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Bristol City defender Zak Vyner during the Robins’ defeat to Preston North End(Image: Photo by Ian Cook – CameraSport via Getty Images)Max O\u2019Leary – 5<\/p>\nBristol Live’s Bristol City player ratings after the Robins missed the chance to climb into the top six as they were beaten by Preston North EndBristol City defender Zak Vyner during the Robins’ defeat to Preston North End(Image: Photo by Ian Cook – CameraSport via Getty Images)Max O\u2019Leary – 5<\/p>\n
Undoubtedly, the Bristol City<\/a> number one will come in for criticism for his part in Preston North End\u2019s early goal. In my view, he had to leave his line and was left short by Zak Vyner\u2019s pass, but his clearance needed to be better as he put Adam Randell under immediate pressure.<\/p>\n He could do little about the final strike, but he would have been disappointed not to do better for what proved to be the winner from Alfie Devine. From that angle, you\u2019d have expected him to maybe at least get a hand to the effort.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Bristol City vs Preston North End live: Struber makes two changes as Morsy named on Robins bench<\/a>READ MORE: Radek Vitek injury latest as Gerhard Struber issues update on Bristol City goalkeeper’s recovery<\/a>Zak Vyner – 5<\/p>\n The Bristol City defender won\u2019t want to see Lewis Dobbin\u2019s opener back. Zak Vyner\u2019s back-pass to Max O\u2019Leary<\/a> meant that the Robins stopper had to break into No Man\u2019s Land. While the goalkeeper himself wasn\u2019t blameless, Vyner seemed slow to react to his mistake and was therefore unable to help defend the counter, which led to the goal. Although he didn\u2019t do anything quite as obviously poor in the remainder of the game, he wasn\u2019t able to hit the high standard he has so often this season.<\/p>\n Rob Dickie – 5.5<\/p>\n Although Preston\u2019s first goal had little directly to do with Rob Dickie<\/a>, the Bristol City defender would have perhaps been better served following Lewis Dobbin, rather than attempting to tackle Jordan Thompson. In the remainder of the first half, he stepped into midfield well at times to win the ball, but could have done more for North End\u2019s second as he both lost possession and then was unable to tackle Alfie Devine inside the penalty area.<\/p>\n Rob Atkinson (off for Cam Pring, 54\u2019) – 5<\/p>\n Like the majority of the Bristol City backline, Rob Atkinson won\u2019t be pleased with his role<\/a> in Preston\u2019s first goal. The defender lost his footing before Jordan Thompson passed through to Lewis Dobbin, and that afforded the forward plenty of room to pick his pass. Outside of that one moment, it didn\u2019t really feel as though the 27-year-old did an awful lot wrong, and I\u2019d imagine the decision to withdraw him so early on in the second half was made as much with his fitness in mind as it was a tactical change.<\/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 Ross McCrorie (off for Yu Hirakawa, 90′) – 6<\/p>\n In a game where many slipped below their recent levels, it didn\u2019t feel as though Ross McCrorie got an awful lot wrong<\/a>. The Scotsman came as close as anyone in City colours to scoring when he fired wide in the second half, and his cross to Sinclair Armstrong in the opening period would have been more than worthy of an assist. He wasn\u2019t involved in either of Preston\u2019s goals, and hopefully, his withdrawal late on was just the result of cramp and fatigue.<\/p>\n Adam Randell – 5<\/p>\n Should Adam Randell have been stronger<\/a> in the lead-up to Preston\u2019s opener? Yes, as it did seem as though he lost possession cheaply on the halfway line, but Max O\u2019Leary\u2019s clearance did put him under a fair bit of pressure. While the 24-year-old tried to keep the Robins ticking, like so many others in red and white, he just seemed half a yard off the pace. Maybe that is to be expected given the sheer amount of football he has played both in the last few weeks and over the course of the season as a whole.<\/p>\n Jason Knight – 5.5<\/p>\n I often say you can copy what I write about Adam Randell and paste it in Jason Knight\u2019s section<\/a>. That would probably be true again after Sunday\u2019s defeat at Preston, but not for the right reasons. Like his midfield partner, the Robins skipper just seemed a yard or two off the pace, and the Lilywhites punished that. Though he didn\u2019t have a direct role in either goal, he was a little bit below his recent level and will benefit from the longer gap between games.<\/p>\n In a pretty poor first half for Bristol City, Neto Borges seemed to be one of the players<\/a> who provided some positivity. No player created more chances than the Brazilian, who often found space down the left flank, but he didn\u2019t look quite as comfortable when pushed into a deeper position following the introduction of Cam Pring late on. Did he play Lewis Dobbin on for the opener? Quite possibly, but he had to track his runner. He\u2019s very much an attacking full-back, and that was clear, at times, against Preston.<\/p>\n Scott Twine (off for Sam Morsy, 54\u2019) – 5<\/p>\n Over the last couple of weeks, Scott Twine has shown flashes<\/a> of getting back to his best in Bristol City colours, but like so, so many of his teammates, he never quite managed to grab the game by its horns on Sunday afternoon. Too often, he seemed unable to find a player in space when he was afforded space and occasionally gave away possession when he was put under pressure. A bad day at the office, but the same could be said for almost everyone else.<\/p>\n Anis Mehmeti (off for Emil Riis, 54\u2019) – 5<\/p>\n Maybe one of Anis Mehmeti\u2019s quietest games this season<\/a>? Although Bristol City\u2019s top goalscorer didn\u2019t do an awful lot obviously wrong, he struggled to truly leave his mark on proceedings as he was guilty of spending too long on the ball and spurned a handful of good openings. Was it the right call to take him and Scott Twine off at the same time? Perhaps not, but it was clear Gerhard Struber did need to mix things up.<\/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 Sinclair Armstrong (off for Sam Bell, 78\u2019) – 5.5<\/p>\n As supporters have come to expect, the Bristol City striker caused Preston North End plenty of problems with his pace and willingness to break beyond the backline. For much of the first half, and portions of the second, Sinclair Armstrong was the Robins\u2019 most productive outlet<\/a>, but he needed to do better with the chances that fell his way, particularly that one in the first half when he was picked out by Ross McCrorie. He was by no means the worst in red and white.<\/p>\n Substitutes:Cam Pring – 6<\/p>\n Replaced Rob Atkinson on the left side of the back three and went under the radar during his cameo. Could have maybe done more in the final third.<\/p>\n Sam Morsy – 6<\/p>\n A promising, if not remarkable, first outing in Bristol City colours<\/a>. Was composed and will likely have a bigger role to play in the FA Cup.<\/p>\n Emil Riis – 5<\/p>\n The Dane struggled to make a measurable impact from the bench and simply had to do better with the chances he was afforded against his former side.<\/p>\n Sam Bell – 6.5<\/p>\n One of the brighter sparks on an otherwise dull afternoon. Sam Bell added a level of impetus at the top end of the pitch that had been lacking.<\/p>\n Yu Hirakawa – N\/AREAD MORE: What Ranel Young will bring to Bristol City as Robins confirm first signing of January window<\/a>READ MORE: Sam Morsy to ‘give everything’ at Bristol City as Robins confirm signing of ex-Ipswich captain<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bristol Live’s Bristol City player ratings after the Robins missed the chance to climb into the top six…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674152,"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-674151","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\/115839172968490975","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674151","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=674151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674151"}],"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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(Image: PA)Neto Borges – 6<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1744476931_129_0_WhatsApp-Phone.jpg\")
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