Finishing touch is all that’s missing...

SLIDE SHOW . . . Danny Philliskirk joins in the celebrations with Athletic goalscorer James Dayton.

LEE Johnson was able to leave Ashton Gate with his head high after a display that lacked only a finishing touch.

Again, Athletic conceded first against the run of play. But this time a display full of neat possession in which the bottom-of-the-table outfit was repeatedly pressed into its own half was at least rewarded with a point.

That was down to James Dayton’s fine strike, which ended a sequence of six successive away-day league defeats.

The only sour point for Athletic’s manager was that he felt his team’s performance merited three points.

“We were fantastic. We were unlucky not to come away with three points and dominated the game pretty much from start to finish,” Johnson said.

“Overall it was an excellent performance from us. We have got to keep doing that – but stick the ball in the back of the net when we flash it across the box, as we did four or five times.

“We have to get across people better in the six-yard box.”

Jonson Clarke-Harris, brought in for his first start as an out-and-out striker since August, showcased his talents in the first half in setting up chances for his team-mates.

The other change, which saw James Tarkowski restored to the defence, also benefited Athletic hugely.

“Bringing James Tarkowski back in shored us up and he and Jonathan Grounds played us out from the back really well,” Johnson added.