Bristol City 2 Sheffield 0: City pen latest tale of the unexpected

Amar Azam
Monday 08 October 2007 00:00 BST
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Bristol City's confident performances so far this season suggest that the Championship newcomers will continue to cope with whatever the division throws at them.

This latest victory, courtesy of goals from David Noble, playing his first game of the season, and Michael McIndoe, plunged Bryan Robson, the Sheffield United manager, into yet deeper trouble near the bottom of the table.

At first glance, Gary Johnson's side look to be emulating Colchester United, who performed heroically in the Championship last season following promotion.

However, Noble believes that it would be foolish to think that City will flourish before being undone by the might of the division's better-resourced teams during the season's run-in.

"Maybe there is a surprise factor about us," said Noble, whose two goals on the final day of last season against Rotherham United helped confirm that City would gain promotion from League One.

"We are fourth after 10 games but people are going to start finding out about us. We have to find things and do things now that other teams don't know. We want to look forward and I think that we will do well."

City's fluid attacking formation, in which the wide midfielders McIndoe and Ivan Sproule took turns to join the two strikers, clearly upset a Sheffield United rearguard that struggled all game.

A number of chances came the way of the dominant hosts. The defender Bradley Orr struck the upright with a header on 16 minutes, moments after a clever free-kick routine saw City's Liam Fontaine nearly score from close range.

Noble put them ahead a minute before half-time after he pressured the visitors' captain Chris Morgan into a poor defensive header, sneaking in to loop the loose ball over the advancing goalkeeper Paddy Kenny before forcing the ball home ahead of Chris Armstrong.

McIndoe scored the second on 72 minutes when he ghosted in between the United defenders to head home a good cross from Sproule.

From then on Sheffield United toiled but lacked the creative thrust to force themselves back into the game.

Goals: Noble (44) 1-0; McIndoe (72) 2-0.

Bristol City (4-4-2): Basso; McAllister, Carey, Fontaine, Orr (McCombe, 67); Sproule, Elliott, Johnson, McIndoe; Noble

(Skuse, 75), Byfield (Trundle, 79). Substitutes not used: Henderson (gk), Murray.

Sheffield United (4-4-2) Kenny; Armstrong, Morgan, Lucketti (Sharp, 89), Cahill; Hendrie (S Quinn, h-t), A Quinn, Tonge, Carney; Beattie, Stead (Shelton, 60). Substitutes not used: Bromby, Kilgallon.

Referee: P Taylor (Hertfordshire).

Booked: Bristol City Carey; Sheffield United A Quinn, Lucketti, Tonge.

Man of the match: McIndoe.

Attendance: 13,071.

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