Bristol City may be headed for unfamiliar territory but worry nowhere to be seen in Preston draw

All the stand-out talking points from Gerhard Struber and Bristol City’s Championship stalemate with Preston North End at Deepdale

Dan Carter is the Bristol City reporter at Bristol Live. He joined the title in November 2024 having previously been a football reporter at Breaking Media. Before that, he was a sports journalism student at the University of Gloucestershire where he also covered the Robins whilst on placement. In his role, he wants to keep supporters informed with the latest news in and around Ashton Gate whether that be on matchdays, during transfer windows or everything in between.

Gerhard Struber and Bristol City were held to a draw by Preston North End(Image: Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

As the ball travelled past the Preston North End post in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, Ross McCrorie managed to perfectly sum up the feelings of almost every Bristol City supporter packed into the Deepdale away end in just a couple of actions.

Having seen Anis Mehmeti denied by Daniel Iversen from close range with less than a minute to be played, the Scotsman’s head was quickly in his hands as he was left in a state of surprise. McCrorie then twice threw his arms in frustration, only to then give the Albanian international an affectionate rub on the head, all in the space of just three or four seconds.

The winger stood inside the penalty area with his hands on his hips for a moment, donning a facial expression that said what everyone in the ground was thinking: ‘How on earth?’ With just seconds left on the clock, City had carved out the perfect ending to an excellent away display, only for it to slip through their fingers.

From minute one, the Robins had produced the sort of reaction Gerhard Struber and Jason Knight had called for in the wake of their first defeat of the season. They pressed high, interchanged well in possession, and limited Paul Heckingbottom’s side to half-chances. Though they headed into the break with the scores level, City were the side on top.

The second half followed a similar pattern as Struber’s side continued to ask questions of the Lilywhites’ backline, but this time, their showing was rewarded with the chances it warranted. On this occasion, though, those opportunities came and went without that all-important goal.

As the full-time whistle was blown and the points were shared, it was hard to know exactly what to think of the Robins’ afternoon. The late chances made it feel like an opportunity missed, but the manner of the performance was more akin to a return to form. In truth, it was perhaps a bit of both, or at least that was the impression given by the head coach himself post-match.

With the first Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday run of the league season now underway, attention will no doubt quickly turn to the Reds’ mid-week meeting with Ipswich Town.

Before it does, however, here are the stand-out talking points from City’s 0-0 draw with Preston North End at Deepdale…

Anis Mehmeti is human

If you asked most Bristol City supporters to pick out a star player over the course of the season so far, I would hazard a guess that Anis Mehmeti’s name would be mentioned by a fair few fans. Under Gerhard Struber, the Albanian international has thrived and arguably become the Reds’ greatest attacking outlet.

Against Preston at Deepdale, the 24-year-old once again carried Struber’s side’s biggest threat. It was he who came closest to a goal in the first half when he forced a smart stop out of Daniel Iversen with a low left-footed effort, and as has become expected, he combined brilliantly with Ross McCrorie to cause plenty of problems from the left flank.

What has ensured the winger has stood out this term more than previous seasons, however, has been the clinical edge he has appeared to find in front of goal. His first goal of the season on the opening day against Sheffield United and the one he scored against Hull City spring to mind as occasions where Mehmeti has shown a striker’s instinct to find space in the box to turn home from close range.

While spectacular strikes like the one he produced against Oxford live long in the memory, having that knack of being able to convert the straightforward chances consistently is what helps your side pick up points more consistently.

That fact was put into evidence on Saturday afternoon, where twice in the second half, Mehmeti was faced with as clear-cut a scoring chance as he could have asked for. The first, from just inside the box on the hour mark, he skewed wide of the post, and the second, while it took an incredible stop from Iversen to put it beyond the post, should have left the goalkeeper with no chance of saving.

Content cannot be displayed without consent

Whether or not you’re a believer in xG or not is up to you, but those two chances had a respective xG of 0.61 and 0.57. For comparison, the 24-year-old’s long-range screamer against the U’s last time out possessed an xG of just 0.03. If that sounds like a load of nonsense to you, it simply means it would have been an awful lot easier to find the net at Deepdale than it was against Gary Rowett’s side from 25 yards out.

