Nahki Wells showed another side of his game on Wednesday night as Bristol City squeezed out a narrow 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers at Ashton Gate.

In a side missing a few players through injury, Wells was forced to play on the wing and was left to do a lot of defending to keep the threatening Ryan Nyambe in check as he pushed forward. Wells picked up a yellow card in the 38th minute for a bad foul on Nyambe, but also collected the man-of-the-match award for his performance.

Famara Diedhiou, a second-half substitute, scored the game’s only goal in the 82nd minute, just seven minutes after entering the game.

The win lifts City back into the play-off places ahead of their trip to Yorkshire to meet Rotherham United on Saturday. The win was the perfect response after last weekend’s home loss to Birmingham City.

“We knew it was about bouncing back, putting right the wrong after losing the other day,” Wells told the club’s website.

“We knew it would be tough tonight, but it was important to get back to winning ways and stay in touch with the top two.

“They [Blackburn] are a good side. We’ve been hit by a lot of key injuries with players in the treatment room but we have to deal with it.

“Some people are playing out of position but it’s about doing a job, doing what’s right for the team. Tonight, we got the three points and that’s all that matters.”

Wells praised Diedhiou for his finish at the crucial time. “Famara came on and proved to be the difference,” he said.

“He got the three points for us; that’s all that matters and we move on to Saturday with three points.

“He proved the difference when he came off the bench against Derby as well. He scored the winner, so he’s done well. He’s worked hard to be in the team and we’re all striving to score goals, win games. He got it today and that’s all that matters.”

Wells added: “We all know what we’re capable of, and that’s to get promoted. There are so many teams in and around that top six, so each week we have to pick up points. It’s good to get points from teams around us.”