Bristol City come from behind to beat Swansea

Academy product Sam Bell celebrates in front of the Bristol City fans after putting his team in front

Bristol City recovered from a goal down to win convincingly at Swansea City and leave the home side still searching for their first Championship victory of the season.

After having three goals disallowed and missing a host of chances, Bristol City eventually equalised early in the second half as Mark Sykes cut in from the right and fired in.

Sykes then set up Sam Bell with a pinpoint low cross to put the visitors ahead and, although Ben Cabango headed against a post, the Swans were well beaten.

The margin of victory did not reflect the gulf in class between the sides, with Swansea rarely troubling their opponents.

Whereas their head coach Michael Duff remains winless in the league since taking the reins this summer, Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson can take great encouragement from his side's performance at the Swansea.com Stadium.

They were dominant from the start - Sykes having a goal disallowed for offside and Jason Knight heading wide from a corner - but they fell behind in the 10th minute, against the run of play.

Swansea's goal was beautifully crafted, as Arsenal loanee Patino picked up possession near the halfway line and threaded a perfectly-weighted through ball to Cullen, who calmly finished low to his left.

The goal did not stem the flow of pressure from Bristol City, who squandered two fine opportunities as Nakhi Wells shot straight at Swans keeper Carl Rushworth from close range before Knight saw a low goal-bound effort blocked on the line by Matt Grimes.

Bell then had a goal chalked off for offside and Knight had another disallowed for a push as the increasingly porous Swansea somehow held on to their lead at half-time.

Bristol City's fans were furious, booing referee Oliver Langford off the pitch at the interval, but their team's dominance eventually yielded the returns it warranted.

Swansea had switched formation at half-time from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2 in an attempt to contain their rampant opponents, but the hosts were still wide open.

Joe Williams switched play with a long ball to the right, where Sykes cut inside on to his left foot and finished smartly in the far corner.

Eleven minutes later, Sykes drilled a low cross to the back post where Bell fired in to give Bristol City an overdue lead.

Swansea looked overwhelmed and, after a raft of substitutions, they opted for a more direct approach with Cabango heading against the post and Harry Darling having a header saved.

Those were rare attacks, though, and Bristol City continued to look threatening whenever they pushed forward and, although they could not add to their advantage, this was a thoroughly deserved second Championship win of the season for the Robins.