Bristol City verdict as Reds continue Robin Hood act in Sunderland draw at the Stadium of Light

It just felt like that was always going to happen, didn't it? For 93 minutes, Bristol City produced the perfect smash-and-grab away performance, only to have their hard work undone by the left foot of Patrick Roberts deep in injury time.

Unfortunately, that is a feeling City supporters have become all too used to in recent years as the Reds have seemingly had a knack for dropping points late on in matches since the Nigel Pearson era at Ashton Gate.

While Tuesday evening's 1-1 draw with Sunderland was a marked improvement on Saturday afternoon's dire defeat to Portsmouth, Liam Manning and the fans that made the trip to the North East will have been left with a similar feeling of frustration having not quite managed to get over the line.

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The Robins would have been incredibly fortunate had they come away with all three points as Regis Le Bris' Black Cats did spend large periods of the game on top, but whenever you concede that late in a game, it is a real sucker punch.

Within the space of just a few seconds, what looked like it was going to be a famous away win turned into another opportunity missed. Perhaps Tuesday evening's draw sums up City's season so far: so much promise, but missing that finishing touch to get over the line.

That is a rather bleak way of looking at what realistically is another impressive point on the road this season and with that being said, here are the main talking points from the Stadium of Light...

Luke McNally shows his value at both ends of the pitch

Rightly or wrongly, there has been an awful lot of criticism directed towards Brian Tinnion and the rest of the recruitment team over the last few days following the defeat to Portsmouth, with several fans criticising the quality of forward player brought to Ashton Gate (more on that later).

However, the addition of Luke McNally is looking like a better signing with each passing week. Of course, the centre-back's goal will steal the headlines, but his work out of possession was just as important as it kept the Robins in the game in a first half where they were by far and away the worse of the two teams.

The 25-year-old made three blocks and registered five clearances in the contest and without his presence in the City penalty area, Sunderland would have been home and dry by half-time. Although some will criticise him for his work in possession, his no-nonsense style has been an excellent addition and provided a defensive presence that supporters at Ashton Gate likely won't have seen since Nathan Baker was forced into retirement by injury.

His right-footed strike was his second league goal of the season, meaning he has outscored Jason Knight, Max Bird and Rob Dickie this season and found the net as often as fellow summer signings Scott Twine, Yu Hirakawa and Fally Mayulu. Of course, McNally will have been signed primarily for his defensive work, but having another goalscorer in the armoury can only be a good thing for the Reds in the long run.

"He was excellent," Manning admitted after the full-time whistle. "I was a little nervy with the finish to be fair, it felt like it took an age to get the shot off but he took it really well. I think it's a really important thing the team needs, we need goals from a variety of sources so for him to chip in is really important.

"Then at the other end, I thought him, Rob [Dickie], [Cam] Pring, Zak [Vyner] how they defended I thought was excellent so credit to them."

The Robin Hood act continues

Once again Bristol City have stolen a point from the rich, in this case Sunderland, only a matter of days after they gifted three to the poor, Portsmouth.

Manning's side have made a habit of impressing against the teams flying high at the top of the Championship, but have struggled to beat those near the foot of the table and the last couple of days are a perfect example of this problem.

Against Pompey at the weekend, the Reds were played off of the park by a team that started the day bottom of the Championship, never once looking like scoring whereas against the Black Cats, City not only produced a workmanlike display but showed the cutting edge to score with one of their only clear chances.

While it is great that the Robins have given every one of the current top six, bar Blackburn Rovers, a real game already this season, it will matter very little if they don't begin to start cashing in when they face the weaker sides in the division. It would be naive to assume that the Reds are deliberately raising their game against higher-quality opposition, but they do seem to play with a sense of relaxation and assuredness that hasn't always been present against teams that are struggling.

The excellent thing about the chaotic Championship schedule is that City have a chance to show they can be more than the Robin Hood of the second tier when they face QPR at Ashton Gate on Saturday. Marti Cifuentes' side face Oxford United this evening before making the trip to the West Country, but at the time of writing they sit just a single point above the relegation zone.

Manning's Reds cannot afford to get turned over by another relegation-threatened club, especially after conceding late on at the Stadium of Light otherwise the Robins boss will be left facing exactly the same questions he had to deal with at Fratton Park last weekend.

Tuesday night was a step in the right direction, but it will only be a truly important one if it provides the foundation and momentum for another step to be taken on Saturday lunchtime.

The Sinclair Armstrong conundrum

If you searched Sinclair Armstrong's name into X or any Bristol City-related forums after Tuesday night's game, you would have seen a variety of supporters criticising the striker for what they felt was an ineffective and passive performance in what was his first start in exactly two months.

However, Manning was quick to credit the 21-year-old for his display in his post-match press conference suggesting the forward did well with the limited service that his teammates provided for him in his hour of action in the North East.

"Sincs worked really hard I thought," remarked the City boss after the full-time whistle. "He didn't have a huge amount of quality into him or a huge amount of service, but what we asked him to do defensively he did well.

"He's just a constant threat. I think the centre-backs can never switch off or relax just given his physical qualities. He had a couple of half moments on the counterattack, but he put in a shift and that's the bit, we're in a different place now where we can make changes. A year ago we couldn't whereas now I look at the bench and the depth we've got. We're in a better spot to manage a really heavy period that we've got coming up."

Is it possible that both sides can be right? Of course it is. Armstrong does carry a constant threat because of his pace as Manning suggests, but his lack of cutting edge in the final third limits how dangerous he can be as he isn't able to take the chances he carves out for himself.

So should City persist with starting the former QPR forward until he learns how to have a greater impact on matches? Or should they leave him to sit on the bench for the foreseeable future as he doesn't have the clinical edge to lead the line as a Championship club's number nine?

The answer is probably somewhere in the middle. There will be times when Armstrong's pace is exactly what is needed, as was the case earlier this season, and there will be matches where he cannot be trusted to take the one chance that the Robins might get in a game.

He is going to continue to start games over the festive period and while he won't be every supporter's cup of tea, the 21-year-old is young and has an awful lot to learn. His manager clearly rates him so it would be naive to write him off after one quiet showing. Manning just needs to make sure he picks him for the games where his skills will be a greater help than his limitations are a hindrance.

Manning gets subs spot on

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to suggest that City looked like a new team having shifted to a back three at half-time with Sam Bell as a pseudo right wing-back and Cam Pring at left wing-back. That formation gave the Reds more balance in and out of possession and got the best out of the 11 men on the pitch and Manning deserves credit for making the switch so early in the game.

The Robins boss also deserves kudos for having the courage to hook fan favourites Hirakawa and Bird to accommodate the different system as that decision certainly raised eyebrows among the supporters watching at home and in the away end at the Stadium of Light.

Hirakawa in particular really struggled out of possession in the first half against the Black Cats and repeatedly left Vyner, who once again started out of position at right back, exposed against Ajibola Alese and Tom Watson. Although the City defender managed to keep both players quiet for much of the opening period, it felt like it would only be a matter of time before the pressure told and Sunderland would take the lead.

Similarly, it felt like the game almost passed Bird by as the former Derby County man had no major impact on proceedings with or without the ball and there was a noticeable improvement when George Earthy took his place at the top of midfield.

Manning's substitutions on Tuesday night should serve as a reminder to both Hirakawa and Bird that nobody is guaranteed their place in this squad currently, especially as the likes of Mark Sykes, Twine, George Tanner and Ross McCrorie close in on a return to match fitness.

With genuine competition for places in almost every area of the pitch, players are going to have to be at their best at all times to feature week in and week out and it certainly wouldn't be a surprise if both stars weren't included in the City starting line-up on Saturday.

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