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-man Sunderland at Ashton Gate.
The visitors had to play all but the first seven minutes with 10 men 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.
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.
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.
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
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- 7 Mat Sadler hails Walsall’s ‘fighting performance’ after win in play-off first leg
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