ASKED to summarise this topsy-turvy Championship encounter in one word, Bristol City midfielder Marvin Elliott described it as "surreal."

He was referring, of course, to the horrendous defending that threatened to offer Barnsley victory on a plate while the contest was still in its infancy.

Slow out of the traps, the Robins found themselves two goals down after 12 minutes as their defence crumbled. Forced to come from behind, they managed to restore parity before once again leaving the door wide open for the Tykes to regain the lead early in the second half.

That they twice managed to get back on terms says much about their character and tenacity and there was much to admire in City's attacking play as Keith Millen's first home game in charge yielded another point to add to the one earned the hard way at Doncaster.

But City have yet to register a victory in four attempts this season and this game will be chiefly remembered for the fragile defending that more or less permitted Barnsley the freedom of their opponents' penalty area.

Given that their encouraging performance at Doncaster was forged upon the cornerstone of disciplined defending under duress, this collapse against a Tykes side boasting just one recognised striker must have come as a surprise to all those who witnessed events at the Keepmoat Stadium seven days earlier.

Bemused by the haphazard manner in which his team went about its business during the opening exchanges, Elliott did not feel inclined to offer injuries and recent off-field disruptions as an excuse.

"There is no excuse for the way we defended," admitted the midfielder. "We're professional footballers and we should be capable of playing better than that no matter what is going on around us.

"We were all over the place at times and you cannot single out the back-four and lay the blame at their door. It was the entire team. We didn't defend as a unit, made life far too easy for Barnsley and were punished."

Ignoring Millen's pre-match reminder about the perils of diving in, Cole Skuse set the tone for what followed, going to ground and upending Hugo Colace to needlessly concede a penalty after four minutes. Andy Gray got the better of David James from the spot and City were still arguing among themselves when on-loan Manchester City starlet Kieran Trippier out-paced Jamie McAllister and crossed for Gray to bundle the ball over the line from close range and double the lead in the 12th minute.

Gray should have completed a quick-fire hat-trick moments later, inexplicably blazing over when put clean through with only James to beat.

Elliott said: "The 20 minutes or so were just surreal. We were so poor, it was difficult to believe what was going on. When I saw Andy Gray go through I was thinking 'please miss it'.

"Had he scored, it would probably have been game, set and match. I don't think we would have come back from 3-0 down."

Elliott launched the fightback himself, firing home from 12 yards after Barnsley had only half-cleared a Nicky Hunt free-kick.

Fortunately for City, their opponents were just as inept when it came to defending and Barnsley's rearguard was opened up by a wonderfully incisive move involving David Clarkson and Albert Adomah two minutes later.

Adomah held the ball up, fed Clarkson and surged into the penalty area in anticipation of a return pass which, when it arrived, rendered his side-footed finish straightforward.

The Londoner's first ever Championship goal certainly lifted the mood inside Ashton Gate and another Hunt free-kick was deflected behind and Liam Fontaine headed narrowly off target from the resultant corner as the resurgent Robins warmed to their task.

"We kept believing and always felt we could come back," added Elliott. "We did really well to come back to 2-2 and, at half time, we knew that if we could keep a clean sheet from there-on in, we would win the game."

Unfortunately for Millen's charges, that proved easier said than done, City's porous defence parting once more to allow Adam Hamill's the opportunity to beat James with a deflected shot which left the England goalkeeper wrong-footed.

If City's defending was at fault, their attacking prowess made up for it in large degree. Asked to dig deep once more, the Robins responded in forthright fashion, the dashing Ivan Sproule running at a startled Jay McEveley to draw a mis-timed tackle which spawned the second penalty of the afternoon.

Coolness personified, Clarkson stepped up to stroke the ball beyond Luke Steele and open his goal-scoring account for the season.

Playing like a man who realises his club are about to sign two new strikers, substitute John Akinde threatened to win the game for City with a barnstorming run past three defenders, only for his shot to hit the side-netting.

Sproule thought he had secured the three points moments later, but the flying Irishman was adjudged offside. Having studied a video re-run of the incident, Millen said: "It was one of those really close decisions that sometimes go for you.

"Unfortunately, this one didn't go our way."

Good going forward but awful when it came to defending as a team.