Bristol City bowed out of the FA Cup 5-3 on penalties at the City Ground with young forward Sam Bell the unfortunate man to miss for the Robins
Liam Manning thinks that Sam Bell’s heartbreaking disappointment at missing the crucial penalty kick will eventually make him stronger in the long run. Bristol City lost 1-1 to Nottingham Forest and lost 5-3 in penalties after 120 minutes of play.
At the end, Bell broke down in tears and was comforted by his teammates as the travelling supporters sang his name. Matt Turner had saved Bell’s penalty, and Forest had scored all five of their goals.
With tenacity, effort, and a tonne of attacking skill, City had created more than enough opportunities to win the match and had gone the whole distance in the match. In the fourteenth minute, Jason Knight overturned Divock Origi’s opening goal. Tommy Conway, Anis Mehmeti, Nahki Wells, Matty James, and Harry Cornick also had opportunities to score.
Though Bell was the one who made sure there would be penalties when, in the last minute of extra time, he rushed back to deny Taiwo Awoniyi after Nuno Tavares had put him free, Turner’s next move proved to be more crucial as he read the ball’s direction and dove to his right to save.
Conway and Cornick consoled Bell right away as he hobbled back to the halfway line, and Moussa Niakhate, the Forest midfielder, instantly ran to speak with the 21-year-old after Awoniyi scored the game-winning penalty. Niakhate had recently returned from the Africa Cup of Nations, where Senegal lost to Ivory Coast in a shootout after he missed a penalty.
Manning said, “Understandably gutted,” when asked how Bell was doing in the aftermath. The guys have been fantastic and have avoided him. Even though it’s a difficult situation right now, I believe it will only make him stronger and harder.
That was the best he’s been since I’ve been here, I told him afterward. His performance levels were outstanding, in my opinion. If he hadn’t made that tackle and recovered run on the back end, we wouldn’t have reached penalties.
“I think he was excellent tonight, and I think he has a huge future ahead of him. The only thing now is how we turn that into consistent performances like he showed.”
Anis Mehmeti scored the fourth penalty to send the game into extra time, but Awoniyi denied the Robins a fifth. Bell was ranked second on City’s list of penalty takers, behind the more seasoned players Cornick and Wells.
In actuality, the order was chosen by Bell deserves extra credit for stepping up when necessary, as did the guys who figured out among themselves exactly who was taking one and in what order.
Manning continued, “Players (decide), who wants one and when.” They planned it. But when you get to that point, it’s kind of a lottery.
There were mixed feelings in the locker room. On the one hand, we were really proud of our performance and how, during the final fifteen minutes of extra time, we were the stronger team and produced three excellent opportunities that we failed to take. There are so many benefits, but we also need to put our frustrations to rest.
These conflicting feelings stemmed from the opportunities missed and the domination City had for long stretches of the match, but they were unable to get past Turner, who was playing brilliantly between the posts for Forest. Knight’s opening stemmed from the outcome as well After a spectacular stop by the American, who deflected Andy King’s shot against the post before Bell set up Knight.
The way City performed against Leeds United on Friday night at Ashton Gate, where they were utterly outclassed while only losing 1-0, was also a response to that performance.
Despite all the good things, however, the fact that City doesn’t score enough goals to win games they eventually deserve to frustrates me. The Robins have only managed one victory in their previous ten games; six of those games have been in draws within ninety minutes; they have only scored six goals from 113 shots, 36 of which have been on target.
“The guys were devastated on Friday – amazing chance on Sky, etc., and everything that comes with it – not being ourselves, not performing what we practise.” Thus, I felt we did an amazing job of controlling the game and playing the way we wanted to play, which was a significant part of tonight’s event, according to Manning.
We did a great job pressing, demonstrating excellent compactness when necessary, managing rebounds skillfully, countering when necessary, and maintaining the ball for extended stretches of time while creating things. It had a purpose, something it hasn’t always had, as far as I know.
“So, when you consider how the entire game is connected, it was really good. It was exactly that—the last stretch—where everyone needed to come up, deliver, and perform. You cannot construct with as much control as we did and refuse to accept it.
It’s difficult to accept. Although I felt the boys were great, we also need to have that ruthless edge, so I feel bad for them.
Leave a Reply