Bristol City verdict: Skubala true to word as season-first sets mood for break
The picture visible was directly opposed to that seen in BS3 just three days prior. Then, the manager and his players made their way round a quickly-emptying cauldron of frustration; on Friday, Skubala, Dom Ballard and Rio Cardines were greeted as winners by a lively home support.
Those in the stands had more than played their part at the end of a draining week. This hadn't been a comfortable evening; nor had it been as tight as the scoreline would have you believe. City were the deserving winners, but boy, had they been made to work hard for the points.
You'd have been forgiven for thinking it was set to be a routine evening based on the opening exchanges. Quickly, the Robins started to knock on the door, with Jason Knight, Sam Greenwood and Yu Hirakawa all asking early questions of the Watford backline without opening the scoring.
To their credit, the depleted Hornets battled away to keep the home side at bay. Just as some may have started to worry that Skubala and his players would be made to rue missed chances, an opportunity was grasped.
As had been the case for that wondergoal at St Andrew's, Cardines crossed into Ballard from the left flank and, this time, with a flick of his head rather than his heel, the 21-year-old had found the back of the net. Cue the celebrations: a knee slide and an embrace that saw those warming up pitchside join in with those on the field.
The Robins had their noses ahead and something to build from; or, as it turned out, something to hold onto. There would be no second goal and no leveller. What followed, over the next hour, was a contest where City remained the dominant force without putting the game to bed, while the visitors offered very little.
Will it be remembered as a classic? That's unlikely. Will it be viewed as a vital three points at the end of a run of games that could have had a major bearing on the mood heading into the term's first interval? Absolutely.
Before we allow our attention to fully turn towards that extended international break, here are the stand-out talking points from the Reds' 1-0 win over Watford...
As he took his seat in the Ashton Gate press conference room stationed within the Lansdown Stand on Friday evening, Michael Skubala was clear about what he felt was the most positive aspect of Bristol City's performance.
Yes, the Robins manager paid credit to Rio Cardines for his remarkable delivery, Dom Ballard for his special, match-winning header, his midfield for their efforts in and out of possession and the impact of those who were introduced from the bench. It was, however, the first clean sheet of the season that really put a smile on his face.
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By the City boss' own admission, the wait for the first shutout of the campaign was something he and everyone at Ashton Gate - particularly assistant head coach Neil Banfield - had been conscious of heading into the meeting with Watford.
Before the win over the Hornets, the Reds had shipped 12 goals in seven league matches, an average of nearly two a game.
As I noted in the verdict after last weekend's defeat at Southampton, such a habit has made it incredibly difficult, in certain games, for Skubala's side to pick up points this term. Scoring goals is hard enough in the second tier; it becomes an ever greater challenge when you need to find the net at least twice a week to have a chance of coming out on top.
By keeping Watford out on Friday evening, the Robins lifted the pressure off those at the top end of the pitch. Cardines and Ballard's one moment of quality was all that was required to secure the points as the visitors were limited to - at best - a couple of half-chances.
Will it be the case every week that City can get away with scoring just one chance and winning the game? Of course not, but keep a clean sheet each time you take to the field and you'll, at worst, never come away empty-handed.
Friday evening's defensive display against the Hornets should now be the baseline for Skubala's squad. The Reds have lifted a weight by getting off the shutout starting line for the term and can now be confident in their ability to keep teams out, particularly at Ashton Gate.
Continue to defend as they did against the Hornets, and the quality at the other end of the pitch will, no doubt, shine through.
"We're going to need everyone" is perhaps the phrase Michael Skubala has used more than any other over the course of his first four months as Bristol City manager.
Time and time again when quizzed on his selection decisions, the Reds boss has repeatedly insisted that during what City hope will be a 50-game-plus season, everyone and anyone at his disposal will be required to play a part.
That phrase has most recently been used when discussing Tomi Horvat. On Thursday, Skubala said of the Slovenian international, "Tomi will get his moment; there's no doubt about that, just as other players will get the moment."
Horvat's chance didn't come against Watford, but it did for the two players the City manager mentioned after the midfielder, Rob Atkinson and Noah Eile.
Atkinson and Eile were two of seven changes made by Skubala between the defeat to Lincoln and the meeting with the Hornets. Yu Hirakawa, Rio Cardines and Jason Knight were the only outfield players to keep their place, with George Tanner, Joe Williams, Adam Randell, Sam Greenwood and Dom Ballard also coming into the eleven.
We could spend this entire section waxing lyrical about the way in which each of those listed above grasped the chance presented to them, but this time around, we'll focus on the backline. In truth, Eile and Atkinson ensured that the loss of Rob Dickie was negated as much as possible.
