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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Sport
Richard Forrester

Bristol City player ratings vs Swansea: Matty James and Sam Bell star in dramatic victory

Max O'Leary - 7

Called into action twice in the first half. The first to comfortably deny Ntcham before springing to his left to deny Vyner's sliced clearance. A smart save to stop Latibeaudiere from distance. Had no chance with the Swansea equaliser. Brilliant goalkeeping in the 120th minute to come out to claim a cross.

George Tanner - 7

Defensively assured throughout and will feel unfortunate that the cross and goal came down his side in the second half. Doesn't get up the pitch frequently but feel that's more to do with tactics and concerns about leaving space behind. Stayed switched on throughout the contest.

Zak Vyner - 7

A brief scare when an attempted clearance almost flew into his own net. Had a difficult afternoon here 11 months ago but looked like a completely different player this time around. Showed leadership qualities by dragging the backline out from set-pieces. Won plenty of headers, especially during the extra-time period.

Rob Atkinson - 7

A couple of nervy moments with the ball at feet but some really excellent pieces of defending including a tackle inside the area to prevent a golden opportunity. Followed that up with a crucial header at the backpost.

Cam Pring (off 88, Dasilva) - 7

Put the Swansea defence under pressure with marauding runs down the left touchline while his pace alongside Semenyo was City's most potent threat. Tired in the second half but still looked to get forward when possible. Kept his side quiet defensively. Covered so many yards before coming off.

Kal Naismith (off 100, King) - 7

Was tightly marked in the defensive midfield role meaning he had little time on the ball to pick out passes forward and dictate play. Sometimes lacked mobility when Swansea were moving it quickly around the edge of the box but had to remain disciplined.

Matty James (off 100, Taylor-Clarke) - 8

Superb in the first 45 minutes showing discipline and reading the game to intercept and break up play. Maintained that form into the second half and was cool, calm and collected on the ball. Such impressive stamina.

Alex Scott (off 59, Williams) - 6

Involved in an intriguing battle alongside Matt Grimes having man-marked the midfielder. Played relatively high up the pitch which created space in advanced areas but without affecting the attack. Showed some decent moments of class to skip around his men but without having a major impact on proceedings.

Mark Sykes - 7

Struggled to get forward in the first half with most of City's attacks coming down the left side. Made a couple of important tackles inside his own area. Grabbed his third in two games with a great run into the box before smartly finishing beyond Andy Fisher. Never stopped running throughout.

Antoine Semenyo - 7

Started the game superbly with charging runs down the left flank with the opposition struggling to lay a glove on him. Evident he is playing with plenty of confidence at the moment although sliced an effort wide at the start of the second half. Quieter in the second half but found a new lease of life in extra-time. Was a constant menace.

Nahki Wells (off 59, Bell) - 6

Worked his socks off once again but was handed a tough task chasing plenty of lost causes. Didn't get a sniff of goal but lack of goalmouth action was made up for his determination to prevent Swansea from playing it out from the back.

Substitutes

Sam Bell (on 59, Wells) - 8

Played a perfectly weighted pass into the run of Sykes to open the scoring. Looked to stretch the defence with his pace but lacked support in good areas. A superb winner to score his first Robins goal. A brilliant moment.

Joe Williams (on 59, Scott) - 6

Crucially won the ball deep in Swansea's half which led to the opening goal before feeding the ball forward to Bell. Should have added a second but his tame effort was easily saved before Swansea went up the other end to score the equaliser.

Jay Dasilva (on 88, Pring) - 6

Came on late but played his part by getting into good attacking positions including a cross that should have been turned in at the back post.

Andy King (on 100, Naismith) - N/A

Omar Taylor-Clarke (on 100, James) - N/A

A brilliant moment for the young midfielder to make his senior debut and first introduction was to launch himself into a tackle.

Subs not used: Bentley, Kadji

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