Johnson salutes Robins spirit

29 August 2009 21:01
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Gary Johnson praised the battling qualities of his Bristol City side following the 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough.[LNB] Nicky Maynard's opener was cancelled out by an Adam Johnson penalty that Johnson does not believe should have been awarded.[LNB]However, the Robins shrugged off the disappointment of conceding an equaliser as Maynard scored for a second time deep into stoppage time.[LNB]"If we hadn't won I would have said a lot about the penalty," said Johnson.[LNB]"It was given by the linesman not the referee and I don't see how he was in a position to see. The ball hit Louis (Carey) on the arm and to be a penalty he had to strike the ball.[LNB]"It has been a difficult week for us with two defeats but today the lads showed that they have the fighting spirit to make a success of the season.[LNB]"Today we can be proud of our club. We knew Boro would have a lot of the ball and that we would have to win it back.[LNB]"That was the way it was and after our defeat in the Carling Cup when we went out to League One Carlisle the players held their own meeting to put things right."[LNB]Southgate reactionBoro manager Gareth Southgate admitted the last-gasp defeat had come as a bitter blow after a difficult week.[LNB]There are just a few days of the transfer window remaining and Southgate accepts he may not be able to bring in reinforcements.[LNB]"As we had come back into it with a penalty, this result is very hard to take," he said.[LNB]"We came here for a result ahead of the transfer deadline which could see players leaving.[LNB]"I've lost Robert Huth and Tuncay to Stoke City and more could be going and it doesn't look as if I'll have money to spend."[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports