They never quite make it simple, do they? Having blown away Portsmouth in their final match of 2024, Bristol City headed to Home Park to face Plymouth Argyle full of confidence with the wind in their sails on New Year's Day.

Having secured back-to-back wins for the first time this season last time out, for much of the game against the Pilgrims, it seemed as though the Robins would be extending that run to three games.

Anis Mehmeti gave Liam Manning's side the lead heading into the break after some smart play from Nahki Wells and Max Bird and while a Rami Al Hajj goal pegged City back, Jason Knight quickly restored that advantage with an excellent lofted finish in the second half. However, a stoppage time leveller from Julio Pleguezuelo ensured that the points would be shared in Devon.

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While so much of what the Reds did was excellent, supporters that made the trip to Home Park will have been left with an all too familiar taste in their mouths. Once again, a good performance didn't yield all three points and a new year began with a draw that felt more like a defeat.

Of course, football is a results business and given Argyle's struggles this season, Manning's side were probably expected to kick off 2025 with a win. Though they didn't quite deliver, they did show signs of what could come over the next year.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, after all, the new year is just over a day old, here are the main talking points from the Robins' 2-2 draw with Plymouth Argyle at Home Park...

New year, familiar issue

What is it about Bristol City and conceding late goals? Although it doesn't feel like it has happened for a little while, the Robins seem to have this awful habit of conceding late in matches and it always tends to either be a late leveller or winner for the opposition, rather than a consolation goal.

With the two points dropped at Home Park on New Year's Day, the Reds have now failed to claim 13 points from winning positions this term and have only managed to earn nine from losing positions.

If you were to add those 13 points to the Robins' tally for the campaign, they would currently be sitting on 47 points which would place them in the play-off positions and only two points adrift of promotion-chasing Sheffield United. Even if you were to take away the nine points won from losing positions, the extra four points would have the Reds just one point behind both West Brom and Blackburn Rovers who are well in the mix for the top six.

City need to start killing matches off more regularly. Manning himself is well aware of that and although the head coach thinks his side is heading in the right direction, he knows they'll have to use Wednesday's clash as a learning experience.

"I think it's a sign of progress from the lads," explained the 39-year-old after the full-time whistle. "We weren't talking about it too many times last season, giving up results from winning positions. It shows how close the lads are. I think the progress is massive, when you look at them individually, you look at Anis, Knighty, Rob [Dickie], Zak [Vyner], they're improving individually and they're improving collectively.

"The final bit's the hardest bit which is getting games like today over the line. We did it at home against Luton, but we couldn't do it today so it's something we have to learn quickly from and we don't want to keep repeating because it has happened too many times. But when you step back and look at the bigger picture, it does show how progress we've made and how close we are that we're in positions to see out games and wins."

Anyone who watched the game will know that for large parts, the progress was clear for all to see. City's goal for this year has to be to take that next step and turn good displays into wins more often.

Midfield nailed down

It may have taken a bit longer than most fans would have expected, but it feels as though Knight and Bird have really cemented themselves as the Reds' first-choice midfield pairing.

Marcus McGuane has been excellent when utilised in the middle of the park as a more defensive presence. In games against Watford and Norwich for example he was one of the best players on the field and he will undoubtedly have a big role to play in the second half of the campaign.

However, Bird and Knight showed once again on New Year's Day that between the two of them, they can do it all in the middle of the park. Neither player is afraid to get stuck in with a big tackle or throw their body in the way of a pass and they are equally as capable of producing a moment of quality than can decide a game in the final third.

For the second time in two matches, Bird produced a through ball which cut the opposition defence in two in the lead up to Mehmeti's opener. It may seem a simple pass to complete but it couldn't have been weighted any better to allow Wells to find the Albanian international on the edge of the box.

Similarly, Knight's run and chipped finish for City's second goal was the sort of thing you'd expect from a number nine, not a central midfielder with one goal to his name all season. Although it didn't prove to be the winner, it got the away end up and off their feet having only recently been pegged back by the Pilgrims.

With Derby County up next, both players will likely be keen to show their old club what they're missing, particularly after the Reds struggled to lay a glove on Paul Warne's Rams at Pride Park earlier this term. When picking his side for that game, you'd have to imagine Manning will already have his midfield nailed down.

A game too far for Cam Pring

Although Manning hasn't made wholesale changes to his starting line-up at any point over the festive period, the Bristol City boss deserves credit for managing his squad's minutes for the most part and avoiding any major injuries in one of the busiest spells of the season.

However, you have to wonder if Cam Pring's hamstring injury sustained in the first half of the clash with Argyle could have been avoided had the 26-year-old been taken out of the firing line in recent weeks.

Before New Year's Day's game, Pring had played 90 minutes in each of City's last five matches. Those five matches were played in just 19 days and while the likes of Vyner, Knight, Dickie and McNally have all also played every minute of those games, their positions aren't quite as physically demanding as that of a wing-back.

Pring spends the majority of each and every game charging up and down the left flank at full throttle both in defence and attack and it is not usual to see him looking as though he has gone 12 rounds with Tyson Fury when the final whistle is blown. Considering the Reds had wrapped up the three points by half-time against Portsmouth last time out, maybe Manning could have given the left-back a much-needed rest part way through that game.

On the other hand, had he removed him from the action and City were to capitulate and ship three goals, we would have all been blaming the head coach for taking off one of his most consistent players. Ultimately, what is done and is done and all the Reds can do now is hope the issue is nothing too serious and that Haydon Roberts can step up and fill Pring's boots in the meantime.

Nahki Wells making the big calls simple

City's last two away games couldn't have been much more different. Just days before Christmas, the Robins left The Hawthorns questioning how they were only beaten 2-0 by West Brom as Carlos Corberan's Baggies ran riot in the Black Country. 10 days later, the Reds will have left Home Park questioning how they didn't manage to score three or four goals to comfortably secure three points.

While the standard of the opposition is obviously a major factor when trying to explain the differences between the two games, there is one other variable that has been just as important. The presence of Wells at the top end of the pitch.

Heading into this season, most would have expected the 34-year-old to be little more than a rotation option to offer some much-needed experience alongside the young forward pair of Fally Mayulu and Sinclair Armstrong. Instead, the Bermudian international is playing his best-ever football in Bristol City colours and has become one of the most important members of Manning's squad.

Wells' composure to pick out Mehmeti when faced with Conor Hazard in the lead-up to the opener was great to see. There are very few strikers in this division who would look to play in their teammates in that situation rather than go for goal themselves. That game-awareness is making those around him in attack tick and it cannot be undervalued.

"I think Nahki is so intelligent, as are the lads around him," Manning explained. "They're starting to really understand each other's games, how to play the shape, the system, how to play together and there's lots of it where I enjoyed watching it."

While the end of the season and Wells' contract are still months away, the striker is making an excellent case for an extension to his current deal. If this is how effective he can be when his teammates are "starting" to understand how to play with him, he could be a force to be reckoned with at this level for a while yet, even at 34.

Hopefully, the Robins move to tie him down sooner rather than later as he appears to be ageing like a fine wine.

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