Nigel Pearson pleased with Bristol City’s determination in win at Stoke

Nigel Pearson was pleased with Bristol City’s determination as they snatched a late 1-0 win away at Stoke.

The Robins found a breakthrough in the 84th minute in fortunate circumstances, with Jay Dasilva’s cross sailing beyond an unexpectant Jack Bonham in the hosts’ net.

Michael O’Neill’s side had chances aplenty to have the game out of sight, with Jacob Brown testing Daniel Bentley and Lewis Baker prodding narrowly wide in the first half.

The Potters’ ascendancy continued beyond the interval, with Baker failing to convert an enticing Josh Maja delivery from close range while also having a delicate free-kick strike the crossbar.

The result ensures the Robins’ Championship status is secured for another season, while Stoke – who had won three out of four games entering the fixture – saw their mini-revival brought to a disappointing end.

A delighted Pearson said: “The most important thing was going to be some of the qualities we were missing last week, so I said about personality and I thought we showed it in abundance today.

“It was a collective effort, a bit gritty against a side who have got quite a bit of quality, but they must be pulling their hair out – the two games we’ve played against them this year, I’m sure that they’ll feel they could’ve won both games but we’ve had those feelings many times this year.

“It was always going to be about the way that we approached it, even if we had drawn or lost it, that still would have been the most important thing for me. It’s nice to get rewards for hard and honest endeavour, so it was a good away performance. We were stubborn, organised and counter-attacked with some real threat.

“There was a determination that everybody could see out there. I’m really pleased for the players