Michael Skubala expresses frustration after Bristol City lose to Walsall in Carabao Cup

Michael Skubala expresses frustration after Bristol City lose to Walsall in the First Round of the 2026/27 Carabao Cup.

9,992 fans were in attendance to watch the first upset of the round, Aaron Pressley getting the only goal of the game on the 47th minute.

The draw for the Second Round will take place on Monday the 10th of August, around 7:20pm before Plymouth v Exeter.

Lineups, as per saddlers.co.uk and bcfc.co.uk:

Bristol City: Tickle; Pring, Eissat, Dickie, Tanner (Williams 78’); Randell (Ballard 58’), Knight (C), Greenwood (Twine 67’) , Wallace (Hirakawa 58’) , Bird, Tolaj (Riis 67’)

Subs: Collins; Atkinson, Eile, Yah

Walsall: Ward, Hancock, Leak (Connolly 31’), Skura, Burke, Ahui (Browne 63’), Sprangler, Moore (Crew 63’), Smith (Dallas 66’), Pressley, Clarke (Simper 63’)

Unused Subs: Kilroy, Sodje, Harper, Adomah

Bristol City’s Michael Skubala said to Bristol Live: “We didn’t quite have enough to score that goal.

“We had lots of chances, lots of entries. A frustrating night, a disappointing night because I thought we could have done a little bit better in the first half, we were a bit slow with the ball.

“Five minutes cost us with some poor decision-making, I think, in our own area, but after that, I thought we moved the ball well. We created a lot of chances, but just not enough to score that goal.

“There were some good things. It sounds crazy, but when we were 1-0 down, we started to move the ball very quickly through the lines, and we started to play quickly, started to switch quickly, so I know it’s in there, that pleases me a lot.

“At times we had some good little patterns, and we created a couple of chances in the first half that we didn’t put away. I thought Sam Tickle made some incredible saves, so there are some positives in there when you dig deep, but I’m really disappointed to lose the game.

“I’m really disappointed that a couple of moments have cost us.”

He continued: “I’ve learned a lot today. I’ve learned a lot about different players in different moments. Pre-season is great, but this feels like a step up for the guys.

“We’re disappointed to lose the game, and we shouldn’t lose the game, but I’ve learned a lot about the players tonight.

“You learn about how we need to be more disciplined in both boxes, because the game is won and lost in both boxes.

“I thought we put ourselves under pressure that we didn’t need to in a moment that we were a little bit sloppy.

“Then, when we got the final third, we huffed and puffed a little bit, but didn’t quite make the final action or put the goalkeeper under enough pressure. Saying that, he made some big saves. On another day, we had a few crawl on the goal line in the first half and second half.

“There were some balls across the box that we didn’t get on the end of, and that’s probably why the frustration is there, because you can create a lot; it doesn’t have to be perfect, but we probably should have scored a goal.”

Walsall boss Lee Grant said, as per Express & Star: “It had all the hallmarks of everything we talked about before the game.

“That’s incredibly powerful for the group because they set their stool out to do what they ended up doing.“We understood the task ahead of us. A team that’s two leagues above and you could see the quality on display tonight.

“They played really well actually, but our group were fantastic with the way they stood up to it, defended and how together they were.

“That’s because principally we did everything the same. The way we work every day allows us to translate into [other formations] and we don’t talk about formations either.

“I know everybody else wants to talk about formations, but we don’t. We talk about roles, we talk about responsibilities, and the boys certainly bought into their roles and responsibilities tonight.

“That was probably the most pleasing aspect for me.”

Here’s how fans reacted as Michael Skubala expresses frustration after Bristol City lose to Walsall in the Carabao Cup…

@GrantsGreats: thought yous had the best strike force in the championship 😂😂

@BCFC_Supporters: We are back baby 😍

@RJTDesign_: Once we get a striker in we will be sound

@cumulojimbus72: 😂 Embarrassing really. Bit of a wake up call. Slow tempo. Passing poor. Played Walsall.

@pafc_jack2008: You’re doing it wrong unfortunately, you cannot have Tolaj up front on his own you have to start 2 strikers with him.

@rmace1986: The most Bristol City thing you can possibly imagine. £10m spent on strikers, 70%+ possession, 33 shots and a first round exit to a lower league opponent. We are so back 🤣

@archmtfcc: upset in the first game? football is back babyyy

@charliemoon09: Lots of positive things to take from that game. Eissat looked tidy and Yu looked sharp. Just one of those days where it does not fall in the back of the net. On the other hand, Dickie looked surprisingly sluggish and not his normal self. Roll on Millwall! #BristolCity

@Vital_Walsall: Brilliant way to start the season! A real good performance. Heroic defending and some good football played. You can see an identity in the way Lee Grant wants to play this season which is very encouraging. Jed Ward take a bow 👏👏👏 top team performance UTS!

@oliswift_182:Effort ✅Commitment ✅Clean sheet ✅Noisy away end ✅An excellent way to blow off the cobwebs of what was a pretty underwhelming pre-season.Great win!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

@JRainer08: Brilliant performance on and off the ball. Defensively we was superb dealt with their chances brilliantly and that keeper was superb. Not a bad player on the pitch tonight.