Mark Sykes struck his first goal of the season, denying his former club Oxford a win
Mark Sykes' classy finish secured nine-man Bristol City an unlikely point against his former club Oxford United.
Sykes curled a first-time shot into the top corner from Max Bird's 65th-minute free-kick to cancel out Greg Leigh's opener for the home side just six minutes earlier.
City were reduced to 10 players when midfielder Joe Williams was shown a straight red card for upending Will Vaulks just after the half-hour mark.
Defender Ross McCrorie followed late on after receiving his second booking, but Liam Manning's side held on as the Robins' ex-Oxford boss picked up a draw on his return to the Kassam Stadium.
In a scrappy opening, the game lacked rhythm, with both teams giving away possession repeatedly and neither goalkeeper facing a genuine test.
There was an early scare for Oxford when Sykes galloped into space down the right-hand side and delivered a cross that Nahki Wells could only glance across goal and wide.
At the other end, the lively Przemyslaw Placheta cut in from the right to line up a series of attempts at goal - only one, however, was on target - and it sailed harmlessly into the hands of keeper Max O'Leary.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men when Williams - himself the recipient of an untidy challenge by Leigh, which earned the Oxford defender a booking earlier in the first half - was ordered off by referee Oliver Langford.
Oxford were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage and City, with half-time substitute Sinclair Armstrong working hard to hold the ball up in attack, actually looked more likely to break the deadlock.
Sykes chested down a half-clearance and hit a dipping attempt which keeper Jamie Cumming had to claw over the bar, with another ex-Oxford man Rob Dickie heading narrowly wide from the resulting corner.
But the U's edged in front after a period of pressure when the ball broke to Leigh on the edge of the box and the left-back arrowed his cross-shot beyond the motionless O'Leary.
That lead was quickly wiped out after Armstrong won a free-kick and Bird rolled the ball square for Sykes to fire home from the edge of the box.
City might even have gone in front when Jason Knight's punt through the middle released George Earthy, but he delayed too long and Cameron Brannagan got across to clear the danger.
However, after McCrorie's lunge on Ciaron Brown led to his second yellow card five minutes from time, the visitors were more than content to hold on for a point.
Oxford head coach Gary Rowett told BBC Radio Oxford:
"At the start of the game we didn't play with enough composure. I thought we were a little bit wasteful with our possession and didn't manage to break them down as much we'd like.
"As soon as they had that red card it kind of played into their hands in some ways in terms of blocking the game up and making it really difficult for us to find space. When we played it wide quickly, we got into good areas.
"It's a frustrating game in some ways. When you go 1-0 up you expect to then control the rest of the game. We give away one silly free-kick which gives them one chance – and you only need one chance to score.
"The way the game went, as soon as they got back to 1-1 I felt it'd be hard to break them down. It was one of those where you need something to drop for someone, you need a little bit of fortune and whenever it did, it seemed to drop to them.
"We'd won four games out of four here so we want to win every game. I don't think you're ever happy with a point at home."
Liam Manning: The lads should be proud
Bristol City head coach Liam Manning told BBC Radio Bristol:
"I think the referee had an extremely poor performance. It probably created a lot of frustration for our fans, staff and players purely from the inconsistency when you look at some of the decisions.
"Emotions get increased because you don't know what is a foul, what is a yellow card and so on. There were many the other way as well, so I'm not saying we were hard done by.
"I think he was just inconsistent for both sides, which creates the frustration, and rather than being about the players playing the game, it becomes how he manages it and the decisions he makes.
"The second half epitomises what you want culturally, the lads' desire to run, compete and stick together. To defend the box how we did, to respond to going a goal behind – the lads should be proud of coming away with something today."
