Bristol City 3-2 Middlesbrough: FLW report as Liam Manning earns first Robins win | OneFootball

Liam Manning earned his first win as Bristol City boss as the Robins beat Middlesbrough 3-2 in a topsy-turvy Championship game at Ashton Gate.

City led 2-0 at the break courtesy of Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Tommy Conway but Boro were back level six minutes into the second half due to a Zak Vyner own-goal and Matt Crooks' equaliser.

Mark Sykes would have the final say seven minutes after the hour to ensure that Manning's first game at Ashton Gate ended in a victory.

Bristol City 3-2 Middlesbrough

The Robins are still finding their feet under their new boss and that's the way it looked in the opening exchanges – Boro the brighter early on and Max O'Leary the first goalkeeper tested.

Luckily for O'Leary and Vyner, whose mistake handed Sam Greenwood the game's first opportunity inside five minutes, the Leeds United loanee's shot was right at the City keeper.

The hosts were not afraid to pour forward on the break when the chance arose, however, and Gardner-Hickman can feel a little unlucky that his strike was deflected back into the hands of Seny Dieng, and not past him into the net, after Sykes had turned the ball over in the ninth minute.

That moment appeared to ease City's early nerves and help them wrestle back some control, allowing them to show their increased patience in possession under their new boss.

It was Boro that would go closest in the first half hour, though, as Crooks' flick allowed Emmanuel Latte Lath to pick out Isaiah Jones at the back post. Jones bundled the ball over the line only to have his celebration cut short by the linesman's flag.

The Robins' more measured approach meant they continued to see the lion's share of possession as the half drew nearer but, to the growing frustration of the home support, didn't bring much in the way of opportunities in the final third with Carrick's team happy to sit in and bide their time.

Frustration quickly turned to jubilation for the Ashton Gate faithful in the 37th minute, however, courtesy of Gardner-Hickman's breathtaking opener. The West Brom loanee picked up the ball just inside the Boro half and drove forward before dropping his shoulder and curling his strike in off the bar from 20 yards out.

O'Leary's near-post save ensured that Latte Lath was unable to make an immediate response for Boro and City would be two up by the time the halftime whistle was blown.

Defensive mistakes allowed Conway to race in behind twice in a matter of minutes and though the 21-year-old wasn't able to find the net on either occasion, seeing an effort saved and then being cleaned out on the edge of the box, he did double the deficit from the penalty spot in first half stoppage time.

A trip on Matty James gave City a spot kick – a rarity in Bs3 – and the academy product confidently converted to bag his third goal of the campaign and leave Manning's side on top at the break.

Their lead lasted all of six second half minutes as Boro hit back quickly – with plenty of help from the Robins' defence – to turn the game on its head.

Vyner handed Carrick's side the initiative in the 49th minute with one of the more calamitous own goals you're likely to see in the EFL. Having seen Greenwood's edge-of-the-box strike rattle the crossbar, the centre-back attempted to head the ball back to his keeper but found the back of his own net instead, with O'Leary still recovering from his attempted save.

Two minutes later, George Tanner was robbed of possession by Greenwood on the right flank and, with the City backline out of position, Crooks was picked out with plenty of time and space to bury the equaliser in the bottom corner from the top of the box.

With Boro searching for a third and City desperate to repent, it felt like another goal was not far away and it was the hosts that grabbed it in the 67th minute as the momentum swung back their way. Rob Dickie's header from a corner was clawed away by Dieng but Sykes hammered the rebound in on the volley from a tight angle.

Both coaches looked to their bench as we entered the final 20 minutes and subsititute Morgan Rogers nearly rewarded Carrick with another leveller in the 79th minute but his low effort came back out off the post – to the relief of a scrambling O'Leary.

Manning heeded that warning and threw on Kal Naismith as a third central defender with 10 minutes remaining in an attempt to tighten things up defensively. But it was another late introduction, Anis Mehmeti, that had the chance to kill the game for City. He tore past the Boro defence on a one-man break but Dieng was equal to his effort.

The Senegal international's save ensured that the seven minutes added on were nervy and the outpouring of relief nearly matched that of joy when the final whistle was blown.

Manning's Robins off the mark with a win that they and the Ashton Gate faithful will hope is the first of many.

Bristol City player ratings

Max O'Leary - 6

George Tanner - 5

Zak Vyner - 4

Rob Dickie - 7

Cam Pring - 6

Matty James - 6 (Joe Williams (90) - N/A)

Taylor Gardner-Hickman - 8

Mark Sykes - 8 (Kal Naismith (80) - 6)

Jason Knight - 7

Sam Bell - 5 (Anis Mehmeti (68) - 6)

Tommy Conway - 7 (Harry Cornick (68) - 6)

Unused subs: Stefan Bajic, Jamie Knight-Lebel, Andi Weimann, Ephraim Yeboah

Middlesbrough player ratings

Seny Dieng - 6

Rav van den Berg - 5 (Sammy Silvera (73) - 5)

Dael Fry - 5

Paddy McNair - 5

Lukas Engel - 5 (Alex Bangura (66) - 5)

Jonny Howson - 6 (Dan Barlaser (86) - N/A)

Hayden Hackney - 6

Isaiah Jones - 6

Matt Crooks - 7 (Morgan Rogers (73) - 6)

Sam Greenwood - 7 (Josh Coburn (86) - N/A)

Emmanuel Latte Lath - 6

Asked to reflect on his first win as City boss, Manning said: "A terrific atmosphere. I thought the fans were incredible in helping us get it over the line.

"Dissecting the game, when you look at it, we're in the early stages of transitioning the group to how we want to play and what it looks like. It's not always going to look perfect and right, which you could see at times in the first half.

"A moment of real high quality to put us ahead and obviously we hadn't planned on starting the second half like that. We spoke about it at halftime – expected them to be a bit more aggressive, they're chasing the game, maybe change how they press, and be a bit more front-footed so it was adapt to that, which obviously we didn't do.

"To then show the response that the players did I thought was outstanding. The resilience, the togetherness, and the calmness as well. I think that was the big thing, not getting carried away against an in-form, strong side. I thought we showed a real level of togetherness to respond how we did. Delighted to get the win."

Speaking after the game, Carrick offered his assessment of the defeat.

He said: "A bit like the last away game at Plymouth, in some ways.

"A lot of good things, a lot of good play. I thought we were in control of the game for large spells really. A messy few minutes before halftime and then one moment second half was the game really.

"Disappointed, very disappointed to not come away with anything, but that's football. If those little moments catch you out, then you find yourself having too much to do.

"The boys were good second half, in terms of coming out and chasing the game, doing what they're good at basically, and then that one moment just tipped it in their favour."

On the three goals his side conceded, the Boro boss added: "The first one is the first one, he's put it in the top corner – I don't think any goalkeeper will save that. The penalty is the penalty, which I don't was a penalty. Then it's a corner so isolated instances in some way but that's how it is."