Impressive Bristol City brush Swansea aside

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Impressive Bristol City brush Swansea aside

First-half goals from Rob Dickie and Emil Riis set Bristol City on course for an emphatic 3-0 Championship victory over Swansea City at Ashton Gate.

Skipper Dickie headed the home side in front from Anis Mehmeti’s fourth-minute corner to the near post, and Riis doubled the advantage with a far-post volley from another Mehmeti cross on 31 minutes.

Substitute Yu Hirakawa broke clear through the middle to complete the scoring with a low right-footed shot on 82 minutes, leaving Swansea, watched by incoming new boss Vitor Matos, with nothing to show for a spirited display.

Bristol City made two changes from their draw at Watford, Neto Borges returning after injury in place of Haydon Roberts and Riis preferred to Fally Mayulu up front.

With Ben Camango and Josh Tyson suspended, Swansea, under interim boss Darren O’Dea, made six changes, bringing in Eom Ji-sung, Liam Cullen, Kaelan Casey, Ishe Samuels-Smith, Marko Stamenic and Adam Idah.

Hours before kick-off Portuguese club Maritimo announced that head coach Matos was leaving them to take charge of Swansea. He was in the stands as his new team came under concerted early pressure.

Mehmeti fired narrowly wide before his third-minute shot was saved by Lawrence Vigouroux to concede the corner that led to Dickie’s goal. But Swansea weathered the storm and threatened themselves for the first time on 16 minutes when Cullen’s shot was turned around a post by Radek Vitek.

The Bristol City goalkeeper was in action again on 27 minutes, reacting well to parry Idah’s fierce drive. At the other end Sinclair Armstrong had a shot cleared off the line before Riis made it 2-0 from the narrowest of angles.

Cullen shot over from a good Swansea chance and Riis fired over for Bristol before Vitek produced the best save of the first half to keep out Ronald’s low effort from inside the box.

Swansea started the second half well and Vitek had to make another save to keep out Ethan Galbraith’s low shot from distance. Then Bristol City defender George Tanner produced an important block to deny Eom.

With his side under pressure, Gerhard Struber made a double substitution, sending on Mark Sykes and the returning-after-injury Jason Knight for Ross McCrorie and Riis.

O’Dea responded with a triple change on 68 minutes seconds after Vigouroux had kept his side in the game with an outstanding low save from Armstrong’s shot.

Zan Vipotnik, Goncarlo Franco and Zeidane Inoussa were introduced from the bench, quickly followed by Ricardo Santos. Franco soon shot narrowly wide as the Swans continued to fight hard.

But Bristol City responded with Armstrong firing over from 25 yards before Hirakowa’s goal ended any doubts about the outcome.

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