Harambee Stars Prospect Anchors Bristol City In Flawless Carabao Cup Display

Harambee Stars youngster Zak Vyner played the full duration on Tuesday evening as Bristol City continued their high-flying start to the campaign with a comprehensive 2-0 victory over League Two club MK Dons in the Carabao Cup first round.

City Manager Gerhard Struber made the changes from the side that demolished Sheffield United in the Championship, introducing five changes, among them first competitive starts for Elijah Morrison and Ephraim Yeboah, and a debut for goalkeeper Joe Lumley.

It took just six minutes to shatter the stalemate. Scott Twine, who was masterminding the ingenuity, delivered a precise corner from the right, and skipper Jason Knight got aloft highest to nod home. The early strike not only put the seal on things but also was the first conceded by MK Dons since April under the guidance of boss Paul Warne.

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The visitors had their moments too in the first half. Will Collar was generously given a deflected Liam Kelly shot after 25 minutes, but his close-range attempt went wide. Collar then headed over from a cross by Connor Lemonheigh-Evans as MK Dons sought an equaliser. City were threatening still, and Rob Dickie headed just over from Twine's free-kick before half-time.

Struber introduced Yu Hirakawa and Emil Riis at half-time, and the replacements quickly came to the fore. In the 61st minute, Hirakawa doubled the advantage in elegance — cushioning Twine's lofted pass, beating the defence, and whistling high into the net at close range. The Japanese striker's verve caused new urgency, leaving MK Dons on the back foot.

Josh Stokes was close by in three minutes, striking the crossbar with a fierce shot from the follow-up of Knight's run down the middle of the pitch. Struber also introduced Max Bird to his first half-hour of the season due to injury, with the midfielder replacing Adam Randell at the death.

MK Dons pushed for parts of the game but Lumley was more than up to the challenge at hand, restricting City to their third consecutive clean sheet in this season.

The Robins play Charlton Athletic back in the league on Saturday hoping to complete a winning sequence.