Mehmeti getting into those positions is a real positive and something that didn’t happen often enough in the second half of last season. To take his game to the next level, however, and to go from being an exciting winger to a 15-20-goal-a-season wide man, the Albanian must be more cold-blooded in such situations.

He’s shown he can be that sort of player in flashes, but even when he was scintillating to watch at Hillsborough, he left the field with a single goal to his name when he should have had a hat-trick.

If he’s able to make that next step, he won’t be a City player for long. Finding that clinical edge on a more consistent basis is now the challenge facing Mehmeti and the coaching staff tasked with aiding his development, but you’d rather he was missing chances than not getting any.

He can do it; now he needs to do it week in and week out.

Jason Knight leaves Reds an injury worry

It speaks to Bristol City’s current luck with injuries that after each of the Robins’ last three matches, one of the stand-out talking points has been the fact that a key player has been forced off the field before the full-time whistle.

At Sheffield Wednesday, Rob Dickie was withdrawn – albeit as a precaution – with a calf issue. After last weekend’s defeat to Oxford, it was Rob Atkinson, who was forced with just 15 minutes played – although he did manage to play the full 90 minutes at Deepdale. This time around, it has perhaps the most concerning of the lot as, for the first time since the 2023/24 campaign, Jason Knight was substituted in a Championship match.

With 85 minutes played, the City skipper went to ground on the halfway line and quickly received treatment on the pitch before being replaced by George Tanner for the closing exchanges. The 25-year-old slotted into the Robins’ backline, and Zak Vyner pushed into a central midfield role as the Reds searched for a winner late on.

In his post-match press conference, Gerhard Struber confirmed Knight had picked up a groin injury and would undergo a scan on Sunday. Although the severity of the issue can’t be known until the results of said scan are received, the 24-year-old typically has to be dragged kicking and screaming off of the pitch, such is his desire to play each and every minute on offer, so it is fair to assume that he must have been in some discomfort to be willing to be replaced.

Bristol City looking to build on last season’s play-off finish under Gerhard Struber and you won’t miss a beat with our free newsletter.

All the latest news, views, interviews, gossip and analysis concerning the Robins, delivered straight to your inbox.

It’s completely free and you can sign up HERE

Now, losing a player of Knight’s quality for any stretch of time would be a blow to any side, but it becomes a much greater issue when you consider the Reds’ lack of options in the middle of the park currently. Both Max Bird and Joe Williams are unavailable as a result of their respective injuries, and Adam Murphy – who seemed to be the next cab off the rank in pre-season – is on loan at Swindon Town.

If the City skipper is to miss Tuesday’s clash with Ipswich Town or, god forbid, be sidelined for a greater stretch of time, it will likely be a case of square pegs in round holes in the middle of the park. Whether that be in the shape of Vyner – as it was on Saturday – or perhaps Scott Twine dropping into a deeper role, it would be naive to expect anyone playing out of position to have the same vital impact as Knight manages week in and week out. There is also a chance that such a change would leave the Reds weaker in other areas.

The Robins’ worst performances over the course of the last year or so have tended to coincide with the rare occasions the Ireland international has had an off-day.

In all honesty, we don’t know how they’ll cope without the skipper because it hasn’t been a concern for the best part of the last three seasons. The last time Knight didn’t start a Championship game for the Reds was in April 2024, more than 50 league games ago, so we are heading towards unfamiliar territory.

Hopefully, as was the case with Atkinson, this will be a worry that isn’t ever realised. However, until such time as a scan gives Knight the all-clear, supporters, and likely Struber himself, will be well within their rights to be a little concerned.

Defensive concern nowhere to be seen

After last weekend’s defeat to Oxford United, I labelled the manner in which Bristol City defended against the U’s, particularly from set-pieces, ‘the elephant in the room.’ On that occasion, the Robins found themselves under pressure each and every time Oxford launched a long throw, free-kick, or corner into the penalty area, while also struggling to deal with the physical presence of Nik Prelec on occasion.

