Bristol City see off spirited Coventry City

Bristol City maintained a comfortable lead at the top of League One after seeing off a battling Coventry City at the Ricoh Arena.

The Sky Blues, looking to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat at Crewe Alexandra last Saturday, started positively when Mohamed Coulibaly's early effort was blocked by the visiting defence.

Steven Pressley's men were soon trailing when Marlon Pack, in for the injured Korey Smith in midfield, fired a low 25-yard beyond the reach of Ryan Allsopp.

However, the hosts almost provided an instant response when Jim O'Brien forced a save out of Frank Fielding. The midfielder then saw another effort blocked by a resilient Robins defence.

The leaders almost found a second later in the opening period through Derrick Williams, but his effort was kept out by Allsop.

They did extend their lead in first-half stoppage time when Agard was on hand to net his fifth goal of the campaign and put Steve Cotterill's men firmly in control at the break.

Aaron Phillips nearly pulled a goal back for Coventry on 72 minutes, but saw his header kept out by Fielding.

Shaun Miller did breach the Robins defence with a well-taken free kick which gave the Sky Blues hope of a late comeback.

However, those hopes were dashed by a stoppage-time strike from Scott Wagstaff which ensured that Bristol would be five points clear of the chasing pack.