minutes as a flat-footed home defence were caught out by Jordan Graham’s corner from the left and Gordon netted with a header from 12 yards.
Bristol hit back three minutes after the break when Alex Scott converted a Jay Dasilva left-wing cross from the edge of the six-yard box.
But, despite improving after the break, the home side could have no complaints after a disappointing performance.
In fact, the impressive Juninho Bacuna was denied again by a fine Bentley save in the closing stages as Birmingham looked by far the more to add to their goal tally. It was a tough afternoon for young City right wing-back Sam Bell, substituted at half time, along with experienced defender Timm Klose.
But City manager Nigel Pearson insisted that Bell, in particular, was let down by his team-mates.
Pearson said: “Sam is an excellent young player, who poses a threat going forward, and I told him not to worry.
“He needed more support from those around him. We were really poor today as a team from the start of the game.
“We have too many players incapable of putting in back-to-back performances together and that makes life very difficult.”