Delano Burgzorg pointing to the fans after scoring Bristol City's first goal against Stoke CityImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Bristol City's first goalscorer Delano Burgzorg will now return to parent club Middlesbrough

ByIwan Blakeway
BBC Sport England

Bristol City ended their Championship season and Roy Hodgson's interim spell in charge on a positive note with a 2-0 win over Stoke City.

Delano Burgzorg capitalised on a first-minute error by Stoke keeper Viktor Johansson to give the hosts control, with Scott Twine and Tomi Horvat both going close to a second before the break.

Stoke did improve after half-time but struggled to find a cutting edge despite racking up a staggering 15 corners at Ashton Gate.

Sam Bell's late tap-in secured victory for the Robins, ensuring they finished their campaign in 12th place on 62 points while the Potters, who were in the top six for much of the first half of the season, end up 17th after an injury-plagued slide.

Although it was the last game of the season with little riding on it for either side, Stoke boss Mark Robins was looking for a response to his side's poor end-of-season form, with today's result their fourth consecutive loss.

The 56-year-old said his team, after their 3-1 loss to Portsmouth, "lacked energy, lacked enthusiasm and know-how".

The opener in this game fell into the latter category.

It came within the first 60 seconds when Ashley Phillips' routine backpass was badly miscontrolled and miskicked by Johansson, allowing Burgzorg to pounce and slot in.

City, buoyed by the early lead, built on the gift with a confident first-half display, creating further chances as Horvat fired a low, bending left-footed shot narrowly wide in the 11th minute, and Twine blazed over from a fine counter-attacking opportunity just before half-time.

Stoke went closest in between those chances when Junior Tchamadeu's fierce half-volley from the edge of the area, after a corner, crashed against the crossbar, but that was as near as they came, with Bell sealing the Robins' victory late on.

'I couldn't have wished for anything more' - reaction

Figure caption,

Hodgson: "There's a lot to build on here"

Bristol City interim boss Roy Hodgson told BBC Radio Bristol: "I've seen us play better, funnily enough, in these games, but I haven't seen us show any more fight and determination and spirit than we showed today.

"That's also a very, very important quality, especially knowing that we also have more chances going forward to show our quality on the ball.

"In midfield today, we were hard pushed by a very strong Stoke, especially their wingers and the crosses they got into the box and the corner kicks but I thought we stood up to that extremely well and I couldn't have wished for anything more than to finish my short tenure with a victory."

Stoke City boss Mark Robins told BBC Radio Stoke: "I think we were a better team. I thought we played well.

"We gave a goal away, a real soft goal away, in minute one and then we ended up trying to chase the game for the rest of it because we had to try to make the running.

"You don't want people to pass backwards or sideways because that invokes a negative, and rightly so. The game's there then to play forwards so don't turn that opportunity down. Play forwards, run forwards. That has to be our mantra."

Player of the match

Number: 23 R. Vítek
Average rating 7.97
Number: 23 R. Vítek
Average Rating: 7.97
Number: 20 S. Bell
Average Rating: 7.71
Number: 16 R. Dickie
Average Rating: 7.57
Number: 14 T. Horvat
Average Rating: 7.40
Number: 21 Neto Borges
Average Rating: 7.30
Number: 38 N. Eile
Average Rating: 7.29
Number: 4 A. Randell
Average Rating: 6.92
Number: 2 R. McCrorie
Average Rating: 6.88
Number: 12 J. Knight
Average Rating: 6.87
Number: 11 D. Burgzorg
Average Rating: 6.80
Number: 10 S. Twine
Average Rating: 6.68
Number: 40 Sam Morsy
Average Rating: 6.60
Number: 17 M. Sykes
Average Rating: 6.42
Number: 18 E. Riis
Average Rating: 6.35

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.