Emil Riis scored two goals in the first half, both of which were assisted by Anis Mehmeti, and the Robins easily defeated the Pilgrims.
Bristol City outperformed League One side Plymouth Argyle in their last preseason friendly, winning 2-0. Emil Riis' two first-half goals, both assisted by Anis Mehmeti, were enough to propel the Robins past the Pilgrims, with the City defence limiting Argyle to just one effort on goal.
Riis' first came on a clever counterattack, with Mehmeti driving from inside the Bristol City half to the outside of the Plymouth area, where he switched the ball right to the 27-year-old, who sent the BS3 side ahead after 25 minutes.
Thirteen minutes later, the duo linked again, with the Albanian international fooling the Plymouth defenders with some more brilliant footwork, coming inside from the left and sending a right-footed cross in for Riis to tap home at the back post, securing 2-0 win.
The Robins started on the front foot, seeking to move the ball forward right away, and tested Argyle custodian Luca Ashby-Hammond early on when Riis collected a through ball in the area from Jason Knight and fired a strong shot after five minutes.
However, Ashby-Hammond did well to deny Riis a shot at his near post, deflecting the Dane's effort for a City corner.
After an early scare, the hosts grew into the game and began to pose a threat on the break, launching a threatening assault when Xavier Amaechi was discovered in plenty of space on the right side of the pitch after 12 minutes.
Yu Hirakawa, City's left wing back, ran across to cover the threat, but he was easily overcome by Amaechi, who went into the box by passing the ball through his legs. However, Rob Atkinson was waiting for the winger on the edge of the six-yard box, pick-pocketing him and clearing the ball to safety.
The hosts' greatest opportunity of the half came from a set piece, with Kornel Szucs meeting a deep ball at the far post. The Argyle defender leaped high to head the ball, but it only made it as far as George Tanner's torso, before rebounding out for a corner after 17 minutes.
Shortly later, the game came to a halt when many players from both sides got into a scuffle on the far side of the ground. Referee Lee Swabey battled to keep it from turning into a major brawl, but ultimately calmed things down, and the game resumed a few minutes later with no bookings.
City seized the lead shortly after the restart, with the Robins punishing the hosts on the attack, as Riis calmly smashed a shot past the Plymouth custodian after 25 minutes.
City extended their advantage 13 minutes later when Mehmeti sneaked inside from the left unchecked, with all the time in the world to whip a right-footed cross for Riis to tap in at the back post, sending the Robins into the break two goals ahead.
Gerhard Struber's team regained control of the game in the second half, creating many chances and demonstrating a remarkable ability to recover possession when dispossessed in the attacking half.
After 60 minutes, the Robins injected a new aspect to their game by replacing Riis with Sinclair Armstrong. City began to deliver low-driven vertical balls from the centre of the pitch for the pacey striker to run on to, which the Plymouth defence struggled to handle.
The Irishman had an immediate impression, beating the Argyle defenders to a long ball and advancing into a good position in the box after 63 minutes, but his effort at goal was feeble and did not trouble Ashby-Hammond.
It took the home side until the 75th minute to register a shot on target, with two of their seven second-half replacements producing Argyle's best opportunity of the game but failing to beat City goalkeeper Lewis Thomas.
The 27-year-old had little to do during the game, but he produced a moment of brilliance to deny Plymouth youngster Joe Hatch from close range, diving to his right to deflect Hatch's header away from goal after jumping to meet fellow adolescent Freddie Issaka's lofted cross.
Struber's team went on to dominate the game and were unlucky not to expand their lead in the dying minutes. However, City was unable to score their second late goal in three preseason games.
Scott Twine had the first of two fine chances after 86 minutes, hitting the crossbar with a free kick just outside the box, before Armstrong showed some wonderful agility while coming inside from the right and forcing Ashby-Hammond into a stop from a tough angle three minutes later.
The Robins' pre-season concludes on August 2 with a visit to Ashton Gate by Real Valladolid from La Liga 2, followed by their first Championship encounter against last season's play-off semi-finalists Sheffield United seven days later.
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