City fell to an agonising 3-2 defeat at Ipswich Town.
Despite taking the lead twice through Anis Mehmeti and Tommy Conway, the league’s second-placed side fought back to take maximum points as Ali Al-Hamadi, Conor Chaplin and Leif Davis found the target.
Liam Manning made three changes to the side that tasted defeat in the Severnside Derby on Saturday, Cam Pring returning to the left of the backline behind Anis Mehmeti who got the nod over Mark Sykes.
Harry Cornick also came into the front line with Andy King dropping to the bench.
It was a quiet opening 20 minutes against the promotion-chasing Tractor Boys, with Nahki Wells seeing City’s first shot of the night blocked in the area before Kieffer Moore tested Max O’Leary at the other end.
The hosts came so close to opening the scoring shortly after the half-hour mark as Moore’s flick-on from a corner was turned against the outside of the woodwork.
Wells had an opportunity after 37 minutes as he attacked Harry Cornick’s cross from the right, doing well to direct his header on target though unable to trouble Vaclav Hladky.
The Robins were presented with their best chance of the half in stoppage time, Wells winning the ball high up the pitch before feeding Jason Knight whose deflected effort from inside the area dropped just wide.
After a cagey opening to the second half, Manning’s men took the lead with a swift counter-attack.
Pring set Mehmeti away down the left and the Albanian international darted into the area and squeezed between two Ipswich defenders before prodding a deflected effort into the back of the net.
The opening goal spurred City into life and minutes later the goal scorer was involved again as he tried to slide in Ross McCrorie, winning a corner.
The sudden wave of pressure almost yielded a second as Wells brought the ball down beautifully before dancing inside his man and bending a left-footed effort against the angle between post and crossbar.
A quadruple substitution proved exactly what the hosts needed to turn the tide back in their favour as, three minutes later, they were level.
A low cut-back from the right appeared to have run behind all those rushing into the middle, but Davis arrived late and smashed a shot home via the slightest touch from substitute Ali Al-Hamadi.
Williams tried his luck from range after 72 minutes but saw the effort roll wide.
Mehmeti, still looking dangerous, almost produced a worldie to retake the lead as he cut in from the left to see a curling effort well saved. Sykes followed in from a tight angle but his ball back across the area was cleared under immense pressure from Wells.
Conway entered the fray after 76 minutes and just two minutes later, with his very first touch of the ball, he put City back in front.
Rob Dickie lofted a lovely ball down the right for Sykes who hooked a first-time cross into the middle for Conway to nod home over a helpless Hladky.
The lead would last just two minutes though, as Chaplin headed home from a wicked free-kick.
It looked like the hosts would win it four minutes later as Pring was adjudged to have fouled in the area, but Max O’Leary got down to his right to deny Al-Hamadi from the penalty spot.
Despite the City stopper’s heroics, there was still time for late heartbreak as Davis made it 3-2 in the 89th minute.
Jack Taylor then rattled the woodwork for the hosts as the scoreboard read 90+5, O’Leary producing a brilliant save to deny Jeremy Sarmiento on the follow-up.
Starting XI: O’Leary, McCrorie, Vyner, Dickie, Pring, Gardner-Hickman, Williams, Cornick (Sykes 62’), Knight (c), Mehmeti, Wells (Conway 76’)
Subs: Bajic, Roberts, Knight-Lebel, King, Mebude
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