Bristol City moved to within seven points of the top six and concluded a perfect Easter as they beat Sheffield United at Ashton Gate
Roy Hodgson admits that he was prouder of Bristol City's second-half showing in their win over Sheffield United than their first, with the Reds boss shining a light on his side's centre-back pairing in particular.
The Robins continued Hodgson's perfect start in interim charge with a first Ashton Gate win since January as they ran out 1-0 winners over the Blades. In a close-fought Easter Monday clash, Mark Sykes' goal midway through the first half proved the difference.
Having watched on as City came close to an opener in the opening exchanges, Sykes scored what turned out to be the winner with 23 minutes on the clock when he finished low into the bottom left corner from the edge of the area, after a poor clearance from Adam Davies.
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While the Reds had chances to put the contest to bed before the break, it took an inspired second-half defensive showing to keep the Blades out. Though it was far from comfortable for fans and Hodgson alike in the closing exchanges, the interim boss was pleased with his players' effort and commitment.
"You've got to be very happy and proud of that as well, because any win asks a lot of a team and this team," the 78-year-old said in his post-match press conference. "I think this win - and to some extent, the Charlton one - asked a lot of the team as well.
"I would add that at half-time, he - Chris Wilder - made four or five changes and left three or four, at least, of his better players out. He brings them on at half-time, and we're battering the same guys who did such a good job at Charlton only two days ago, and I thought they stood up to the challenge very well.
"Yes, in terms of the beautiful game, I enjoyed periods of the first half a bit more than I did the second half, but the second half I'm more proud of than the first."
The changes noted by Hodgson saw Wilder introduce Andre Brooks and Gustavo Hamer at the interval, two players who played important roles in the Blades' run to the Championship play-off final last term.
With both substitutes on the field, United were able to pile on the pressure after the restart, as Hamer, Brooks and Patrick Bamford forced big saves out of Radek Vitek in the Robins' net, with the latter also missing a big chance early in the second half.
Naturally, come the full-time whistle, the United loanee was the subject of plenty of praise from fans, having kept the Blades' frontline at bay. Hodgson was also keen to credit Vitek, but shone a light on Neto Borges and Noah Eile.
"The goalkeeper's outstanding, as you all know, but I think the two players that deserve more credit than I'm sure they've been given are the two centre-backs," Hodgson explained. "Two very tough games and they've handled it brilliantly."
On Vitek's display, the interim head coach added, "At Charlton [he was] very, very good. Unfortunately, we couldn't stop them from getting balls into the box as much as they did. We were trying to, but that Brooks is a hell of a talented player and the same with Hamer.
"Up front, you're dealing with people like Bamford. Bamford is a top, top class striker and those two centre-backs, one’s a young guy who hasn't played that many games, has come from America [Eile] and the other one is supposedly a left-back [Borges].
"He didn't look like it today; he looked like a centre-back."
Hodgson will look to stretch his winning run as Reds boss to three games next weekend when City travel to Loftus Road to face QPR. With a win in the capital, the Robins could - depending on results elsewhere - move within four points of the top six.
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