Johnson praises second-half comeback

The Robins went 1-0 down after just four minutes to a Sam Clucas goal at the bet365 Stadium before Joe Allen was dismissed for a challenge on Josh Brownhill.

Famara Diédhiou pulled the scores level after 55 minutes from Jack Hunt’s far post cross and only minutes later, another cross led to the ball creeping over the line thanks to a final touch from Thomas Edwards.

Here’s what Head Coach Johnson had to say:

SECOND-HALF IMPROVEMENT

"I thought we started really slow. Our first six or seven actions in the game played into their hands and gave them the impetus to get on the front foot and they scored a goal and deservedly so.

"There was a key match incident (Joe Allen's sending-off) and I always fancied us to come good and the boys, to be fair to them, after a bit of a half-time livener, were excellent in the second half and managed situations really well.

"In the second half there was some real intelligent football given the atmosphere and the referee’s mindset, and the way the crowd were attempting to influence hm, and we grew up a bit in that second half today.

'OLD-FASHIONED’ CROSSES

"There were two great balls from Jack Hunt to the far post and two good goals for different reasons.

"We talk about the old ‘come and head me ball’ and sometimes the lads mock the terminology but it sticks in their head. Since Beckham, everyone wants to whip the ball in and it often hits the front man so just to cause problems in the backline by leaving the ball up there to give the attacker chance to attack it."

FAMARA DIEDHIOU AND ANDI WEIMANN

"Famara is probably in the top two in the league at attack those balls in and around the far post. I thought Andi Weimann worked his socks off. We work all week and then we shift him to wide right after 17 minutes – he doesn’t grumble but cracks on and puts in a sterling performance."

PLAYING AGAINST 10 MEN

"Sometimes you can get caught in the trap when you are playing against 10 men that you think you are bossing the game and the ball but the numerical advantage is still in their favour in the key areas of the pitch. Stoke did that well but eventually we broke that down.

"We are still looking for a bit more quality at times in our decision making but a Championship win is really hard fought and should not go unrecognised (undeterred) given we had 1,800 screaming fans."