Defenders Rob Dickie and Ross McCrorie were Bristol City’s heroes as their bid for a Championship play-off place received a massive boost with a 2-1 win over 10-player Sunderland at Ashton Gate.
The visitors had to play all but the first seven minutes with 10 after defender Trai Hume was shown a straight red card for clipping Nahki Wells from behind as the striker burst clear onto a long ball.
But they still broke the deadlock on 31 minutes with a breathtaking solo goal. Picking up the ball deep in his own half, Eliezer Mayenda squeezed between two City players and set off on a lung-bursting run down the right, which ended with cutting inside Zak Vyner and shooting left-footed past Max O’Leary from inside the box.
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Eliezer Mayenda runs the length of the pitch to score a solo stunner for Sunderland
City equalised on 55 minutes with another spectacular strike, this time from centre-back Dickie, who blasted a sweet right-footed shot into the top corner from 30 yards after a period of constant pressure.
Wing-back McCrorie hammered a left-footed drive past Anthony Patterson from a narrow angle when the ball broke to him inside the box on 76 minutes to seal three deserved points and keep his side fifth in the table with just three games left.
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Robert Dickie’s stunning strike made it 1-1
A strong early run by Sunderland skipper Dan Neil ended with Chris Rigg miscuing a shot well wide. But the sending off saw the visitors spend much of the first half repelling patient City attacks.
The resulting free-kick from the red card saw Jason Knight’s shot blocked and Joe Williams fire just wide from the rebound. On 17 minutes McCrorie headed wide at the far post from a Vyner cross.
Dickie was narrowly off target with a 25th-minute shot from distance before Mayenda’s brilliant goal put his side in front.
George Earthy had the ball in the net for City on 36 minutes, but his close-range effort was ruled out for offside.
Cameron Pring also went close for the hosts, but Sunderland could have been two up at the break,
O’Leary diving to save from Patrick Roberts after more good work by the dangerous Mayenda.
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Ross McCrorie puts Bristol City 2-1 up
Home boss Liam Manning made a change at the break, sending on Yu Hirakawa for George Tanner. His team were still having trouble holding Mayenda and Pring earned a 48th-minute yellow card for fouling him.
A Wells effort was blocked and Williams shot wide before Dickie finally broke Sunderland’s resistance.
Vyner then headed over from a corner before a triple substitution by the visitors saw Wilson Isidor, Jobe Bellingham and Salis Abdul Samed enter the action.
It was all City as McCrorie had a shot cleared off the line and Patterson saved from Pring. A winning goal looked inevitable and McCrorie duly provided it to send Robins fans home dreaming of Premier League football next season
The managers
Bristol City’s Liam Manning:
“We play a finishing competition at the end of each Friday training session and Rob Dickie often gets through to the final stages of it.
“So it didn’t surprise me that the big man was able to produce a goal of that quality. He is a very good player technically and well capable of moments like that. I just wish he would score more from set-pieces.
“Ross McCrorie also produced a great finish and it sums up the togetherness in the camp that different players keep stepping up to make crucial contributions.
“It was a day when we had to stay patient without becoming passive and that’s just what happened. The red card seemed the right decision from where I stood, but it was never going to be easy overcoming a team with so many good players.
“We could have been stronger in some our challenges in the first half, allowing Mayenda to cause havoc at times. But we coped with him much better after the break.
“Now we have to rest and recover in time for two tough away games. I am so proud of the progress made this season and the culture we have been able to develop at the club.”
Sunderland’s Regis Le Bris:
“We felt the sending off was a bit harsh, but I don’t know whether we will appeal. It certainly changed the dynamic of the game to play 85 minutes with 10 men after we had started well.
“We scored a fantastic goal and from then on we defended well. But in that situation when you have to defend so many crosses it only takes one mistake or one good shot from the opposition to raise their energy levels and make things more difficult.
“Eliezer Mayenda has shown before that he can score that type of goal. He has improved a lot as a player over the season and is very important to us as he can keep the ball under pressure as well as dribble with it.
“This game could prove a very positive experience for us. We could face the same challenge in the play-offs and even with 10 men we have only been beaten 2-1. If that happened in the play-offs we would still have a home match to come.
“I believe we can take heart from the performance and I feel really confident about what lies ahead of us.”