Gerhard Struber remains confident Barnsley will beat the drop

Opposite number Bristol City chief Lee Johnson was left to hail Niclas Eliasson’s winner.

Both teams had missed a host of chances when Jay Dasilva burst down the left in the 87th minute and crossed to the far post where Eliasson controlled the ball and coolly picked his spot with a low shot.

“It was a very disappointing defeat and a very disappointing moment for me and my players,” said Struber. “I was pleased with the performance and, especially in the second half, we created a lot of chances.

“We were not in the same killer mood as in recent games. But I believe that if we continue to play that way we will get the results we need to stay in this league. Our defending was synchronised and we created many chances. We were clear in expecting a lot of long balls and were aggressive as well as clever.

“Sometimes we were not as clear with our final pass. When you have so many good situations to score a goal and don’t do so it can mean an unnecessary defeat.

“But looking forward I am very encouraged and believe we will pick up the necessary points to stay in the Championship.”

Both sides hit the woodwork and the two worst misses of the match came in the second half.

Barnsley’s Luke Thomas contrived to shoot wide from six yards and two minutes later Eliasson fired over from 12 yards with the goal at his mercy.

Bristol City: Bentley, Hunt, Williams, Baker, Dasilva, Smith, Weimann, Brownhill, Paterson (O’Dowda 86), Eliasson, Diedhiou. Unused substitutes: Nagy, Semenyo, Moore, Rowe, Wollacott, Massengo.

Barnsley: Collins, Jordan Williams, Halme, Andersen, Ben Williams (Ludewig 71), Thomas (Simoes 88), Dougall, Ritzmaier, Mowatt, Brown, Chaplin. Unused substitutes: Walton, Schmidt, Styles, Sibbick, Palmer.

Referee: D Bond (Lancashire).