Andy Munro reports on Blues’ second B-Mission of the week.
Does it get any better at the moment for Bluenoses, with five wins on the bounce?
Obviously the run will end sooner rather than later but I’m confident that there is enough spirit and variety in the side to be able to cope in the long term.
The Bristol game had ‘Fyffes’ written all over it with Blues on a high from their Bruges triumph and, in contrast, Bristol City marooned at the bottom of the table but having just taken on a new manager. It has been noticeable that Stoke City have yet to win a post-Europa match so, in stats terms, Blues had it do even with eight changes. Thankfully those changes worked out well particularly in defence with the irrepressible Stevie Carr back and Curtis Davies proving his early critics wrong with every game he plays.
In midfield, Gomez fetched and carried efficiently to keep things moving whilst Beausejour is also becoming increasingly influential and the architect of many of the best moves. However it was Chris Burke who again collected the goalscoring plaudits with a well taken brace and undoubtedly our width is our strongest point at present.
Of course, Bristol were never going to roll over and were a threat until Burke netted the second. Out to prove themselves to their new manager with forwards like the much sought after Nicky Maynard and the tricky Campbell–Ryce they are always be capable of scoring goals. Luckily, a leaky defence trying to protect Calamity James is always going to help the opposition cause.
A lot of credit must go to Chris Hughton for managing to successfully rotate. Let’s hope Blues are able to keep him. An extended contract would therefore be the logical step, but with Peter Pannu seemingly rooming with Lord Lucan, there seems no prospect of any such action.