Bristol City scored three goals in six minutes to see off Championship strugglers Plymouth.
It took the home side 73 minutes to take the lead when Danny Haynes slid in to convert a Jamie McAllister cross.
Jamie Mackie drilled home to level two minutes later but, almost immediately, McAllister set up Jamie McCombe to head City back in front.
Nicky Maynard completed the victory when he fired a thunderbolt past the helpless keeper Roman Larrieu.
Bristol City manager Gary Johnson:
"I didn't think we did enough in the first half to deserve to be in front, but the lads kept going and it became a bit of a chess match.
"We are keeping ourselves on the coat-tails of the leaders in this league and just have to keep going.
"I still believe we have the squad to maintain a challenge."
Plymouth boss Paul Sturrock: "We keep having these zany moments, it's unlike any team I have been involved with in the past.
"I keep feeling sorry for my players because they put in a lot of effort, but we can't keep losing concentration when it comes to picking up opponents.
"There were a lot of good performances, yet we end up 3-1 losers. Saturday's game with Ipswich is now huge for us."
Live text and stats
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Championship
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
Bristol City
3-1
Plymouth
FT
(HT 0-0)
Haynes 73
McCombe 76
Maynard 79
Mackie 75
Bristol City
22 Gerken
02 Orr
03 McAllister
05 McCombe
32 Nyatanga (Williams 66)
11 Hartley
14 Skuse
29 Sno (Sproule 66)
10 Maynard
31 Haynes
33 Saborio (Carey 30)
Substitutes
35 Basso,
06 Carey,
07 Elliott,
08 Johnson,
15 Williams,
17 Sproule,
09 Clarkson
Plymouth
01 Larrieu
05 Timar
18 Sawyer
37 Lowry
39 Gray
02 Duguid
04 Fletcher
06 Clark (Sheridan 88)
08 Mackie
25 Judge (Gow 78)
24 Barnes (Fallon 70)
Substitutes
23 Letheren,
03 Paterson,
13 Blake,
31 Folly,
14 Fallon,
21 Sheridan,
26 Gow
Ref: HegleyAtt: 15,021
BRISTOL CITY
PLYMOUTH
Possession
Bristol City49%
Plymouth51%
Attempts on target
Bristol City9
Plymouth7
Attempts off target
Bristol City7
Plymouth5
Corners
Bristol City8
Plymouth3
Fouls
Bristol City5
Plymouth9
Final Result
Full Time
90:00+3:06 The match has reached full-time.
Correction - 90:00+1:09 Centre by Gary Sawyer, clearance made by Louis Carey. Effort from outside the box by Carl Fletcher goes wide right of the target.
90:00+1:09 The ball is sent over by Gary Sawyer, clearance made by Louis Carey. Carl Fletcher has an effort at goal from outside the area missing to the wide right of the goal.
88:28 Nicky Maynard has an effort at goal from just outside the box which goes wide of the left-hand post.
87:24 Substitution Chris Clark leaves the field to be replaced by Cillian Sheridan.
86:14 Corner taken left-footed by Jamie McAllister to the near post, Rory Fallon makes a clearance.
85:36 The referee blows for offside. Romain Larrieu restarts play with the free kick.
81:01 Paul Hartley takes a short corner.
78:09 The assist for the goal came from Danny Haynes.
78:09 GOAL - Nicky Maynard:Bristol City 3 - 1 Plymouth A goal is scored by Nicky Maynard from just inside the penalty area to the top left corner of the goal. Bristol City 3-1 Plymouth.
77:34 Substitution Alan Gow joins the action as a substitute, replacing Alan Judge.
75:54 The assist for the goal came from Jamie McAllister.
75:54 GOAL - Jamie McCombe:Bristol City 2 - 1 Plymouth Jamie McCombe finds the back of the net with a headed goal from inside the six-yard box. Bristol City 2-1 Plymouth.
75:30 Gavin Williams takes a shot. Blocked by Krisztian Timar. The ball is delivered by Jamie McAllister,
74:03 Assist on the goal came from Rory Fallon.
74:03 GOAL - Jamie Mackie:Bristol City 1 - 1 Plymouth Jamie Mackie grabs a goal from inside the area to the top right corner of the goal. Bristol City 1-1 Plymouth.
72:31 Assist by Jamie McAllister.
72:31 GOAL - Danny Haynes:Bristol City 1 - 0 Plymouth Danny Haynes gets on the score sheet with a goal from close range to the bottom right corner of the goal. Bristol City 1-0 Plymouth.
72:29 Centre by Jamie McAllister,
71:40 Rory Fallon takes a shot. Jamie McCombe gets a block in.
71:15 A cross is delivered by Jamie McAllister, clearance by Krisztian Timar.
70:33 Foul by Rory Fallon on Louis Carey, free kick awarded. Jamie McAllister delivers the ball from the free kick left-footed from right wing, Rory Fallon makes a clearance.
69:42 Substitution (Plymouth) makes a substitution, with Rory Fallon coming on for Ashley Barnes.
68:40 Ashley Barnes takes a shot from 30 yards. Save by Dean Gerken.
66:57 David Gray challenges Gavin Williams unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick crossed right-footed by Paul Hartley from left channel, Foul by Jamie McCombe on Krisztian Timar, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Romain Larrieu.
66:38 Shot by Gavin Williams. Save made by Romain Larrieu.
65:25 Substitution Ivan Sproule joins the action as a substitute, replacing Evander Sno.
65:25 Substitution Gavin Williams comes on in place of Lewin Nyatanga.
65:07 The ball is crossed by Jamie McAllister, Shane Lowry makes a clearance.
63:55 The ball is delivered by Louis Carey, Bradley Orr takes a shot. Save made by Romain Larrieu. Danny Haynes delivers the ball.
62:23 The ball is delivered by Chris Clark, Bradley Orr gets a block in. Corner from the left by-line taken by Chris Clark, Dean Gerken makes a save.
61:23 Bradley Orr is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Romain Larrieu takes the free kick.
61:00 The official flags Jamie Mackie offside. Indirect free kick taken by Paul Hartley.
58:54 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Nicky Maynard by Carl Fletcher. Shot comes in from Paul Hartley from the free kick.
57:33 The referee blows for offside. Shane Lowry takes the indirect free kick.
56:55 The ball is sent over by Bradley Orr, Evander Sno takes a shot. Save by Romain Larrieu.
55:14 Danny Haynes has an effort at goal from outside the area which goes wide right of the goal.
54:54 Ashley Barnes takes a shot from just outside the penalty area which clears the crossbar.
54:17 Bradley Orr concedes a free kick for a foul on Carl Fletcher. Shane Lowry takes the direct free kick.
53:42 Effort from outside the penalty box by Jamie Mackie goes wide right of the goal.
51:08 The ball is sent over by Danny Haynes.
50:21 The official flags Bradley Orr offside. Gary Sawyer takes the indirect free kick.
47:56 Foul by Cole Skuse on Ashley Barnes, free kick awarded. Chris Clark delivers the ball from the free kick right-footed from right channel, Bradley Orr makes a clearance.
46:35 The ball is sent over by Bradley Orr, clearance made by Shane Lowry. Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Jamie McAllister, Lewin Nyatanga produces a header from deep inside the six-yard box that clears the crossbar.
45:01 The referee gets the second half started.
Half Time
45:00+2:15 The first half comes to an end.
45:00+2:00 A cross is delivered by Louis Carey, Shane Lowry makes a clearance.
45:00+1:36 Centre by Danny Haynes, Shane Lowry manages to make a clearance.
44:42 Shot from just outside the box by Nicky Maynard goes over the bar.
44:11 The ball is sent over by Jamie McAllister, clearance by Shane Lowry.
41:45 Shot by Danny Haynes from deep inside the penalty area misses wide to the left of the target.
40:58 Jamie Mackie challenges Jamie McCombe unfairly and gives away a free kick. Dean Gerken takes the direct free kick.
39:23 David Gray concedes a free kick for a foul on Evander Sno. Jamie McAllister takes the free kick.
37:09 Long distance shot from Paul Hartley misses to the left of the target.
36:34 The ball is delivered by Bradley Orr, David Gray manages to make a clearance.
36:04 A cross is delivered by Alan Judge, Dean Gerken makes a save.
33:19 Evander Sno takes a shot. Save by Romain Larrieu.
30:29 A cross is delivered by Paul Hartley.
29:11 Jamie McAllister takes the free kick.
29:11 Substitution Louis Carey replaces Alvaro Saborio.
29:11 Free kick awarded for a foul by Carl Fletcher on Cole Skuse.
26:21 Krisztian Timar produces a left-footed shot from outside the penalty box and misses left.
25:59 Gary Sawyer crosses the ball, Jamie McAllister manages to make a clearance.
24:49 Jamie Mackie takes a shot. Lewin Nyatanga gets a block in. Corner taken by Chris Clark, clearance made by Jamie McCombe.
23:48 Chris Clark crosses the ball, Ashley Barnes takes a shot. Save made by Dean Gerken.
22:25 The ball is sent over by Bradley Orr, Krisztian Timar manages to make a clearance.
19:13 A cross is delivered by Bradley Orr, Krisztian Timar manages to make a clearance.
18:29 Jamie McAllister fouled by David Gray, the ref awards a free kick. The free kick is swung in right-footed by Paul Hartley, clearance made by Gary Sawyer.
16:02 The assistant referee flags for offside against Alvaro Saborio. Free kick taken by Romain Larrieu.
15:31 Ashley Barnes produces a left-footed shot from outside the penalty box and misses wide left of the target.
14:29 Foul by Krisztian Timar on Alvaro Saborio, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Jamie McAllister.
13:03 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Lewin Nyatanga by Jamie Mackie. Jamie McAllister restarts play with the free kick.
10:46 The ball is crossed by Nicky Maynard, David Gray gets a block in. Corner taken by Paul Hartley, clearance made by Shane Lowry.
9:40 Evander Sno has an effort at goal. Blocked by Shane Lowry. Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Jamie McAllister, save by Romain Larrieu. Inswinging corner taken by Jamie McAllister from the right by-line played to the near post, Gary Sawyer manages to make a clearance.
4:30 Shane Lowry takes a shot. Dean Gerken makes a save.
3:40 Chris Clark takes a shot. Cole Skuse gets a block in. Chris Clark takes the inswinging corner, Jamie McAllister manages to make a clearance.
3:18 Alvaro Saborio concedes a free kick for a foul on Carl Fletcher. Carl Fletcher takes the direct free kick.
2:43 Foul by Jamie McCombe on Jamie Mackie, free kick awarded. Chris Clark crosses the ball from the free kick right-footed from right wing, clearance by Lewin Nyatanga.
0:55 Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Jamie McAllister, Krisztian Timar manages to make a clearance.
0:00 The ref blows the whistle to begin the match.
Live text and data provided by The Press Association.
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