Now, when you’ve had a bad day at the office defensively, it is safe to say Preston’s attacking players, and particularly Milutin Osmajic, aren’t the sort of forward you’re desperate to face immediately. On the final day of last season, the North End striker caused both Rob Dickie and Zak Vyner plenty of problems, as, alongside Emil Riis, he didn’t give the two defenders a moment’s rest.

Try as he might to do the same at Deepdale on Saturday afternoon, City’s backline marshaled the 26-year-old brilliantly to ensure that his impact on proceedings was limited to one shot, which was blocked, and just two accurate passes. Over the course of the contest, Osmajic entered seven aerial duels, winning none of them, while Dickie came out on top of all eight battles he contested in the air.

Rob Dickie got the better of Milutin Osmajic in Bristol City’s draw with Preston(Image: Photo by Rich Linley – CameraSport via Getty Images)

Vyner and Rob Atkinson had less to do with keeping Preston’s centre-forward quiet, but they had their hands full trying to pick up North End’s answer to Scott Twine and Anis Mehmeti – Lewis Dobbin and Alfie Devine. Whenever either player got on the ball, the Reds’ wide defenders weren’t afraid to engage high up to force a mistake.

Barring two smart saves in quick succession, Radek Vitek didn’t have a lot to do between the posts as a result of the performance of the trio ahead of him, something Struber was keen to shed light on in his post-match press conference.

“Our backline and Rob [Dickie], he wins almost every first duel,” the head coach told Bristol Live. “Also Knighty and Adam, how we come here always in front of players for second balls and how quick we are in the brain, how quickly we create the follow action, I am very, very happy and impressed.

“We can speak about the result, but for me, performance is the most important thing.”

The Reds’ success last term was built on a defence that didn’t give up many chances, let alone goals. Any fears that cracks were beginning to form in that resolute backline, after last weekend’s loss at Ashton Gate, will have been eased immensely by what was on show in Lancashire on Saturday afternoon.

Positive start, but the bulk of big week still to come

Now, it should be mentioned that going to Deepdale and winning is something no one in the Championship has yet managed to do this term. Forgive me for once again entering the world of could’ve, should’ve, would’ve, but had Anis Mehmeti taken one of his two chances and Bristol City had won 1-0, you, me, and everyone in attendance at Deepdale would have labelled it almost the perfect away win.

Because of that, and the other factors mentioned throughout this verdict so far, I am of the opinion that Saturday was a good day at the office for the Reds in terms of performance. I also believe it would have been viewed the same way from a result perspective had the fourth official signaled three minutes added time and Mehmeti’s late chance had never happened, let alone been spurned.

Bristol City Live on Whatsapp

Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone

Bristol City Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.

Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.

To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.

We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.

To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.

If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Click here to join our WhatsApp community.

You don’t need me to tell you football is a results business, though, and while Struber was keen to focus on more than the outcome on Saturday, he did admit his side should have claimed all three points. The fact that they didn’t makes what was already a big week – with both Ipswich Town and QPR visiting Ashton Gate before the October international break – even bigger.

In the same way that a win over Preston would have ensured everyone would forget the poor performance and result against Oxford, the positive showing at Deepdale won’t live long in the memory of fans if points aren’t gathered elsewhere.

In this block of five games between international breaks, City have – after three matches- picked up four points from a potential nine available. That’s a reasonable return at this stage, but you would imagine Struber and his coaching staff will have been targeting somewhere in the region of eight to 10 points, perhaps more. To do that now, wins are required.

Now, we know the head coach and his team expect to win every game they play at home; he’s told us that himself on the record, so he won’t be daunted by the task at hand. Struber has also been open about using the October break as a marker, after nine league games, to measure just how good your start has been.

After seven matches, things are looking positive at Ashton Gate, albeit with a feeling that they could be even better. What happens in the next week will determine whether that feeling remains come the international break, and if the visit to Deepdale is remembered for a good performance or dropped points.

OPINION

Bristol City may be headed for unfamiliar territory but worry nowhere to be seen in Preston draw

Tags: