Nigel Pearson hails potential of Bristol City youngsters Sam Bell and Alex Scott

Posted Sunday, January 29, 2023 by PA

Nigel Pearson highlighted the potential of youngsters Sam Bell and Alex Scott after their goals sent ragged West Brom spinning out of the FA Cup.

Promoted to the starting line-up in place of £9 million Bournemouth signing Antoine Semenyo, Bell opened the scoring with a sweet right-footed curler after the visitors failed to clear a 12th-minute corner.

Scott doubled the lead after 28 minutes, slotting home from a Mark Sykes cross, before Bell struck again soon after the break, expertly controlling a George Tanner centre before lifting his shot over goalkeeper David Button.

A delighted Pearson said: “Alex is that more advanced than Sam in terms of experience, so it is not fair to place similar expectations on them.

“Such is my faith in Alex that I believe he could go on to play for England. It is much too early to say the same about Sam.

“What today proved is that Sam is capable of making telling runs right through a game for 90 minutes.

“His two goals were awesome finishes. The jump from under-21 football is massive, but because he trains properly he is able to step up.

“We know he is technically good, but he also has good habits which help him progress.

“As a team, we looked dangerous all game. To win in the fashion that we did was testament to how the players have dealt with a week in which we lost two big players in Antoine and Dan Bentley.”

Pearson is still hoping to sign a replacement for Semenyo before the transfer deadline.

“We have a player in mind, but there is no movement at present,” he said.

Albion boss Carlos Corberan made five changes from the previous game and cut a frustrated figure by the end.

He said: “We conceded more counter-attacks by unforced losing of the ball than in any game since I arrived.

“And at the other end we lacked the accuracy to create enough chances ourselves. Putting everything together, it was a disappointing performance.

“I made changes today and sometimes that can affect the relationship between different departments of the team.

“Our distances were not right. The centre-backs were too separate from the midfielders.

“Also, we didn’t put the right mentality into the match to win and the goals we conceded were poor. The first came from a set-piece and we need to do better from them.

“The ball was there for us to win and we allowed it to reach an opponent. That can’t happen. After that they hit us on the counter as we looked to get back into the game.

“To be competitive in the Championship and the cup, you need a squad with options and everyone fit.

“Hopefully, we can move to cover areas we need to cover before the transfer deadline.”