Football League World
·21 August 2024
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·21 August 2024
Bristol City's new attacking duo of Sinclair Armstrong and Fally Mayulu are capable of filling the void left by Tommy Conway's exit
Bristol City ended the 2023/24 Championship season with an impressive run in which they remained unbeaten in seven of their last eight fixtures.
Although the Robins suffered an emphatic 4-0 defeat to Stoke City at the end of last campaign, they will have entered the new campaign with plenty of optimism following overall positive form back in the spring.
The West Country side also made a respectable start to life to the new second tier season, drawing 1-1 away at Hull City on the opening weekend.
However, striker Tommy Conway's move to Middlesbrough last week may have dampened the spirits of the Ashton Gate faithful, who would have had high hopes for their club's youth academy product, who scored 12 Championship goals last campaign, as well as scoring two goals against Premier League outfit West Ham United in the FA Cup.
However, if last Saturday's goalscoring exploits are anything to go by, the Robins may have found adequate replacements for Conway in the form of Fally Mayulu and Sinclair Armstrong, who both signed for Liam Manning's side this summer.
The Robins defeated Millwall 4-3 in a dramatic encounter on Saturday afternoon, with Armstrong scoring his team's second goal of the afternoon, to establish a 2-0 lead on 12 minutes.
Manning's men went on to fall 3-2 behind in the second half, but fellow new signing Mayulu had a significant impact after replacing Armstrong shortly after the hour mark, and drew the sides level at 3-3 after 78 minutes.
Scott Twine scored the Robins' late winner to ensure that the West Country men finished on the right side of a dramatic seven-goal thriller at Ashton Gate.
Both Manning and the Robins faithful alike will be buoyed by the fact that Armstrong and Mayulu seem capable of producing the goods following Conway's departure.
The transfer swoop for the duo is proving to be an excellent piece of recruitment from Manning and co so far, who will hope for more of the same as the season goes on.
Manning will be especially pleased by the fact that on Saturday he was able to rely on both of his new attackers in varying situations, as Armstrong was named in the starting 11 and scored the goal which established a 2-0 lead for the Robins, whereas Mayulu was brought on to replace the Ireland international in an effort to rescue the game and duly obliged.
Mayulu also scored from the bench against Hull during the Ashton Gate outfit's season opener, and now has two goals in as many games, so the Robins boss may have found his new starting striker as well as a fresh impact sub.
While the West Country side will be delighted that they seem to have found adequate replacements for Conway, their defensive efforts so far this season have been far from ideal.
The Robins may have managed to pick up a victory last weekend despite conceding three goals on home turf, but this is not a feat which they will be able to reproduce on a frequent basis.
Manning's men have now conceded five goals in three games across all competitions so far this season, an issue they will clearly have to address if the Robins are serious about chasing a play-off place this campaign.
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