Liam Manning has been in charge of Bristol City for almost a year
Bristol City boss Liam Manning oversaw a hard-fought draw against high-flying Leeds United on his emotional return to the touchline at Ashton Gate.
Manning had missed the Robins' previous two games following the death of his baby son Theo.
Bristol City made a bright start, but it took two saves from Max O’Leary to deny Willy Gnonto and Dan James from giving Leeds a half-time advantage.
And when O’Leary was beaten after the interval by Gnonto, Zak Vyner was back in support to clear off the line as the hosts stubbornly held on for a point.
Bristol City supporters rallied behind their manager with messages of support
There was a minutes’ applause before kick-off in tribute to Manning’s son, with supporters also spelling out ‘fly high’ with a display in the stands.
On the eve of the match, 39-year-old Manning thanked fans for their “truly overwhelming” support he and his family had received.
Bristol City had extended their unbeaten run to six matches in Manning’s absence with a win at Middlesbrough and draw with Stoke, and they came up with another battling draw to deny Leeds the chance of going top of Championship table.
The hosts created the better of the early chances, with Yu Hirakawa particularly impressive while Luke McNally acrobatically hooked an effort off target.
Leeds were limited to few meaningful opportunities before Jayden Bogle thumped a header into the side netting in the 34th minute.
Gnonto and James then went on to call O'Leary into action in quick succession.
The goalkeepers' effort to foil James, who was making his first start since returning from a hamstring injury, was the pick of the saves as he rushed off his line to smother an attempted chipped finish from the Wales international.
Vyner was perfectly positioned to keep Gnonto from breaking the deadlock early in the second half when the Italian met a cutback pass from James.
Leeds substitute Mateo Joseph then went on to squander an opportunity to score with his first touch after replacing Joel Piroe, directing his close-range header over the bar after meeting Sam Byram’s clever clipped cross to the near post.
While Bristol City had a point to savour at the end of a demanding afternoon, they may yet count the cost of the result with Scotland international Ross McCrorie going off hurt having only recently returned from injury.
Manning's return 'best thing' - reaction
Assistant manager Chris Hogg speaks after Bristol City drew 0-0 with Leeds
Bristol City assistant manager Chris Hogg told BBC Radio Bristol:
"The biggest thing for me was having my mate back [Liam Manning] next to me.
"To show the character and the strength to come and stand on the touchline today epitomises what he's all about.
"The performance from the boys was good in terms of being hard to beat. We want to be better with the ball and cause more problems but you saw a united football club there.
"Credit to the supporters who were behind organising the tributes at the start. They were there from the early hours and I'd like to thank them from the bottom of my heart.
"At the end of an emotional couple of weeks, the players showed a real heart and desire to get something out of the game. On the back of everything it's a really good point."
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke bemoans wastefulness as the Whites are held to a draw
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke told BBC Radio Leeds:
"We did more than enough to win this difficult away game. There was 70% possession, 17 shots to four and we had 10 times the amount of expected goals than they did - we literally didn't allow them one proper chance.
"The feeling was that we created more than enough, and not just to score one goal. We were a bit wasteful in front of the opponent's goal, I have to say.
"Statistics wise, yeah more or less it was dominant and it was a really good game but I still have the feeling that we were not at our very best."
