Plymouth Argyle boss Paul Sturrock praised his players' work-rate after their 2-1 victory knocked Bristol City off the top of the Championship.Rory Fallon scored an opportunist double at Ashton Gate and although Lee Trundle reduced the arrears the visitors were not to be denied.

"We are not a team who can win games by playing pretty football and I haven't been happy with the way we have gone about things recently" said Sturrock.

"Today was a blood and snorter game which is how I like it and what suits us best. We are a very honest team and when it comes to a battle we are very hard to beat."

Sturrock was full of praise for goalkeeper Rab Douglas, signed on a one-week emergency loan from Leicester.

"As it was his only game for us I told him I would give his win bonus to charity. His answer was that he has a wife and kids to feed!" he said.

Fallon was Plymouth's other hero, firing them ahead with a first-time shot from Gary Teale's right-wing cross as first half injury time approached.

The tall striker made it 2-0 from almost on the goalline after Paul Connolly had headed down a 60th-minute corner and looked a threat throughout the game.

Lee Trundle, soon after coming on as a substitute, reduced the arrears with a 74th-minute penalty, awarded for handball by Jermaine Easter after he charged down a free-kick.

City boss Gary Johnson kept his players in the dressing room to spell out his feelings before emerging to deliver a damning verdict.

"If we want to win automatic promotion we will have to play a lot better than that," he admitted.

"We talked about getting in more shots, but didn't have the quality where it mattered to get them on target.

"I didn't think we were clever enough in our approach play. Other results went for us, but it was still a great opportunity missed."

While City had more possession, Plymouth always looked likely to use the ball more effectively.

Fallon's aerial power was a feature, as was the defending of Sturrock's team, particularly in the closing stages when City threw everything at them.

The experienced Douglas made some fine saves, but was generally well protected as City quickly ran out of ideas.

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