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Cotterill lauds Wilbraham

Image: Steve Cotterill: Happy with Wilbraham impact

Steve Cotterill hailed stand-in captain Aaron Wilbraham, whose quick-fire brace fired Bristol City to a 2-1 JPT win over AFC Wimbledon.

The former Norwich man reached double figures for the season with a close-range finish after fine work from Jay Emmanuel-Thomas in the 73rd minute as the cup-tie suddenly sprung into life. And Wilbraham grabbed his 11th of the campaign just four minutes later with a crisp low strike after a Bristol City counter attack. "He has done very well since he's come here," Cotterill said of his summer signing. "He had a fantastic assist from Jay Emmanuel-Thomas for his first goal and I thought he took his second really well. "We know we've got the quality with quite a few of our players and we showed that. We came alive in the final 20 minutes, in the first half we were just passing the ball when we had it with not a lot of purpose." After opening up a two-goal lead City found themselves under sustained pressure from the visitors with George Francomb stepping off the bench to smash home a stunning consolation before forcing Frank Fielding into a smart stop with a curling free-kick. And Cotterill, who revealed that Wes Burns rolled his ankle during the first half, admitted they had to be at their best inside their own box during the final minutes, especially after the introduction of second-half substitute Adebayo Akinfenwa. "At the end of the game there was going to be plenty of balls to head out of your box with Mr Akinfenwa on the bench," he said. "I know there were things written about him being the world's strongest footballer and he probably is to be fair to him. He does a great job for them. "I thought Wimbledon did well and it is always a tough game when you are at home against a League Two team. "They were very well drilled, Neal Ardley has done a fantastic job there. I'd like to wish them all the best, they gave us a good game." For Ardley his thoughts turn to AFC Wimbledon's clash with Dagenham on Saturday as they look to end a run of six games without victory and the Dons boss was taking plenty of positives from their trip to Ashton Gate. "We had a game plan, we played two forwards and we had a go at it," he said. "I thought we were more than a match for them. "Goals change games and they have a habit of scoring but I'd like to think our boys did us proud as a club and certainly gave the fans something to think about and I'd like to think they've given Bristol City as hard a game as they've had here. "I hate losing so I'm not dancing for joy that is for sure but we've got a good team and are just looking for a bit of consistency but against a very good team we played very well. "We've had a go and a good go. We've given them a good game but have just come up short."

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