There wasn't quite a garland of flowers but City did their best by giving him and new side MK Dons a two-goal start.
Both were knocked in by Clive Platt and they were something special for him too.
On his last visit to Ashton Gate with Peterborough, the veteran striker picked up a four-match ban for a fight in the tunnel.
This time his aggression was all on the field as he ripped the home defence apart.
His first goal after seven minutes saw him pick up a long ball from Dean Lewington. Two City men ran into each other as he went between them before tucking a perfect finish wide of Steve Phillips' left hand.
Ten minutes later he was supplying the tap in finish to a chip from Nick McKoy after teenage full-back Scott Golbourne had lost the ball.
Golbourne protested that a foul had been committed but his cries of foul play only earned him a yellow card.
City had made four changes after a Carling Cup mauling by Barnet in the week and manager Brian Tinnion was soon making another.
After the goals he quickly sent on former Sunderland striker Michael Bridges to boost a stuttering attack and sacrificed Australian international Luke Wilkshire from midfield.
The changes worked and soon Marcus Stewart was ballooning a ball from Bridges over the top and Scott Brown thundered a shot against the bar from 25 yards.
For the second half City switched centre-back Matt Heywood to cancel out the threat of Platt and by employing a long ball game they began to take over and scored two goals in seven minutes.
Steve Brooker hit the first from a cross and a downward header from Heywood who had come up from a corner made it 2-2.
A melting pot finish could have gone either way and Platt saw a hat-trick disappear when a powerful header from a corner was hacked off the line.