Plymouth Argyle’s relegation fears increased as they failed to score for a fifth successive home game in a 1-0 Championship loss to Bristol City.
Argyle had the better of a goalless first half, but could not create a clear cut chance and were made to pay when City took the lead early in the second half.
Nahki Wells nodded in from close range after Michael Cooper had saved two City shots.
Argyle’s day got worse when Alfie Devine was sent off for a second booking with 12 minutes left as the pressure mounted on Plymouth head coach Ian Foster after a 10th winless game in 11 league matches.
It leaves the Pilgrims one place and one point above the relegation zone while the victory moves Bristol City up to 12th place.
Under pressure Argyle started strongly against a City side that beat promotion-chasing Leicester City on Good Friday – they forced six corners in the first 25 minutes as Bali Mumba, Morgan Whittaker and Ryan Hardie all had chances.
Argyle top-scorer Whittaker blasted a far-post volley over from Matthew Sorinola’s cross after half an hour, while Scott Twine had City’s first chance five minutes later when Michael Cooper tipped his lobbed effort over the bar.
City boss Liam Manning made three changes to his side at half-time as Mark Sykes, Joe Williams and Wells came on to try and create some impetus.
The changes appeared to work as Sykes had a penalty appeal turned away three minutes into the second period before he and Wells were involved in the opener.
Anis Mehmeti cut in from the left and saw his right-footed effort parried away by Michael Cooper, Sykes had an attempt saved on the follow-up but Wells was there to head home his fifth goal of the season.
Whittaker forced a good low save from Max O’Leary with 20 minutes to go, but it was just the hosts’ second shot on target all game – a lack of goal attempts has been a problem they have had at home for a couple of months.
It got worse for Argyle when Devine was sent off for a second booking after a foul on George Tanner, two minutes after Wells had forced a good save from Cooper.
Plymouth Argyle head coach Ian Foster told BBC Radio Devon:
“The performance today was outstanding for long periods of the game.
“There’s nothing in the game when they score, the goal is disappointing from our perspective, we’ve got to go in front when we’re on top and as dominant as we are.
“The fans are not going to be going away rubbing their hands and smiling because we’ve lost a game, I’m sure they’ll have an appreciation for the effort and application of the players – they were outstanding in terms of how they tried to play with bravery on the ball.
“You can’t fault the players’ attitude and application – the players are giving everything they possibly can, we’ve just got to be a little more ruthless in certain moments of the game.”
Bristol City head coach Liam Manning told BBC Radio Bristol:
“It was terrific to get another win and clean sheet. Huge credit to the squad, when you look at the demands of the game, it takes a lot out of you physically.
“We knew Plymouth would get on the front foot and we did a really good job of weathering that first 20 minutes. They had some set-pieces but without troubling Max and after that it was a really good professional performance.
“We changed it [defence] from a five to a four during the half, which I thought helped in terms of getting pressure higher up and wrestling back control of the game.
“He’s a top pro, Nahki – I can’t speak highly enough of him. He’d probably want to play more than he has done but it was an excellent performance stepping on and delivering when required. He came on and had a real positive impact.”
Line-ups
Plymouth
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Cooper
- 29SorinolaSubstituted forEdwardsat 81′minutes
- 26Phillips
- 17GibsonBooked at 62mins
- 3SousaSubstituted forMillerat 60′minutes
- 27ForshawSubstituted forRandellat 60′minutes
- 4HoughtonBooked at 90mins
- 16DevineBooked at 78mins
- 10Whittaker
- 9Hardie
- 2MumbaSubstituted forBunduat 67′minutes
Substitutes
- 5Pleguezuelo
- 8Edwards
- 11Wright
- 14Miller
- 15Bundu
- 20Randell
- 21Hazard
- 22Galloway
- 23Waine
Bristol City
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 1O’Leary
- 26Vyner
- 16Dickie
- 24RobertsSubstituted forSykesat 45′minutes
- 19Tanner
- 12Knight
- 6JamesSubstituted forWilliamsat 45′minutes
- 3PringBooked at 88mins
- 11MehmetiSubstituted forCornickat 71′minutes
- 7TwineBooked at 28minsSubstituted forKingat 82′minutes
- 15ConwaySubstituted forWellsat 45′minutesBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 2McCrorie
- 8Williams
- 9Cornick
- 10King
- 17Sykes
- 21Wells
- 23Bajic
- 27Knight-Lebel
- 30Mebude
- Referee:
- Keith Stroud
- Attendance:
- 16,866
Live Text
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Match ends, Plymouth Argyle 0, Bristol City 1.
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Second Half ends, Plymouth Argyle 0, Bristol City 1.
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Nahki Wells (Bristol City) is shown the yellow card.
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Foul by Mickel Miller (Plymouth Argyle).
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Jason Knight (Bristol City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Offside, Bristol City. Harry Cornick is caught offside.
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Corner, Bristol City. Conceded by Ashley Phillips.
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Attempt blocked. Andy King (Bristol City) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Joe Williams with a through ball.
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Corner, Bristol City. Conceded by Ashley Phillips.
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Attempt blocked. Nahki Wells (Bristol City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Joe Williams.
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Jordan Houghton (Plymouth Argyle) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Cameron Pring (Bristol City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Joe Edwards (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Cameron Pring (Bristol City).
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Attempt missed. Morgan Whittaker (Plymouth Argyle) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right following a corner.
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Corner, Plymouth Argyle. Conceded by Rob Dickie.
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Attempt missed. Harry Cornick (Bristol City) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Nahki Wells.
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Foul by Jordan Houghton (Plymouth Argyle).
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Jason Knight (Bristol City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Mickel Miller (Plymouth Argyle).
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.