Maynard miss proves so costly for Bristol City

Sheffield Wednesday 0 Bristol City 0: Nicky Maynard was hailed as the next big thing when he became Bristol City's record signing in the summer.

But that will soon change if he continues to spurn chances such as the one that presented itself in this Championship slog in the Hillsborough rain.

The 22-year-old striker, who scored 31 goals in 62 appearances for Crewe Alexandra, has found goals hard to come by since his £2.25 million move to Ashton Gate.

No wonder his eyes lit up when Ivan Sproule's defence-splitting pass left him one-on-one with Wednesday keeper Lee Grant barely two minutes into the second half of a contest which badly needed a goal.

Instinct kicked in and Maynard did nearly everything right, wrong-footing Grant and then forcing the keeper to commit himself by going to ground. In that instant, he deftly lifted the ball over his adversary, only to raise his hands to his head in abject horror as his shot somehow skewed wide of the target.

City's big-money recruit no doubt wished for the ground to open up and swallow him and it was difficult not to feel sorry for the red-shirted figure, who stared in disbelief for several seconds while the enormity of his miss sunk in.

Had Maynard taken full advantage when opportunity came knocking, post-match talk would not have been dominated by City's second phantom goal in the space of a week.

If manager Gary Johnson and his players were still feeling sore about the Marvin Elliott 'goal' which never was against Swansea, their burning sense of injustice was heightened still further by Derbyshire referee Rob Shoebridge, who took the easy way out when denying Jamie McCombe a perfectly legal goal against the team he supported as a boy.

City's giant centre-back applied the slightest of touches to Jamie McAllister's lofted free-kick and the ball flew into an unprotected net, only for the referee to award a free-kick to the home side for an alleged foul on Owls defender Richard Wood.

In fact, the only player who made any contact with Wood was his own goalkeeper, and the visitors had every reason to feel aggrieved.

Shoebridge further enraged visiting players and fans when turning down two strong appeals for penalties, once when Maynard appeared to be held back by Tommy Spurr in the first half and again when substitute Lee Trundle took a tumble under duress from Mark Beevers in the closing stages.

None of that alters the fact that Maynard should have sealed what would have been only City's second win in 11 Championship outings.

McCombe was also guilty of squandering a gilt-edged chance in front of goal and, quite correctly, he refused to use refereeing mistakes as an excuse.

"We created enough good chances to have won the game but we didn't take them," he admitted.

"Of course it's frustrating that decisions are going against us. I didn't touch their player when Macca put that free-kick into the box and, from where I was stood, it looked a perfectly good goal.

"But if we keep talking about it, are we just using it as an excuse?

"We had other chances to win the game and I should have scored myself."

While accepting blame for shooting wide of a gaping target from close range midway through the second half, McCombe was quick to leap to Maynard's defence.

"Nicky is understandably upset at missing that chance, but that's part and parcel of being a striker and he'll get over it," he said.

"The other lads won't allow him to be down for long.

"It's just one of those things that happen in football and we're all behind him.

"It's easy for people to criticise, but the thing Nicky has to remember is he's getting himself into good positions and chances are coming his way.

"If he keeps doing what he's doing and believes in himself, the goals will come."

When the dust finally settles, City's players should derive satisfaction from an improved performance.

Asked to adopt a new-look 4-3-3 formation, the visitors not only stifled Wednesday's attacking threat, but posed constant problems for the home side with swiftly-launched counter-attacks.

It is a system made for Sproule and the Irishman was denied an early goal-scoring opportunity by Spurr's wonderfully-timed tackle, while Owls keeper Grant was called into action to keep out efforts from Michael McIndoe, Gavin Williams and Maynard.

Wednesday seldom threatened a goal and Robins keeper Adriano Basso made only two saves of note, displaying athleticism and lightning-quick reflexes to turn aside efforts from Francis Jeffers and Leon Clarke.

When Marcus Tudgay sent a free header sailing over the bar in a frenetic final 10 minutes, Yorkshiremen simply shrugged their shoulders and accepted this was not their day.

Given that Dele Adebola, Louis Carey and Brian Wilson were all missing through injury and illness – and taking into consideration the kick on the thigh which forced Cole Skuse to go off at half-time and manager Johnson to deploy midfield powerhouse Marvin Elliott in the unaccustomed role of right-back throughout the second half – City can be pleased with their efforts.

McCombe even went as far as to suggest he and his team-mates had "turned a corner". Only time and the outcome of next Saturday's home game against fourth-placed Burnley will prove whether or not his optimism is justified.