Nahki Wells’ teammate Antoine Semenyo scored his first club goal as Dean Holden guided his men to the perfect start in a 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Exeter City at Ashton Gate.
Jamie Paterson tucked home the first-half opener while substitute Semenyo added the late second to put City into the hat for the second round of the Carabao Cup.
The result means a first win and clean sheet in the first game of the Holden era in BS3.
The head coach named youngsters James Morton and Ryley Towler from the development squad on the bench but it was his starting XI that caught the eye. Captained by Andreas Weimann, Bristol City fielded the likes of Tommy Rowe, Paterson, Famara Diédhiou, and Wells in a strong side which showed how serious the hosts were about the contest.
It didn’t take them long to carve out the first opening either when Diédhiou linked up with his strike partner Wells, but the latter’s lobbed effort lacked the required dip as the ball sailed over.
A fierce effort from Wells was kept out by Lewis Ward as City looked for a second before Josh key headed wide from a corner at the other end, with Bristol City going into the break with the slight advantage.
Another opportunity went amiss when a free header from Wells was glanced off-target and they could have paid for it when Exeter threatened from a corner.
