The amount of change that can occur in forty-five minutes of football is astounding. It’s reasonable to say that the second half of Bristol City’s victory over Plymouth Argyle on Saturday more than made up for the first half, which will have seemed all too familiar to fans.

The Robins defeated Wayne Rooney’s Pilgrims 4-0 on Saturday afternoon at Ashton Gate, their first home victory since September, thanks to four goals in the second half. The victory ended a run of three straight losses.

As was to be expected, there was a mixture of relief and elation in the air around BS3 at the last whistle. Scott Twine ended the Reds’ 237-minute goalless streak in the Championship by unintentionally scoring Anis Mehmeti’s goalbound attempt. Before Sinclair Armstrong completed the victory with a fine right-footed strike, the Albanian international more than made up for it with a brace of his own.

Although calling this game a must-win would have been a bit of an exaggeration, City needed three points to demonstrate that, under Liam Manning, they were on the right track. In addition to being a victory, yesterday’s performance made a statement that other clubs in the division will have taken notice of.

The Reds may now enjoy what has recently become an all-too-rare home win, but the high of the three points will only last if they play Portsmouth well at Fratton Park the following Saturday.

Here are some of the most noteworthy talking points in light of our continued efforts to present a fair assessment of Ashton Gate issues.

What was anyone worried about?

Many fans—and even some journalists—will have argued in recent weeks that this City squad lacked enough goals to seriously contend for a spot in the play-off competition this season.

Bristol City showed the “ruthless edge” that Jason Knight urged them to rediscover after the loss to Watford, even though the calibre of the opposition must be considered—after all, this is a team that has managed to give up 27 goals in just 10 away games this season.

Twelve of the 25 efforts the Robins made on Daniel Grimshaw’s goal were successful. Indeed, they could have won by six or seven goals if they had been a little more clinical, but they still outperformed their xG of 3.19, demonstrating that they are more than willing to take chances when needed.

Mehmeti, in particular, scored twice with two shots that had a collective xG of just 0.3. Although he did not score six additional attempts for an xG of 0.32, no one is expecting this young set of players to be flawless in everything they do. Manning’s coaching and direction became even more crucial at that point, and the City manager was

“I think sometimes they’ll feed off me a little bit, so if I come in and I lose my head and I’m over the top with that, you could potentially avert them and stop them doing the things that were actually really good in the first half,” the 39-year-old said at his news conference after the game.

“You probably have a little bit more time in the box than you think, so take a deep breath, take a little more time, look to pick someone out, and be a little more composed on the last one,” I said at halftime. To be fair, I also thought they posed a threat throughout the second half. So well done, boys.

The Reds’ four goals on Saturday brought their season total to 24, one goal ahead of Sheffield United, second-place Burnley, and promotion-chasing Blackburn Rovers. The basis is there to build upon, but consistency is what’s lacking.

An important home win

As the Robins remained undefeated in their first six home league games of the season, earning crucial points from Leeds United and Millwall in the process, there were rumours a short while ago that Ashton Gate was turning into a fortress.

Both Burnley and Sheffield United then broke through that citadel, leaving the west country with all three points. Even though City played well in both games, some were worried since the Reds had gone the entire month of October without winning at home, and they might have done the same in November had they lost to Argyle.

Even though Manning and his coaching staff and the players may not care, it can only be beneficial to get that monkey off their back in a dominant manner. Given Plymouth’s dismal away record, this game could have been a true banana skin, but the Reds not only handled the task, they easily brushed it off.

Naturally, it won’t really matter unless it’s the beginning of a home run. Although there are no easy games in the Championship, Manning and his team have every right to win the Reds’ remaining three home games before the year ends when they host Portsmouth, QPR, and Luton Town at Ashton Gate.

ak of all trades

Over the past few years, Zak Vyner has made a name for himself on the team sheet under both Manning and Nigel Pearson, but his performance against Rooney’s club on Saturday revealed a side of his game that we haven’t seen much of lately.