Nigel Pearson praised the pace and power of Bristol City’s attacking play after a deserved 3-2 Severnside derby success against Cardiff.
The hosts had to come from behind, with James Collins having headed Cardiff into a 31st-minute lead.
But Chris Martin equalised almost immediately with a curling shot and netted again with a low 63rd-minute drive.
Andreas Weimann lashed his 13th goal of the season to make it 3-1 and a late header from Cardiff substitute Max Watters proved too little, too late.
While Martin and Weimann both excelled, it was young striker Antoine Semenyo who did most to terrorise the visiting defence with his pace and power.
Pearson said: “Chris Martin comes in for some criticism at times, but he is a team player, who is good for us at both ends of the pitch.
“He took his goals really well and he deserved them for the amount of work he puts into games.
“All our front players caused Cardiff problems. There was real pace to our attacks and we looked really dangerous.
“Antoine is learning and developing his game this season. He must be very tough to play against because he is strong, as well as quick.
“We had to make two early changes because of injuries to Rob Atkinson and Andy King, but adapted to those setbacks really well.
“Han-Noah Massengo has made a big error for their first goal. But he also responded positively and had a good game.
“It would be nice if we could see games out a bit better at the end. But other than that, I can’t have any complaints because my players gave everything.
“Our fans have gone home happy and I think they can see that every player is working for the side. We are making progress.”
Semenyo hit a post twice in the second half and, while Mark McGuinness did the same for Cardiff early on, they ended up well beaten.
Boss Steve Morison, who gave a debut to Manchester City loanee Tommy Doyle, admitted: “The second half was the worst 45 minutes I have had watching from the touchline.
“We were out-fought and out-battled, which frustrated and hurt me. They wanted it more.
“In the first half hour, we did well and got a goal from the sort of thing we have been working at on the training ground all week.
“Tommy Doyle has quickly shown his quality with the cross and James Collins anticipated it to put us in front.
“Then we hit the self-destruct button within a minute. We ask the players to stay calm and relax on the ball and they weren’t capable of doing it.
“We are a team and we didn’t defend well as a team. We have been through the goals already and there were lots of bits that weren’t good about them.
“We were still in it at half-time and let ourselves down from then on. We have to be better than that.
“The players need to do what they did in the first 30 minutes for 90 minutes and take individual responsibility for their performances.
“There won’t be a knee-jerk reaction because up until today we have not been bad. But there is work to do.”
