![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_Rob-Dickie.jpg\")
Rob Dickie scored Bristol City’s first in their win over Sunderland(Image: Photo by Michael Steele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\nBristol City moved a step closer to securing their place in the play-offs with a 2-1 win over Sunderland at Ashton GateRob Dickie scored Bristol City’s first in their win over Sunderland(Image: Photo by Michael Steele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Liam Manning admits he is “delighted” for Rob Dickie after the Bristol City<\/a> defender scored the Robins’ leveller in their win over Sunderland but has challenged him to carry “more of a threat” from set-pieces.<\/p>\n City moved a step closer to securing their place in the Championship play-off places as they came from behind to beat the 10-man Black Cats 2-1 at Ashton Gate<\/a> on Friday afternoon, with second-half strikes from Dickie and Ross McCrorie completing the turnaround.<\/p>\n Regis Le Bris’ side were reduced to 10 men after just seven minutes when Trai Hume was shown a straight red card for a foul on Nahki Wells<\/a>. That decision kickstarted a spell of dominance from the home side but it was Sunderland who ultimately took the lead when Eliezer Mayenda ran the length of the pitch before slotting past Max O’Leary<\/a> with half an hour played.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Bristol City player ratings vs Sunderland: McCrorie winner moves Reds closer to top six finish<\/a>READ MORE: Bristol City 2 – 1 Sunderland live: Ross McCrorie smashes Reds ahead against 10-man Black Cats<\/a><\/p>\n The Robins continued to pile on the pressure either side of the break and finally levelled 10 minutes into the second half when Dickie slammed a right-footed effort into the top right corner from some 25 yards out. While the centre-back’s strike left the capacity Ashton Gate crowd<\/a> almost stunned, Manning had no doubts about his ability.<\/p>\n “Do you know what it is, we laughed about it in the changing room,” explained the head coach in his post-match press conference. There’s a little finishing game where we have a competition every Friday after training and to be fair to the big man, he’s quite often in the final stages of that.<\/p>\n “So it doesn’t surprise me that he’s able to do that. You see the quality he’s got on the ball and as technical as he is, he’s got that capability.<\/p>\n “It’s a little D game,” he continued. “So [Chris] Hoggy and I fire it in and then they have a touch, they have to cushion it in the D and then finish from the D. If I score, the next one has to score. If not, they’re out. We play it most Fridays, and Rob’s right up there to be fair.”<\/p>\n Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone<\/strong><\/p>\n Bristol City Live<\/a> is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.<\/p>\n Through the app, we\u2019ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.<\/p>\n To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select \u2018Join Community\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live<\/a> team.<\/p>\n We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.<\/p>\n To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose \u2018Exit group\u2019.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n Click here to join our WhatsApp community.<\/a><\/p>\n “For me, he’s got to score more off of set pieces and carry more of a threat there, but I’m delighted for him.”<\/p>\n 20 minutes on from Dickie’s leveller, McCrorie wrapped up the three points with his third of the season. After substitute Anis Mehmeti’s cross was cut out<\/a> by Jobe Bellingham, the Scotsman broke into the penalty area and cannoned a left-footed shot past Anthony Patterson and into the back of the Sunderland net to send the home crowd into celebration.<\/p>\n Since returning from injury in the Robins’ 1-0 defeat to Burnley<\/a> in March, the former Rangers man has scored twice in four games despite playing out of position as a left wing-back at times. Although his City career has been interrupted by both injury and illness so far, Manning feels he has brought a “real purpose” to his side over the last month or so.<\/p>\n “It was a great finish to be fair to him,” admitted the head coach. “He was excellent again, Ross, I thought today.<\/p>\n Bristol City are fighting to secure their place in the play-off places and you won’t miss a beat with our free newsletter.<\/p>\n All the latest news, views, interviews, gossip and analysis concerning the Robins, delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n It’s completely free and you can sign up HERE<\/a><\/p>\n “He just makes things happen with just sheer drive, endeavour, and just having a real purpose to his game. It was a top moment again and then obviously the response, the atmosphere was electric after that.”<\/p>\n The three points gained against Sunderland on Good Friday leave the Robins sat fifth, a point clear of sixth-placed Coventry City<\/a> and four ahead of seventh-placed Middlesbrough<\/a> with just three matches remaining of the regular Championship campaign.<\/p>\n Although nothing has yet been secured, Manning’s side’s destiny is in their own hands and they can move a step closer to their ultimate goal with a win over Luton Town<\/a> on Easter Monday.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Jason Knight: ‘No point in saying Bristol City have had a good season now with four still to go’<\/a>READ MORE: Liam Manning shares Stefan Bajic verdict as Bristol City face Max O’Leary decision vs Sunderland<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bristol City moved a step closer to securing their place in the play-offs with a 2-1 win over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,2686,748,393,4884,10583,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-31662","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-bristol-city-fc","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-liam-manning","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114362005783869714","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1744476931_129_0_WhatsApp-Phone.jpg\")
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