JWSport Jacek Waszak – Sport journalist
Farewell to the season at Ashton Gate – City win over Rotherham.
In their last home game, Bristol City won against relegated Rotherham United 2-0, ending the season in good spirits in front of their fans.
Bristol City played their final game of the season against last-placed Rotherham. The hosts were in 12th place before the first whistle of the referee and were hoping for a worthy farewell to the season. They had put in a good performance in their last clash against Norwich with a 1-1 draw, so fans were expecting an impressive victory. The visitors, resigned to relegation, hadn’t scored a goal in four games and nothing seemed likely to change that trend.
The last clash in front of the home crowd generated a lot of interest and the stadium was filled to capacity. The Robins moved on the Rotherham goal from the first minute and had several opportunities to take the lead. However, actions from the right side of the pitch proved ineffective.
In the 16th minute there was an unexpected situation when a young fan ran onto the pitch, ran up to the visitors‘ supporters’ stand and showed his middle finger. As if that was not enough, he was momentarily followed by perhaps his father, who were eventually removed by security.
The visitors had a perfect chance in the 26th minute to take the lead, but Eaves’ powerful shot was defended by O’Leary. Moments later Albanian Mehmeti missed his chance by shooting at the goalkeeper.
As the saying goes, what goes around comes around, Bristol finally got it right after a penalty kick by Conway. The goalkeeper made a significant contribution by fouling the striker in the penalty area, for which he was additionally punished with a yellow card. The hosts’ goal did not act as a motivating factor to increase the result and they went into the changing rooms with a one goal lead.
The second half started with a concerted attack by the Bristol team, who every now and then created dangerous situations under the Philips goal. In the 57th minute they had a free kick from twenty yards which proved deadly for Rotherham. Scott Twinie shot perfectly and the fans were able to celebrate a beautiful goal.
From the second goal onwards, the home team’s supporters, who had been rather sluggish at the start of the match, began to turn up the volume. Perhaps the increased level of cheering was aided by the weather, which was not spoiling on Saturday afternoon, not exceeding the mercury column above 7 degrees.
Rotherham’s players were limited to isolated, usually ineffective attacking attempts, which were usually nipped in the bud. A handful of their supporters travelled to Bristol for the final away game and sat quietly and did not contribute.
The picture of the game changed in the final minutes, where the visitors finally woke up and tried to score an honour goal and City seemed to settle for a two goal lead and settled down.
Towards the end of the encounter there was another incident with supporters, where one fan ran into the middle of the pitch in a white dress, where he was stopped by security. This has become a scourge in recent times and perhaps the penalties for such behaviour have lessened. A few years ago, such an incident risked a huge financial penalty and a lifetime ban from his team’s matches.
In the end, the meeting ended with a score of 2:0, the players said goodbye to the fans at Ashton Gate and they only have one away game left against Stoke. After that, they will go on holiday, gain strength and be ready for another battle … for the middle place in the league, as the same scenario has been repeated every season for the last few years.
Karol Kwiatkowski
Jacek Waszak
Bristol City – Rotherham United 2 – 0 (1-0)
T. Conway (32‘ penalty)Penalty kick 32` S. Twine (57’)Goal 57th minute
Venue : Ashton Gate Stadium Attendance : 22,8734
Bristol City : O’Leary, McCrorie, Pring (Morrison 85‘), James (c) (Knight 60’), Twine, Williams, Mehmeti (Sykes 60‘), Conway (Wells 60’), Dickie, Tanner, Roberts.
Bajic, Cornick, Gardner-Hickman, Gardner-Hickman, Mebude.
Rotherham United :Dillon Phillips, Cohen Bramall, Lee Peltier, Cameron Humphreys, Sebastian Revan
Andy Rinomhota, Oliver Rathbone, Hakeem Odoffin , Arvin Appiah, Tom Eaves ,
Viktor Johansson,, Nathaniel Ford, Grant Hall, Femi Seriki , Ben Hatton , Sam Nombe
8′ Offside, Rotherham United. Jordan Hugill caught offside.
11′ Attempt saved. Tommy Conway (Bristol City) right footed shot from the right side of the field to the bottom right corner.
12′ Attempt missed. Cameron Pring (Bristol City) left footed shot from outside the penalty area is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Scott Twine.
19′ Haydon Roberts (Bristol City) wins a free kick in his own half.
Foul by Jordan Hugill (Rotherham United).
25′ Hakeem Odoffin (Rotherham United) head strike from the centre of the field to the top corner of the goal. Assisted by Oliver Rathbone with a cross following a midfield pass.
24′ Corner, Rotherham United. Lost by Max O’Leary.
Attempt saved. Tom Eaves (Rotherham United) right footed shot from the right side of the penalty area is saved in the bottom right corner. Assist: Hakeem Odoffin.
26′ Tom Eaves (Rotherham United) header from half centre of the field and misses the ball. Assisted by Oliver Rathbone with a cross following a corner kick.
Corner, Rotherham United. Lost by Max O’Leary.
28′ Foul by Tommy Conway (Bristol City).
Lee Peltier (Rotherham United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
30′ Rob Dickie (Bristol City) wins a free kick in his own half.
Foul by Tom Eaves (Rotherham United). Offside on foul, Bristol City. Anis Mehmeti caught offside. Attempt deflected in. Tommy Conway (Bristol City) left footed shot from the centre of the field is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Matty James.
31′ Penalty kick for Bristol City. Tommy Conway commits a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty kick dictated by Dillon Phillips (Rotherham United) after a foul in the penalty area.
32′ Goal! Bristol City 1, Rotherham United 0. Tommy Conway (Bristol City) converts the penalty kick into a goal from the right.
38′ Foul by Joe Williams (Bristol City).
Andy Rinomhota (Rotherham United) wins a free kick in his own half.
44` Tommy Conway (Bristol City) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal. Haydon Roberts (Bristol City) wins a free kick in his own half.
Foul by Jordan Hugill (Rotherham United).
45’+1 Scott Twine (Bristol City) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Oliver Rathbone (Rotherham United).
45’+3 First half ends, Bristol City 1, Rotherham United 0.
Scott Twine (Bristol City) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the left is just overhit from a direct free kick.
Half time of the match
46′ Start of second half Bristol City 1, Rotherham United 0.
Change, Rotherham United. Grant Hall replaces Arvin Appiah.
47` Sebastian Revan (Rotherham United) left footed shot from the right side of the field, missed. Assisted by Cohen Bramall with a centre pass.
49′ Attempt blocked. Matty James (Bristol City) right footed shot from the centre of the field is blocked.
50′ Haydon Roberts (Bristol City) wins a free kick in his own half. Foul by Tom Eaves (Rotherham United).
54′ Corner kick for Bristol City. Lost by Tom Eaves.
56′ Foul by Andy Rinomhota (Rotherham United).
57′ Goal! Bristol City 2, Rotherham United 0. Scott Twine (Bristol City) from a free kick with a right footed shot into the bottom right corner.
58′ Foul by Sebastian Revan (Rotherham United).
58′ Cameron Pring (Bristol City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
61′ Attempt blocked. Matty James (Bristol City) right footed shot from outside the penalty area is blocked. Assisted by Cameron Pring.
67′ Tom Eaves (Rotherham United) is shown the yellow card for a foul.
Ross McCrorie (Bristol City) wins a free kick in his own half.
72′ Scott Twine (Bristol City) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Andy Rinomhota (Rotherham United) foul.
Scott Twine (Bristol City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Nahki Wells from a centre kick.
74′ Attempt blocked. Nahki Wells (Bristol City) right footed shot from the right side of the field is blocked. Assisted by Mark Sykes with a passed ball.
75′ Attempt missed. Scott Twine (Bristol City) right footed shot from outside the penalty area misses to the right. Assisted by Joe Williams following a corner kick.
83′ Joe Williams (Bristol City) is shown the yellow card for a foul.
85′ Offside, Rotherham United. Sam Nombe caught offside.
90’+2 Andy Rinomhota (Rotherham United) wins a free kick in his own half and only hits the post.
90’+6 Match ends with the score: Bristol City 2, Rotherham United 0.
Karol Kwiatkowski
Jacek Waszak
