Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson admitted that he was relieved to at last “get over the line” after his side had ended a 13-match winless run with a 3-2 Championship victory at Reading.
Andreas Weimann and Chris Martin gave City a 2-0 lead early on only for Femi Azeez to reduce the deficit in the 19th minute.
Weimann struck again seven minutes into the second half and although skipper Liam Moore gave Reading hope when he made it 3-2 near the end, City held on for their first victory since mid-March.
“Yes, it was really good to get over the line,” Pearson said.
“It’s important to point out that we probably played better than that against Blackpool [drew 1-1] and were unfortunate to concede late on.
“In fact, we’ve conceded late goals in all our three previous games this season so there’s going to be a bit of a build-up of anxiety.
“It’s just good to get over that line. I thought the lads showed a lot of commitment tonight and some good play, too.
“We also looked good on the break and we created some good opportunities. Andy [Weimann] probably thinks he should have had a hat-trick.
“It’s good to get the first win of the season and it’s been a long time since we had a win. All those things together are really positive.
“It’s also important that we learn from the errors where we didn’t do quite so well.
“When you get into a situation where a few demons creep in during games, it’s important that the solidity of the team gets you through it.
“There were some really good performances today. There were some mistakes but mistakes always happen in games. It’s how you deal with them that matters.”
Reading have now lost three out of four league and cup games this term.
“It was tough that we conceded two very early goals,” Reading manager Veljko Paunovic said.
“We expected that City’s plan was going to be direct play, looking for the second balls to get set-pieces from and long throw-ins.
“We were preparing for that but, obviously, City had a little bit of the ‘luck’ factor with their first goal – the rebound from the throw-in goes towards their player.
“But when that happens, what we say is that this is a red flag. It was too late, though, because City now had the control.
“We conceded too many throw-ins in the final third in the first half.
“It’s the play that City always have and we were preparing for that. Unfortunately, when it got to that point, they controlled us.
“But the reaction from the team at 2-0 down was good and we kept pushing right to the end.”
