Mark Sykes scored the only goal of the game to help Bristol City produce one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Championship. Cameron Pring’s deft through ball gave the home team the lead in the 24th minute when Sykes’ low left-footed drive slid under diving goalkeeper Angus Gunn. From that point on, the hosts fiercely held their advantage in a closely contested game. Although Norwich put out an equal amount of effort, they were unable to create enough clear opportunities to force an equalizer and suffered their second straight loss. The injured Kal Naismith was replaced in central midfield by Joe Williams, forcing Robins manager Nigel Pearson to make a lineup change. Meanwhile, David Wagner, Wagner’s counterpart, started Marcelino Nunez and chose Gunn to play in goal, leaving Tim Krul on the bench.
Up to Sykes’ score, Norwich appeared to be the more dangerous team. Teemu Pukki’s early right-wing cross missed Max O’Leary’s far post by a little margin. As the visitors pressed, Josh Sargent missed with a header after Marcelino Nunez’s cross, then Gabriel Sara missed with a low attempt. Up until Pring sent up Sykes to break the tie, the hosts’ offense had shown potential but lacked a finishing pass. They gained momentum as a result, and four minutes later, George Tanner glanced a header from an Alex Scott cross wide. Pukki’s low shot was deflected around the post by O’Leary, and Norwich’s Andrew Omobamidele scored from a corner with a header.
Nunez was replaced by Onel Hernandez after Wagner made a substitution at the interval, and his team made a strong start to the second session. After 52 minutes, Grant Hanley missed with a header from a corner, and Rob Atkinson quickly stopped Sara’s low attempt. In response, Pearson made two substitutions, bringing on Anis Mehmeti and Harry Cornick, both of whom were making their Ashton Gate debuts, to take the place of Sam Bell and Wells. After that, the hosts experienced some pressure without creating a clear chance. With 12 minutes remaining, Pukki’s attempt to score off a Dimitris Giannoulis cross was stopped by Norwich.
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