The Robins' new-look centre-back pairing lost just one of the eight aerial duels they contested against the Hornets, came away with possession in half of their ground battles, and left Sam Tickle with just two - routine - saves to make during the contest. They gave up very little and played a huge role in providing that aforementioned foundation from which the rest of the team were able to build.
Of course, the players deserve credit for taking that chance when it was presented to them; doing so is no mean feat, having spent much of the term on the sidelines. However, Skubala should also be praised for having the confidence to make that many changes at this stage of the season.
Few managers would be willing to do so. However, this is where - once again - the impact of the hard work put in over the course of the transfer window becomes visible.
Because of the way in which the squad, not just the starting line-up, has been bolstered in recent months, the City boss can tweak, tinker and change to his heart's content without the fear of weakening his side - something Gerhard Struber and Roy Hodgson could only dream of for large parts of last term.
"It's exciting," Skubala said when asked about the alterations. "We've talked about the strength in depth and, of course, if you make seven changes and you win, it looks great.
"It's a bit like substitutions; if you make seven changes and it goes wrong, it doesn't look great, but I said to the lads, we need everyone, and I keep saying to everyone, we're going to need everyone this season.
"I thought the lads that came in showed really why they're good players. I thought they were excellent."
That summer business mentioned above saw Bristol City shop in a very particular market. Outside of Elijah Adebayo, Jed Wallace, Sam Greenwood and Brad Collins, the Robins - almost exclusively - recruited players who were wet behind the ears when it came to Championship football.
Now, you don't need me to tell you the upside of such an approach. It has been well-documented that the Reds are shopping in a different market to some of the second tier's biggest teams, a market that presents risk but a potentially considerable football and financial bonus if players, who are perhaps cheaper than their Championship counterparts, adapt to the division over the course of their time at Ashton Gate.
But that adaptation doesn't happen overnight. There will, therefore, be points over the season - like Tuesday night's defeat to Lincoln City - where naivety bites City.
Fortunately, Watford weren't able to punish the hints of inexperience present on Friday. There were, again, signs that this project remains very much in its early stages - a fact that should be obvious, given we are only in month two of what has been labelled a three-year project to reach the Premier League.
Simply put, the Reds could have and should have won by a much clearer margin than a single goal.
Each of Joe Williams, Jason Knight, Yu Hirakawa, Sam Greenwood and - perhaps most notably - Lorent Tolaj missed big chances as Michael Skubala's side produced an xG of 1.47 from 17 shots; Dom Ballard's goal only accounted for 0.02 of that figure. Equally, Noah Eile was perhaps slightly fortunate to not concede a penalty late on for a pull on the shirt of Myron Boadu.
Should those underlying shortcomings be a cause for concern? They certainly would be viewed that way if the Hornets had snatched a late leveller or even a winner at Ashton Gate. In my eyes, however, that room for improvement is what makes this project so exciting, a perspective that is much easier to take after the points have been secured.
"It's a new group; we're still gelling," the City manager explained post-match. "We've got some young players that have stepped up from League One that are still learning their trade at this level.
"We've got some players that have come from Europe, and it takes time. I'm quite calm, win or lose, because I see the potential in this group. I see that in flashes; we don't see it consistently, but that comes with gelling, cohesion, more work with them and more time on the training pitch."
By Michael Skubala's own admission, the "beauty" of the Championship is that after a bad defeat or poor run of results, you're only ever days away from having a chance to put things right.
That beauty vanishes quickly, however, when you have a 22-day international break slapped in the middle of your calendar, as Bristol City now do. Whatever mood, emotion and feeling was present inside Ashton Gate come the full-time whistle on Friday night was always going to set the tone for the three weeks that now loom.
The Robins manager will tell you that he and his playing group never get too high with the highs or low with the lows. That may well be true, but football supporters are very rarely that balanced.
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Had City entered the interval on a three-match losing run - or even just a three-game winless run - few would have been focusing on the positives of the opening block of the campaign. With no chance to bounce back until October 10, when the Reds travel to Charlton Athletic, the discourse within supporter circles would have likely remained as disgruntled as it had been after the loss at Lincoln until the trip to The Valley.
With that in mind, to Skubala, his staff and his players, Friday's victory will no doubt be viewed as just another important win - the 43-year-old said as much after the full-time whistle - but for the fans, it will feel like more than that.
Talk of a poor record at Ashton Gate, a lack of clean sheets and a disappointing run can now be placed on ice.
Supporters can, instead, rest easy for the coming weeks knowing that they are there or thereabouts in the top eight race after eight matches and focus on the positives present against Watford, Southampton, Burnley, Preston North End, Portsmouth and even - in flashes - in defeats to Millwall and Lincoln.
As Skubala admitted post-match, "If you'd have asked me would I be happy with being in the play-offs after eight games going into the international window, I'd have snapped your hand off." I imagine most fans would echo the manager's claim.