Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson was impressed by Middlesbrough and has backed his former side "to do well" under Michael Carrick.

Pearson was delighted that his side held on for what he described as a "fighting point" at the Riverside on Saturday.

The Robins were prepared for Boro to be fast out of the blocks in what was Carrick's first home game in charge, and that proved to be the case, with the hosts playing on the front foot throughout.

Andreas Weimann put the visitors ahead against the run of play before Chuba Akpom struck at the start of the second half to earn Boro a point. Both Akpom and strike partner Marcus Forss had a string of chances and caused the Robins problems, as Pearson acknowledged. 

"I thought they moved the ball really well," said visiting boss Pearson of Boro.

"They played with good intensity. I think we expected it to be like that because it's Michael's first game at home.

"There's lots of expectation, so we expected them to start quickly.

"They're a decent side. Their forwards can certainly cause problems. I've not seen that much of them but I think they'll do well."

Pearson captained Boro to two promotions and three domestic finals during his playing career and says he always relishes his Riverside returns.

"I always enjoy coming back to see people," he said.

"There are still people who work at the club now who were here during my day. There's always a feeling here that it represents the community and the people who work here are valued. That's one of the things I always enjoyed.

"It's nice to see familiar faces. I have some fond memories."

The Robins are now winless in four in the Championship but Pearson was happy with the point at the Riverside.

He said: “It was a battling point for us. We set-up with a positive line-up and caused problems in the first half in particular.

“Some of our counter attacks were very good and we could have done a bit better with one or two.

“They had some sustained pressure as well. After the week that we've had it was important to get something positive. The two performances in the last week only brought us one point and we deserved a lot more. Our players put in a lot of effort and we got a fighting point. This is a tough place to come.”