JOHNSON HAILS ELLIOTT IMPACT

Johnson - delighted.

Gary Johnson hailed second-half substitute Marvin Elliott for inspiring Bristol City to a 4-1 win over Doncaster.

Elliott was was introduced at half-time in place of Bradley Orr, who was treading thin ice with referee Jarnail Singh after being booked.

Within two minutes Elliott broke from the centre of the park and Singh played advantage as he was chopped down. Nicky Maynard burst clear only to be tripped inside the box by goalkeeper Neil Sullivan.

Michael McIndoe tucked away the resulting penalty against his old club and from then on it was plain sailing for Gary Johnson's team.

"Marvin Elliott gives great energy to our side," said Johnson. "It's great to have him back and it didn't take him long to make an impact.

"We needed that first goal but overall I thought we played very well. We have worked hard on opening up teams this week and we created a lot of chances.

"It's good to get our first home league win of the season and I'm delighted for Nicky Maynard because I gave him a bit of a rocket after our defeat by Birmingham in midweek.

"His response was to score one goal and make another so he had a real effect on the game. He's a young lad and that can only do him the world of good."

Maynard, Johnson's £2.25million signing from Crewe this summer, netted the second goal on 58 minutes with a confident right-footed finish after exchanging passes with Ivan Sproule.

It was 3-0 on 61 minutes as Sproule accepted a pass from Dele Adebola and turned defender Gareth Roberts to shoot low past Sullivan.

Enterprising Doncaster refused to give in and pulled a goal back on 69 minutes through an assured left-footed finish by Ritchie Wellens from the edge of the box.

But there was no way back for the visitors as old boy McIndoe took Sullivan by surprise and found the bottom corner of the net with a 74th minute shot from 22 yards.

Visiting boss Sean O'Driscoll was far from down-hearted.

"I thought we made a slow start but then weathered the storm and finished the first half on top," he said.

"There were no complaints about the penalty and once we conceded the first goal it was always going to be an uphill battle.

"But we stuck to our guns and kept playing the style of football we are going to employ in the Championship.

"We may not have done enough to win the game but we could certainly have made the scoreline a lot closer."

An entertaining first half had seen chances for both sides without any player being able to come up with a finish.