The cider will taste that little bit sweeter in these parts tonight, after Bristol City secured a place in the Championship playoffs for the first time in 17 years. At the final whistle, everyone of a Bristol City persuasion had to wait a little longer for confirmation. Liam Manning, his assistant Chris Hogg and several players huddled around Harry Cornick, the striker not in the squad, whose phone carried updates from Bramall Lane, where a Blackburn goal would have changed everything.
Then came the roar, news that Blackburn could not find a winner in more than 10 minutes of stoppage time at Sheffield United. The home fans flooded the pitch, many presumably relaying the message to the players of what this all means. Bristol City will play Chris Wilder’s side in the playoffs, the first leg at home next Thursday.
Until Ross McCrorie pulled a goal back in the 69th minute, everything had been going pear-shaped for the hosts. Preston had just doubled their advantage through Milutin Osmajic and so all eyes were on the scores involving Millwall and Blackburn. McCrorie then equalised, racing on to a superb pass by the Bristol City captain Jason Knight. The fact Luton were 5-1 down at West Brom in effect secured Preston’s place in the division next season, even if Matt Bloomfield’s side rallied back to 5-3. Bristol City still have grander ambitions for the rest of this campaign.
Full report to follow shortly