Bristol City boss Liam Manning says he took the vitriolic chanting directed at him by some Oxford fans as a “compliment” after his side won 2-1 at Ashton Gate.
Manning, who left Oxford to take charge of City in November 2023, saw his current team come from behind to take the three points in an entertaining Championship clash.
Ruben Rodrigues fired Oxford in front after a strong run by Siriki Dembele on 28 minutes, but City were back on terms after 57 minutes through Sinclair Armstrong’s first-time finish.
The winner came from a disputed 76th-minute penalty, blasted into the top corner by substitute Nahki Wells after Mark Harris was judged to have tripped Haydon Roberts.
After being on the receiving end of constant abuse from 3,500 travelling supporters, Manning said: “If the Oxford fans hate me for leaving, I take it as a compliment over where the club was when I went there and where they were when I left.
“I don’t want to spend time talking about it. There are some terrific people at Oxford United, but the past is the past and you move on. I love being at Bristol City and I am excited by what we are building.
“I’m pleased for our supporters, who were brilliant today. We didn’t deserve to be behind at half-time and in the second half the lads really got on the front foot and took the game to Oxford.
“I haven’t seen the penalty incident again, but my initial reaction was that it was rightly given. There was a slight delay in the referee making his decision and you never know which way it will go in those situations.”
Yu Hirakawa made an exciting home debut on the right wing as a substitute in the second half and Manning said: “Yu got a terrific ovation from the fans at the end.
“He had the frustration of picking up an injury at the Olympics, but I have seen his qualities in training and know what he can bring to the team.”
Oxford boss Des Buckingham said: “I have seen the penalty again and our player definitely got a touch to the ball to make it change direction. It was a coming together, but not a penalty.
“I thought in the first half we were the better team and in the second half they were. We had a great chance to go 2-0 up before they scored, but failed to take it.
“Mark Harris has had a wonderful start to the season and the work he does for the team is tremendous. He doesn’t find himself far enough back to concede penalties often, but I had brought on another striker in Dane Scarlett and wanted to keep Mark on the field as another goalscorer.
“With the game at 1-1, I thought we might be able to pin them back a bit and create a chance for the winner.
“For their first goal, we allowed them to play out too easily on their right, but as much as you plan and prepare you are not going to get everything right.”
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
