Bristol City secured a 4-1 win over Newcastle United in their pre-season preparations. The Robins' Sam Greenwood opened the scoring with a curling free-kick before Lorent Tolaj doubled the advantage before the half-hour mark. Max Bird extended the lead shortly after the restart, and despite Harvey Barnes pulling one back, Sven Botman's own goal restored the three-goal cushion in the closing stages.
The match was played at Ashton Gate, with 3,400 travelling Magpies fans in attendance. The crowd rose as one to conduct a minute's applause in honour of the late Kevin Keegan in the seventh minute, a nod to the number he wore during a terrific playing career.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe praised the test, saying, "I thought it was a really good test for us." He added, "The scoreline is a difficult one for us to take, I don't think we deserved that at all today."
A potential worry for Howe was the early substitution of defender Fabian Schar, who was withdrawn after an awkward fall but walked off the pitch. "It's an encouraging sign," Howe added. "I'm not quite sure what the injury is. He felt a bit of tightness in his groin and it was obviously nagging him."
Bristol City currently sit 12th in the Championship, with 62 points from 46 games last season. They have scored 59 goals and conceded 59 this season, with a goal difference of 0. They are 33 points behind leaders Coventry in the title race. Their last result was a 2-0 win over Stoke City on May 2nd. They are on a 2-game winning run, with a recent form of 2W-1D-2L.
