Mark Sykes started his first Championship game of the season as Bristol City drew with Derby County at Pride ParkMark Sykes started Bristol City’s draw with Derby County(Image: EFL)

Mark Sykes has admitted his summer was “frustrating” after he made his first Championship start for Bristol City in four months against Derby County, but the winger and his teammates are now relishing the challenge of facing Premier League opposition in the Carabao Cup.

The 27-year-old started and played the full 90 minutes as the Robins conceded late to draw 1-1 with Derby County at Pride Park on Friday evening. City had taken the lead in the first half when Scott Twine curled into the bottom corner, having been picked out by Sykes, but a Carlton Morris strike in the 86th minute ensured that the points would be shared.

Friday night’s game saw Sykes start a league fixture for the first time since he suffered a quad injury in April. The winger had been named in the starting line-up for the Reds’ clash with QPR at Loftus Road last term, but withdrew during the warm-up and missed the remainder of the season, including the play-off campaign.

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Having worked hard to get back up to speed over the course of off-season, the former Oxford United man was delighted to feature against the Rams, even if the result wasn’t quite what he had hoped for.

“I think that’s my first league start since maybe April time, so about four months, so it’s been a long time coming,” the Ireland international told City’s media team after the full-time whistle. “[It was] a frustrating summer.

“I’ve been in working hard to trying to get myself back fit and tonight, I thought I did quite well. The hard work throughout the summer paid off.

“When Twiney scores there, it gets spoken about a little bit more,” Sykes continued when asked about the Reds’ opener. “If the keeper saves it, nobody really talks about the build-up or the pass.

“It’s been a difficult night for us, but nothing to get too down about.

“The season lasts 46 games, so we’re not going to get too down about tonight. If we can see them out and try to take three points away from home most weeks, we’ll be in a good spot.

While City still have one more Championship test to face before the September international break, when Hull City travel to Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon, attention now turns back to the Carabao Cup with Struber’s Robins travelling to Craven Cottage to face Fulham on Wednesday evening.

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The Reds booked their place in the second round with a professional win over MK Dons at Ashton Gate almost two weeks ago. Although the League Two promotion hopefuls didn’t make things easy for City, Jason Knight’s first-half header and Yu Hirakawa’s first Ashton Gate goal after the break were enough to ensure Struber’s side progressed.

Fulham are expected to provide a much tougher challenge than the Dons, however. Marco Silva’s side finished 11th in the Premier League last term and have started the new campaign in a reasonable fashion, drawing 1-1 with Brighton and Hove Albion on the opening day of the season before coming from behind to draw with Manchester United last time out.

Since he arrived in the West Country, Struber has made no secret of his desire to progress in both the Carabao and FA Cup this term. With that in mind, he has been backed to name a strong side for Wednesday night’s trip to South East London.

“It’s a super difficult game,” Sykes admitted. “But the manager probably goes strong, as strong as possible. He wants to go as far as he can in the competition.

“It’ll be a completely different game from the first round, no doubt, but one we’ll relish and one we’ll try to win.”

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