Bristol City head coach Johnson hails striker Djuric

Posted Sunday, March 18, 2018 by PA

Lee Johnson was delighted for Milan Djuric after the striker’s 64th minute goal boosted Bristol City’s Sky Bet Championship play-off bid.

The Bosnian front-man put a season of injury problems behind him by stooping to head home Lloyd Kelly’s left wing cross, just eight minutes after going on as a substitute, and settle a game played in freezing conditions.

Head coach Johnson said: “Milan deserved that after the season he has had and he could be a big player for us over the remaining games.

“He has had a lot of fitness problems since joining us, but is one of a number of players we have come back from long lay-offs at a key time in the season.

“That gives me confidence for the weeks ahead. It was a massive win for us today in terms of maintaining belief among our fans.

“Ipswich are a side who do remarkably well considering their resources and have an excellent manager. It was never going to be easy.

“The weather didn’t help. It was so cold that at one point my jaw locked when I tried to shout some instructions.”

Djuric had replaced Famara Diedhiou in the 56th minute and it did not look like being his day when he squandered a great chance, shooting over when Ipswich keeper Bartosz Bialkowski failed to hold Marlon Pack’s stinging drive.

But Djuric soon made amends, capitalising on poor marking by an Ipswich team, who had defended strongly up to that point.

The visitors effectively curbed their opponents for much of the match, but were ineffective going forward, creating just one clear chance when Callum Connolly’s first half header was saved by Frank Fielding.

Conditions were tough for both sides, with a cold swirling wind that created a blizzard for 10 minutes in the first half.

Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy said: “My only complaint is that we conceded a goal. I can’t fault the players in any other respect and I felt both teams handled the conditions well.

“I felt we should have taken something from the game. We didn’t have as much of the ball as them, but we had as many opportunities.

“We could have defended better for the goal, but overall I thought we played well. You could see when they scored how delighted they were because they didn’t think it was going to happen.

“One moment has cost us. Clearly things are not going for us in front of goal at the moment, but hopefully that will change soon.

“My teams are usually well-organised and I felt that was the case today. We made it difficult for Bristol to play through us.”