Bristol City boss Lee Johnson refused to make Frank Fielding the scapegoat for his side’s 2-1 Championship defeat at Huddersfield Town.

The keeper’s inability to deal with Korey Smith’s pack pass gifted Nahki Wells a 59th-minute winner at the John Smith’s Stadium.

“It was a mistake and a poor goal to give away. Frankie has come back into the dressing room and apologised to everybody and I don’t want to dwell on it,” he said.

“He has kept us in games and won us games in the past.”

Town head coach David Wagner claimed Fielding should earlier have been sent off for handling outside his area and denying Wells a scoring opportunity.

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Wagner said fourth-placed Town deserved their first win in six matches - and former Barnsley manager Johnson agreed.

“We didn’t have enough quality on the ball and we struggled to counter,” he said.

“Too many players lost their individual battles, especially in the middle, which is a big part of the pitch.

“I don’t think there can be any complaints about the result.

“I felt we were still in it right up until the end, but they were the better side.

“Overall, there is a feeling of frustration and disappointment, because we did not play our game.

“We changed our shape, went to 3-5-2 to get ourselves back into the game, but were poor in the second half.”