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Gerhard Struber applauds the Bristol City fans after the Robins’ draw with Leicester(Image: Bristol City\/ Rogan)<\/p>\nZak Vyner was withdrawn before Bristol City produced their impressive second-half showing to comeback and draw against LeicesterGerhard Struber applauds the Bristol City fans after the Robins’ draw with Leicester(Image: Bristol City\/ Rogan)<\/p>\n
Gerhard Struber has provided a Zak Vyner update whilst detailing his half-time message to his Bristol City<\/a> squad during their draw to Leicester City, with the Robins boss admitting his changes during the break were not entirely made by choice.<\/p>\n City came from behind to draw 2-2 with the Foxes at Ashton Gate<\/a> on Wednesday evening, as second-half goals from Mark Sykes and Emil Riis ensured the Reds avoided slipping to back-to-back Championship defeats.<\/p>\n The Robins had left themselves with a mountain to climb after the opening 45 minutes against Marti Cifuentes’ side<\/a>. Jordan Ayew handed Leicester the lead from the penalty spot after Scott Twine brought Stephy Mavididi down inside the area, before Bobby De Cordova-Reid doubled the advantage moments before stoppage time.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Spirited second-half showing sees Bristol City come from behind to secure Leicester City draw<\/a>READ MORE: Bristol City 2-2 Leicester City reaction: Riis pulls Robins level late on after Sykes strike<\/a><\/p>\n Struber’s side’s first-half performance meant some booed City as they made their way back down the tunnel at the break. However, with just a minute played of the second period, Sykes had halved the deficit with a right-footed shot<\/a> from close range, a deficit which was overturned by Riis’ sixth of the season late on.<\/p>\n The reaction came after the City head coach had held an honest conversation with his players during the interval, which also saw Twine replaced by Sinclair Armstrong<\/a> and Vyner by Neto Borges.<\/p>\n “We have to be really honest, this was a game like day and night,” Struber explained in his post-match press conference. “I would say, [the] first half was on a level that surprised me completely today. We needed, in the end, 45 minutes [so] that we realised how we have to play.<\/p>\n “The second half, of course, was on a completely different level. It was two teams on this gameday, on the field from Bristol City<\/a>. Two brandings: a very sloppy, poor branding and a very attractive, typical Bristol City branding that makes the difference and can bring opponents, on this level and this quality, under pressure.<\/p>\n 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.<\/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 “It’s a shame today that we do not have the win in the pocket [that would be possible] when we would be from the first second until the last second on a level like the second half.<\/p>\n “At the half-time, of course, we spoke honestly, and this was [about how] we had to change everything to jump back into our world of football,\u201d he added. \u201cThe boys know what we have to do [so] that we bring the opponent under pressure. We did it completely in the second half.<\/p>\n “I would say I was clear [about] what we had to change,” the head coach continued. “Also, we have the one or other personnel change. First of all, with Zaky, this was also [because] he felt a little bit in the knee.<\/p>\n “He was not 100 per cent ready after 25 minutes, so this was also important to save him and protect him [from] maybe an injury. We don’t know exactly what’s going on. The other one, I felt that we needed a different power on the last line, and I would say Sincs, he showed us again a really good performance.”<\/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 Vyner, who has started every game for the Robins this term, didn’t seem to be quite himself in the opening exchanges against the Foxes. In the lead-up to De Cordova-Reid’s goal, the defender was unable to keep up with Abdul Fatawu as the Ghanaian winger burst down the right flank.<\/p>\n Having got the better of both the 28-year-old and Anis Mehmeti<\/a>, the Leicester wideman picked out the former City star who calmly slotted beyond Radek Vitek and into the back of the net.<\/p>\n When asked by Bristol Live<\/a> if the defender would need a scan, the City boss replied, “I don\u2019t know. I have to speak right now with the medical team, this could be [a] yes, but on the same time, Zaky is a man.<\/p>\n “He can handle pain, and hopefully he\u2019s ready for the next [game].\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: What Gerhard Struber doesn’t want to do in January window as Bristol City aim to improve squad<\/a>READ MORE: Neto Borges addresses Bristol City future with Middlesbrough loanee ‘open’ to permanent switch<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zak Vyner was withdrawn before Bristol City produced their impressive second-half showing to comeback and draw against LeicesterGerhard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":625572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,2686,748,393,14590,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-625571","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-football-league-championship","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115699141760511085","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625571","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=625571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758015353_222_0_GettyImages-2232406771.jpg\")
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