Johnson full of praise for on-loan Palmer

Posted Saturday, January 26, 2019 by PA

Lee Johnson believes there is even better to come from man-of-the-match Kasey Palmer and his in-form team.

Niclas Eliasson’s brilliant 30th-minute winner extended City’s unbeaten run to 12 games and took them into the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of battling Bolton.

Chelsea loanee Palmer received a standing ovation when substituted in the second half and the young midfielder is already a hero with Ashton Gate fans, having only signed this month.

But Johnson said: “While Kasey was brilliant going forward, he still has a bit to do to fit in with our style of play.

“I don’t mind him losing possession through trying to be positive, but he needs to be better in transition.

“That will come with more training sessions as he gets to know us better.

“He is an exciting talent who has added that bit of spark we needed. We are still developing as a side, but I couldn’t be happier with the way we are playing.

“We have a few lads out injured and it says a lot for the strength of our squad that we are on such a good run.

“I love the FA Cup and wanted to field a strong side tonight. Bolton were excellent as well and really went for it, but it pleases me that we are seeing out games when under pressure.”

Eliasson proved the match-winner with a brilliant 30th-minute goal, tricking his way past two defenders before burying a shot into the roof of the net.

Bolton had taken a sixth minute lead when defender Mark Beevers was allowed the freedom of City’s penalty area to shoot home unmarked with a sweet right-footed half-volley from a Luca Connell cross.

But the advantage lasted less than two minutes. Callum O’Dowda was allowed time to control a chip to the edge of the box on his chest before sending a low volley past the diving Remi Matthews.

There were other chances at both ends in a thrilling match, Bolton piling on pressure in the closing stages.

Their manager Phil Parkinson was more than satisfied, despite bowing out of the competition.

He said: “We were outstanding. The performance was fantastic, particularly as we lost David Wheater with a jarred knee yesterday and Mark Wilson felt a dead leg from the same training session in the warm-up.

“We changed things around, having had little time to work on it. Luca Connell is 17 and his performance, along with that of Joe Pritchard, gave a boost to all our academy youngsters.

“Bristol City have some very good players and have added Kasey Palmer, who was the best player out there at times tonight.

“We have tried to bring good characters to our club because we knew our resources would not be as much as most of our rivals.

“What kept us up last season was the attitude in training and we are looking for the same again. We now focus on the Championship and a very big game against Reading on Tuesday.”