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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Sport
Richard Forrester & Dan Carter

Sam Bell reveals his next Bristol City target, 18 years after his old man Micky scored in Wales

Sam Bell was just two-years-old when his old man scored his final goal for Bristol City.

It had been 18 years, one month and 28 days between Micky Bell's strike and Sam grabbing his first for the Robins. Both came on Welsh soil with Micky scoring from the penalty spot in a 3-1 victory away at Wrexham in front of 7,833 at the old Racecourse Ground.

Brian Tinnion was the manager of City during that time and both would have been celebrated in equal measure by the Technical Director, who has helped nurture and develop the striker through the youth set-ups having joined the club aged 12.

"I'm just slowly chipping away at my dad's record, there's a few left to go," the 20-year-old told Bristol Live with a beaming smile on his face after sending his boyhood club into the FA Cup fourth round.

Micky, regarded as one of the club's best-ever left-backs and now Professional Development Phase coach with the Under-16s and 18s at the High Performance Centre, scored 38 times for City during his eight years with the club. It's likely to be a matter of when and not if Sam breaks that record if he continues to score goals of the calibre witnessed on Tuesday night.

Unfortunately, his family weren't in attendance to watch his winning goal but there's no doubt a message from his dad would have been the first of many to pop up once he turned on his phone amidst the celebrations in the away dressing room.

Bell may have had to wait just over two years following his debut to get off the mark but it was worth the wait. The first touch, the pace, the composure and the finish were perfectly in sync right in front of the travelling supporters.

As a young footballer living the dream, it doesn't get much better than that. He added: "You couldn't have picked a better one really, in front of the away fans and against Swansea too. It's always a tasty affair against a Welsh team so to do it in the last few minutes, I couldn't have imagined a better scenario.

"When I took that first touch, I knew that if I took it across him (the defender) then he's either going to bring me down and get sent off or if I nip in front of him the shot opens up and he obviously didn't bring me down so I just slotted it in."

It was the goal of a man playing with confidence and for those who have watched him regularly score for the Under-21s, it wouldn't have come as much of a surprise. The club had been toying with the opportunity to send him out on loan both in the summer and in the build-up to the January window.

Mickey Bell in action for Bristol City (Peter Norton /Allsport)

Having moved ahead of Chris Martin in the pecking order, the injuries to both Andi Weimann and Tommy Conway would have made the decision to keep him an easy one. Bell knows that opportunity knocks and he's thriving knowing the manager and staff have the confidence in him to make the step up.

"Obviously it's not the nicest of ways to get a chance with team-mates being injured but that's what happens in football," Bell added. "When you get presented that opportunity you've got to make a positive impact and try and grab that opportunity with both hands.

"Staying here and coming on in games like these and in Championship games, is going to give me that real good experience and with the gaffer backing me it gives me that extra confidence to kick on."

Bell is obviously a hugely popular figure among the staff and players. The celebrations were evidence of that as Alex Scott and Dylan Kadji were among those to run from the bench to mob him in front of the away supporters while the coaching staff leapt around the technical area.

"Sam Bell, he's one of our own," echoed around the Liberty Stadium at the full-time whistle after the home supporters piled for the exits. Bell, deservedly basking in the glory, even came out for one last cheer with the fans after everyone had ventured for the showers.

Pearson summed it up nicely after the game by saying: "Superb, a great finish. We just hoped he’d get the chance and it was a fabulous way to win the game in all honesty."

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