Bristol City missed the chance to close the gap to the Championship play-off places with their 1-0 defeat to Coventry City at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Brandon Thomas-Asante’s 63rd-minute strike was the difference between the two sides with the former West Brom forward powering a shot high and into the back of the net having skipped past Luke McNally in the Reds' penalty area.

The defeat means that The Robins have now lost for the first time in the Championship in 2025, having not been beaten in the league since their last trip to The Midlands, a 2-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in December.

READ MORE: Coventry City 1 - 0 Bristol City recap: Thomas-Asante goal extends Reds' winless run on the road

READ MORE: Frank Lampard confirms ex-Bristol City favourite is training with Coventry ahead of Reds clash

Liam Manning’s side created plenty of chances and found themselves in areas to make something happen on multiple occasions, but they had a torrid day when it came to converting in the final third and couldn’t find the net in a scrappy affair.

City had the better of the chances early on, starting with some tricky play between Ross McCrorie and Nahki Wells after two minutes. It caught the Coventry defence off-guard and opened up a pocket of space for Anis Mehmeti in a promising position, but sadly, the Albanian midfielder took a poor touch and was dispossessed before he could get a shot away.

Wells turned out to be a problem for the Sky Blues’ defenders once more on the 10-minute-mark, finding himself in a one-on-one situation with the hosts’ goalkeeper Oliver Dovin. The Bermudian forward sent a low shot to the left of the Swedish keeper, who forced the attempt wide and out for a corner.

But it was the hosts who were in control for the remainder of a relatively chanceless first half, going closest with wide attempts from Victor Torp and Milan Van Ewijk, who were both allowed to get into promising positions before the half-hour mark.

The second 45 minutes had another lively start with Ellis Simms having an effort put behind for a corner within 90 seconds of play resuming.

The Robins had the chance to take the lead five minutes later when an Mehmeti cross from the left-hand side forced Dovin to go down low to make a save. He could only palm it away, leaving an open goal at the back post. Scott Twine managed to get in position for a rebound but saw Jay Dasilva get in the way of his strike.

City were made to pay for failing to convert that opportunity as the hosts would go on to enjoy their best period of the game before Thomas-Asante’s winner.

Simms proved to be a handful for the Robins defenders, whipping a ball across goal to a wide-open Jack Rudoni at the back post after 51 minutes, but the Reds were awarded a major let-off after the midfielder lost his footing and missed the ball.

Simms went close himself seven minutes later, hitting a powerful shot that flew just across the goalmouth and travelled inches wide of Max O’Leary’s far post.

Rudoni forced O’Leary to tip a long-range effort over the bar as the clock ticked over an hour before the hosts finally broke the deadlock through Thomas-Asante in the 63rd minute.

The Ghanaian forward received the ball deep in the Robins’ half and drove at the Bristol City defence untouched, before fooling a back-pedalling McNally to go the opposite direction when he then unleashed a powerful effort into the net.

Manning’s side had two more opportunities to find the scoresheet and earn a point, but couldn’t find a quality finish to beat Dovin. The first came after 68 minutes when Max Bird spotted second-half substitute Sam Bell making a run into the box from the left-hand side. Bird threaded a nice ball through to Bell’s feet, but the forward was denied by Dovin who stopped his low shot with his feet.

Whilst the BS3 side’s best chance may have been their last. A late Yu Hirakawa half-volley in the final seconds of the game could have given City fans an away day to remember, but bounced just wide of the post, and saw the Robins extend their streak to six away games without win.

The Reds will be hoping to end that streak midweek when they travel to fellow playoff challengers Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday night.

READ MORE: Liam Manning not concerned as Bristol City extend winless away run to six games vs Coventry City

READ MORE: Bristol City player ratings vs Coventry City as Reds suffer first Championship defeat of 2025