Ephraim Yeboah and Elijah Morrison both started Bristol City’s Carabao Cup win over MK Dons at Ashton GateGerhard Struber won his first home game as Bristol City boss(Image: Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Gerhard Struber has offered his verdict on Ephraim Yeboah and Elijah Morrison’s first senior Bristol City starts, with the Robins boss hopeful that the experience of featuring in the Reds’ Carabao Cup win over MK Dons will help both youngsters’ development.

The Robins booked their place in the second round of the competition with a comfortable 2-0 win over League Two opposition on Tuesday evening. A goal apiece from Jason Knight and Yu Hirakawa, either side of the break, was enough to maintain the Reds’ unbeaten start to the season and secure a first home win for the new head coach.

While the majority of City’s starting line-up and bench was made up of senior players, Struber opted to hand academy graduates Yeboah and Morrison their first competitive starts. Both players have featured for the first team in the past, Yeboah under Nigel Pearson primarily and Morrison under Liam Manning, but have been unable to keep a regular place in the squad.

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Although the Austrian was pleased to have given both players competitive minutes and happy with their displays, he admitted there were things that he felt they needed to improve so that they’re ready to make an impact in the Championship.

“First of all, I’m very happy that they got 45 minutes in a real competition,” the head coach told Bristol Live in his post-match press conference. “We could see some good moments but also some where they have to improve.

“Of course, they get feedback in training sessions, but we can go with the feedback from this game, and it will help us to bring them a little bit more in the direction in training to help them to grow.

“I’m happy, but of course, we could see that they have some improvements for them when they would come in the Championship for game time.

“This was my plan before we go into this game,” Struber continued when asked if the decision to withdraw both players at the break was premeditated. “We hold some players in the rhythm of game time. It was also important for Emil [Riis], and important for some other players.

“Also, for [Max] Birdy, it was cool today that he jumped in and played some minutes, and he’s also ready right now.”

Although MK Dons were unable to create much in the way of chances throughout the contest, they made things difficult for the Robins throughout.

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Both Morrison and Mark Sykes found plenty of space down their respective channels in the first half, but the away side were alert to get their bodies in the way of crosses and shut down any shooting opportunities that arrived. The only goal of the opening period came when Knight headed home a Scott Twine corner early on.

After the break, however, the Reds’ pressure told. Following the introduction of Hirakawa, who curled home the Reds’ second from the edge of the box on the hour mark, and Riis, City started to really turn the screw, much to the delight of Struber.

“First of all, we are happy we’re in the next round,” he explained. “This was the goal today.

“We could see that we had a little bit of topics in the first half: that we create the domination and the control that we want. It was not always so clear that we were in the position [where we] could break them down clearly. It was not always so easy.

“Second half, there was much more power in the game, more control, and more chances. It was clear that you can realise it was a Championship opponent against a League Two team, and I think this is something that we improved in the game.”

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