Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber salutes ‘brilliant’ Emil Riis performance

Gerhard Struber praised the “brilliant” striker’s performance after an Emil Riis hat-trick had seen Bristol City breeze into the FA Cup fourth round.

Riis headed home a cross from Neto Borges inside two minutes and then supplied the pass for Anis Mehmeti to double the advantage with a 37th-minute tap-in.

Rob Atkinson nodded home a 66th-minute free-kick from Scott Twine and Riis made it 4-0 from a Borges pass two minutes later, before substitute Jack Grieves fired a 74th-minute consolation for Watford.

Riis then completed the scoring, breaking clear on to a George Earthy through-ball to coolly lift the ball over goalkeeper Nathan Baxter.

Head coach Struber said: “Emil has taken his game to a new level today. We had talked about the timing of his forward runs and he was brilliant in that respect as well as really clear-headed in front of goal.

“He showed he can be a great player for Bristol City now and going forward. But he was not the only one to do well. It was a team performance full of energy and character.

“I was really pleased with Sam Morsy’s first start and George Earthy’s efforts as a substitute. Both new signings did really well.”

Asked whether he expected to use some of the £11million City have scooped from Antoine Semenyo’s transfer from Bournemouth to Manchester City, Struber added: “I would like to think we can reinvest some of that money in the squad, but whether it is this month or in the summer will be the owner’s decision.”

Watford boss Javi Gracia made eight team changes and felt the incoming players had not grasped the opportunity.

“Before the game I told them it was a chance to show how powerful we could be as a squad and I am disappointed with the result and performance,” he said.

“In the first half there was not much in it, but they scored from their chances. In the second half we failed to compete and they were much better than us.

“Now I have to look for a response in our next game. Going back to the Championship means a different competition and hopefully we can put this result behind us quickly.

“We wanted to do well in the FA Cup. We cannot hope to win every week, but today we were very soft defensively and we owe it to our fans, who stick with us whatever the result, to do a lot better.”