Cotterill salutes Bristol City

Steve Cotterill praised Bristol City after they delivered a dominant performance in a 3-1 win at struggling Gillingham.

Goals from Aden Flint, Matt Smith and Scott Wagstaff helped the leaders secure their sixth win away from Ashton Gate in League One this season. And Cotterill said that aside from the start of the second half, he could not fault his team's display. "We played well, we passed the ball very well and we deserved the win," he said. "We said at half-time that Gillingham would come out second half and have a go, which is exactly what they did. "We defended poorly for their goal, but we were comfortable winners. I thank the lads for that." Jay Emmanuel-Thomas had already had an effort ruled out for offside and tested Gills goalkeeper Stuart Nelson with a stinging drive before Flint got City's first in the 34th minute, heading in across the goal from former Gillingham player Luke Freeman's corner. Smith appeared to get the final touch on the ball before it crossed the goal-line, but there was little doubt he doubled his side's advantage a minute before the break. After good play by Derrick Williams, the Robins broke down the left with Greg Cunningham and from his cross, Smith tapped in from close range. Cotterill praised on-loan Fulham striker Smith, saying: "He and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas were the catalysts for our performance. It shows that the boys in the background at times have to come in and do their bit." Cody McDonald's eighth goal of the season two minutes after half-time briefly brought the Gills back into contention. But Wagstaff - born 10 miles away in Maidstone - secured City's victory shortly before the hour-mark with a brilliant curling effort from the edge of the box. "It was a fantastic goal, the movement leading up to it and the execution were first class," added Cotterill. "It was probably the best goal of the game." Gillingham manager Peter Taylor was critical of his team's first-half display "It's a bad habit to only get better when we're chasing a game," Taylor said. "I don't accept the first-half performance in any way. We were yards off Bristol City, we didn't defend as a unit, we didn't get anywhere near them. "You've got to give credit to a good Bristol City team. There was always going to be a time that they'd get good possession and they enjoy playing like that if you let them. "It gives them more confidence and that's exactly what we did. "I've never questioned the players' effort. I questioned their belief that they could win the game. They gave a good team too much respect."