Swansea City 1 Bristol City 0: The exact date that Bristol City's play-off ambitions realistically hit the buffers has become a subject of some debate over recent days.

Some thought, perhaps, that the defeat at QPR just under a month ago was the end of the road, others might have given up the ghost after Preston grabbed a late equaliser to deny City a vital win at Ashton Gate a fortnight later.

Surely, it was over when an early lead was conceded at Nottingham Forest last Saturday? Some players and some supporters definitely thought so, according to City boss Gary Johnson last week, just days after watching Ipswich Town score an injury-time penalty leveller on Easter Monday.

That left his side nine points shy of the top six with just three games left to play – surely the game was up?

Not so, said Johnson, who gathered his troops together on the training pitch last Thursday to find out who still believed ahead of this trip to the Liberty Stadium to face a side on the verge of replicating City's heroics of last season.

This narrow victory for Swansea sees the Welsh club still on course to plot a course to Wembley via the play-offs – just 12 months on from lifting the League One title – but to City's credit, they matched their promotion-chasing opponents blow for blow – even though their chances of finishing in the top six would still have been slim had the result been reversed.

"You try your hardest right until the end and I think that showed in our performance," said defender Liam Fontaine.

"We had a little meeting on the training ground the other day and the gaffer was asking whether we still believed it as much as he did. We told him that we did and until something is mathematically impossible you never know what can happen in this game.

"I think we deserved at least a goal because we matched them for energy and work-rate but we just couldn't put the chances that we did create away."

There were not many chances for either side across the whole 90 minutes of a cat-and-mouse encounter – even if at times the football on display from both sets of players between the two penalty areas was rather pleasing on the eye.

It was no surprise, then, that it took a set-piece to separate the teams – Swansea skipper Garry Monk heading in an Andrea Orlandi corner at the near post in the 25th minute.

Johnson, though, was pleased with the response after criticising a few of the players and some of the supporters for a lacklustre showing at Ashton Gate on Monday.

The City manager chose not to speak directly to the Evening Post after Saturday's game, but told a local radio reporter: "The players worked hard and were certainly more up for it.

"Although we are all going home disappointed – me and the supporters – I'm sure people will settle down and over their Sunday dinner will think that, actually, we didn't play too badly.

"I think we played some good football and did enough to get something out of the game and it is just the mistakes we make in our own penalty area."

City will certainly feel unfortunate not to have made the Swansea net ripple on at least one occasion. The best chance of the opening period went begging when a deflected Michael McIndoe free-kick from the edge of the box was somehow repelled by goalkeeper Dorus de Vries before Jamie McCombe was effectively shepherded out of converting the rebound.

Striker Dele Adebola also directed a weak header into the arms of de Vries before Monk's opener prompted a short purple patch for Roberto Martinez's side where only a smart save from City goalkeeper Adriano Basso denied Jordi Gomez a goal with his head.

Johnson showed attacking intent at the start of the second period by introducing midfielder Gavin Williams for defender McCombe, and the change almost paid instant dividends.

The Merthyr Tydfil-born Cardiff fan, who was welcomed into the fray with a chorus of boos from the Swansea supporters, took just three minutes to force de Vries into a desperate tip over the crossbar.

Adebola also saw another headed effort creep just wide as Johnson switched to three at the back and ended the game with four men up front.

"We just needed to be a little more clinical," Johnson added. "We went for it when we switched to 3-3-4 and created three good opportunities.

"It is just where the game is won and lost – in both penalty areas – and we know we have to improve in those areas."

The chase continued right up until the final whistle, but the margin of Swansea's advantage should have been widened long before that when 24-goal striker Jason Scotland was offered a presentable opportunity on an afternoon where he had been otherwise kept under wraps by the impressive Fontaine - but the Trinidad & Tobago international angled his close-range effort wide of a post.

Basso had earlier been in the right place at the right time to gather a powerful Oralndi shot out of the air, but it was immaterial come the final whistle, at which point Johnson's thoughts turned to next season as City were left with only pride – and contracts – to play for.

"I always say at the start of every year that we are going for it because nobody would expect me to say any different," said Johnson.

"We are where we are – a second year in the Championship – and this group of lads have given their all."